Committee kicks off Environmental Forum series on June 5

Urban vs. rural: Finding homes for schools and churches
Forum to address land use trends
Supervisor to moderate panel of leading experts
Speakers
Directions

Urban vs. rural: Finding homes for schools and churches
Please join the Committee for Green Foothills and Santa Clara University Environmental Studies Institute for a public forum to discuss perspectives on rural land use - especially the location of group facilities such as schools and churches, which can be sentimental favorites. The forum is hosted by Committee for Green Foothills and Santa Clara University Environmental Studies Institute.

The forum “Urban vs. rural: Finding homes for schools and churches” will be held on Wednesday, June 5 from 7-9 pm in room 206 of the Daly Science Building at Santa Clara University.

The event is free and open to the public. The forum will be appropriate for the policy makers, elected officials, concerned citizens and students. No reservations are required. Snacks will be provided.

The Committee for Green Foothills extends a big thank you to the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV) for helping make this environmental forum series possible. "Urban vs. Rural" is the first in a series of three environmental forums funded in part by a grant from CFSV.

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Forum to address land use trends
There is a growing trend to try to locate urban-scale churches and schools in rural areas. Institutions, especially churches and schools, are driven to find locations outside city limits. How does this affect decades of smart regional planning, and what can be done about it? Are cities making it difficult for these uses to locate in urban areas as a result of the fiscalization of land? Are these decisions made predominately because of land cost or are they driven by the appeal of rural settings?

The forum is intended to address the growing trend to locate urban uses, such as large scale churches and schools in rural areas and provide an opportunity for open dialogue on rural land use. Forum organizers are hoping to shed some light on why these types of institutions are seeking locations outside city limits. There will be a policy level discussion that provides insight on what types of incentives are needed to encourage these types of uses to remain in urban areas. By providing both sides of the issue, forum organizers hope to reach an understanding of the driving forces behind this type of development in order to work towards a resolution.

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Supervisor to moderate panel of leading experts
Representatives from the church and development communities and leading experts in land use and sustainable regional planning will examine the reasons for this trend and discuss answers to these questions. The forum will be moderated by Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage. The panel consists of leading experts on the topic of smart growth and development including David Abel, the President and CEO of a California-based Public Affairs Consulting Firm, ABL, Incorporated and the chairman of New Schools/Better Neighborhoods; Senior Pastor Dave Sawkins of South Valley Christian Church; Crisand Giles, the Executive Director of the Southern Division Home Builders Association of Northern California; and Tim Frank, the Chair of the Challenge to Sprawl Campaign for National Sierra Club.

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Speakers
David Abel is Chairman of New Schools/ Better Neighborhoods, a statewide civic effort to promote new schools as both mixed-use centers of neighborhoods, and revitalized neighborhoods as centers of learning. Mr. Abel is Pres. and CEO of a California-based Public Affairs Consulting Firm, ABL, Inc., engaged in public and civic affairs. Mr. Abel serves on a number of civic, community and corporate boards of directors and advisory boards, including: CA Center For Regional Leadership, LA County Economic Development Corp. (V. Chair), Skirball Institute for American Pluralism, St. Annes, Trust for Public Land (Co Chair CA Urban Advisory Committee), Western Water Corporation, and SuperShuttle International, Inc. He and his wife, architect Brenda Levin, were recipients of the l990 Los Angeles League of Women Voters civic achievement award.

Tim Frank is Chair of the Sierra Club's Challenges to Sprawl Campaign one of the Club's top four national priorities. The campaign promotes smart growth as an alternative to sprawl. Tim also represents the Sierra Club before the California Legislature on land use issues. He has represented the Sierra Club for 16 years.

Supervisor Don Gage serves on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. He was elected to the Board on March 18, 1997 and represents District One, which has a population of over 330,000 and encompasses 70 percent of the County's land area. It includes Almaden Valley, Santa Teresa, Blossom Valley, Silver Creek, Evergreen, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, San Martin, as well as the Mt. Hamilton Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains. As Chairperson of the Board's Housing, Land Use, Environment, and Transportation Committee, Supervisor Gage reviews all land use issues as well as large road projects such as the Measure B Transportation Project.

Dave Sawkins is the Senior Pastor of South Valley Christian Church in San Jose. He has been pastoring the church since its beginnings on February 2, 1986. Prior to that time, Dave pastored a church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for 15 years. Pastor Dave also served for 14 years as a police chaplain in Albuerque. He later moved to California and was Assistant to the President at San Jose Christian College, and he was a Pastor on staff at Los Gatos Christian Church. Dave Sawkins is a graduate of Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri, and he has a Masters of Arts in Religion from Pepperdine University in Southern California. He is a native Southern Californian.

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Directions
From U.S. Highway 101:
Take the De La Cruz Boulevard/Santa Clara exit. Follow De La Cruz Boulevard towards El Camino Real (stay in the right lane). When De La Cruz Boulevard splits, follow the right split over the overpass. Turn right on Lafayette Street staying in the right turn lane. Turn right at El Camino Real. Turn right on to Palm Drive, the main entrance to Santa Clara University. The attendant at the entrance gate on Palm Drive will give directions for parking. Parking is free. The Daly Science Building will be on the right hand side of Palm Drive.

From Interstate 880:
Take The Alameda exit. Travel north on The Alameda. The Alameda will become El Camino Real. Turn left on to Palm Drive, the main entrance to Santa Clara University. The attendant at the entrance gate on Palm Drive will give directions for parking. Parking is free. The Daly Science Building will be on the right hand side of Palm Drive.

From Interstate 280:
Take Interstate 880 north toward Oakland. Exit at The Alameda. Turn left on The Alameda. The Alameda will become El Camino Real. Turn left on to Palm Drive, the main entrance to Santa Clara University. The attendant at the entrance gate on Palm Drive will give directions for parking. Parking is free. The Daly Science Building will be on the right hand side of Palm Drive.

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