County's new Land Use Work Plan includes environmental protections
by Kathy Switky



Land use advocacy requires a number of different strategies and tactics. More often than not, those of us working to promote sound land use find ourselves fighting ill-conceived development proposals, lobbying stakeholders, and working to uphold existing policies.

Occasionally we have the opportunity to help shape long-term planning for open space protections - as the Committee did recently with Santa Clara County's Land Use Work Plan.

Last year, the Committee for Green Foothills and other local environmental organizations began working with the County Board of Supervisors to help develop the 2002 Land Use Work Plan. This allowed us to raise open space and environmental issues and - given the County's limited resources - help determine the policy issues to be addressed in the coming year.

CGF collaborates with Audubon, Greenbelt to help set priorities
The Committee collaborated with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society to raise awareness of deficiencies in existing County policies. At the Board of Supervisor's land use workshop last September, we identified a number of key areas needing attention and highlighted particularly egregious examples of poor land use - including massive estate homes perched on ridgelines with invasive road cuts, and homes built right next to creeks. In addition, we identified a number of disturbing development trends that threaten open space.

In January 2002, Greenbelt Alliance joined us, and our three organizations worked together to identify County-wide priorities for the coming year. Together, we officially asked the Board of Supervisors to:

• Develop a strong riparian policy - including restoration and protection of the County's creekside habitat and watersheds;
• Strengthen protections for lands zoned "Hillsides" - preventing intrusive development, especially on ridgelines;
• Develop zoning policies for working landscapes - including agricultural lands and ranch lands;
• Create Special Conservation Areas throughout the County - identifying sensitive habitat areas and developing protective policies; and
• Continue to enforce the County's vision for managed growth and require urban development to occur inside existing cities - preventing sprawl from encroaching on rural County lands.

Work Plan includes protections for habitat, hillsides, rural areas
Thanks to our collaborative approach - and many letters and e-mails from CGF members - the final 2002 Work Plan included much of what we asked for. The plan will guide the County to significant new open space and environmental protections.

The Work Plan directs County staff to create protective Hillside policies and develop a countywide riparian ordinance that protects creekside habitat and watersheds by identifying significant natural areas. Developing these policies will be a top priority in the coming year.

The inclusion of these priorities in the Land Use Work Plan is a positive step forward for the protection of County lands for future generations - thanks to the Supervisors' forward vision and proactive approach to land use planning and management countywide.