by Michael
McCabe
Coyote Valley in South San Jose -- the planned site of a new Cisco Systems
campus -- is one of the 10 most endangered landscapes in America, environmentalists
will announce today.
The 2001 designation by Scenic America, a nonprofit group in Washington,
D. C., whose goal is to preserve the scenic character of America's communities,
recognizes the "significance of protecting Coyote Valley from urban
and industrial sprawl."
For environmentalists, designating Coyote Valley as one of the "most
endangered" scenes in the country is still another way to keep the
developers on the run. They hope.
Covering more than 3,000 very pristine acres, Coyote Valley extends south
to Morgan Hill and mostly consists of small farms with rolling hills to
the west. But there is strong pressure from development at the northern
end.
Last month, Cisco, in a retrenchment reflecting a brutal business year,
announced it would hold off construction of a new office complex in Coyote
Valley and cut the project's overall size from 6.6 million square feet
to somewhere between 1 million and 3 million square feet.
"The more people are aware of how beautiful this valley is, the more
chances that it will be protected," said Ernie Goitein, a member
of People for Livable and Affordable Neighborhoods, which nominated Coyote
Valley.
Today, several environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club,
the Santa Clara Valley chapter of the Audubon Society and the Committee
for Green Foothills, plan to celebrate the award at a farm field in the
heart of Coyote Valley.
The nine other "2001 Last Chance Landscapes of America the Beautiful"
named are the entire state of Oregon; Washington, D.C.; the Marsh Islands
of coastal Georgia; Red Rocks Scenic Road, Sedona, Ariz.; Narragansett
Bay in Rhode Island; St. Croix Valley Scenic Corridor in Minnesota and
Wisconsin; Harpeth River Valley in Williamson County, Tenn.; Lynville
Mountain Landscape, Roanoke, Va; and Woodberry Watershed Forest, Baltimore,
Md.
The criterion for designation is that the site contain "unique beauty
or distinctive community character with both a pending threat and a potential
solution," said Steve Strohmeier, program associate for Scenic America.
There were more than 60 applications.
"I don't think you can say nothing should be done in Coyote Valley,
but there are alternatives that include far less landscaping and land
use," Strohmeier said. "The smallest possible development makes
the best sense."
David Vossbrink, a spokesman for San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, who has
pushed for approval of the Cisco campus development plan, said naming
Coyote Valley a special scenic place in America would be "useful
if it promotes a dialogue between groups on design issues to make sure
views remain open."
"But whether this will change any specific plans for Coyote Valley,
that, I think, is highly doubtful," he said.
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