Santa Clara County is a dynamic region facing intense development pressure, particularly along the southern and western edges of the county. The region has undergone expansive growth in the last 20 years, during which time farmland and open space continue to be irreplaceably lost to industrial development, freeway projects, and suburban sprawl.

CGF works to curb destructive development appetites, to steer city and county governments towards better management of development, and to preserve precious open space including hillsides, ranchlands, farmland, watersheds, and sensitive habitat.

Our campaigns in this region are many and varied. All are aimed at keeping Santa Clara County an environmentally sound and beautiful place to live, work, and enjoy.

American Institute of Mathematics/Fry's Golf Course (Morgan Hill)
Byxbee Park (Palo Alto)
County General Plan
County Parks Charter Fund
Coyote Valley (San Jose)
Gilroy Climate Action Plan
High Speed Rail
Hillside Development
Lehigh Permanente Quarry
Morgan Hill General Plan Update
Southeast Quadrant (Morgan Hill)
Santa Clara County Food System Alliance
Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan
Stanford Trails
Wineries expansion

American Institute of Mathematics/Fry’s Golf Course (Morgan Hill)

AsThe Institute Golf Course has a long history of ignoring environmental regulations, starting with an unpermitted and unapproved doubling in size in 1998 from a 9-hole golf course to an 18-hole course and continuing today with the Institute’s exceedingly slow progress to comply with required mitigations for its impacts on endangered species habitat. CGF is monitoring the status of the outstanding mitigation requirements and notifying the City of Morgan Hill of the Institute’s failure to comply.

Byxbee Park (Palo Alto)

In anForty years ago, the area around Byxbee Park, then baylands, was converted to a landfill. While environmental organizations weren’t able to stop the landfill proposal, they did win a promise that when finished, the landfill would become an open space park. In 2011, as the landfill approached the end of its useful life, a measure was put on the ballot to undedicated 10 acres of this parkland for a composting operation. Although many local environmentalists supported this proposal because the composting operation could potentially handle materials currently trucked to Gilroy for composting, CGF did not support it due to the impact on the open space nature of Byxbee Park. The measure ultimately passed in November 2011.

County General Plan
Santa Clara County has begun the process of incrementally updating its General Plan, the document that sets policy and establishes goals for county administration for the next two decades. The first element of the Plan that they will address is the Health Element. This completely new addition to the General Plan will serve as a framework for the entire Plan and will address public health and social equity. Land use, healthy food access and food security, and transportation are some of the key topics this Element will touch on. CGF is participating in the process and will be advocating for protection of open space and natural resources in all aspects of county government.

County Parks Charter Fund
Ever since the County Parks Charter Fund was first authorized by the voters in 1972, the County’s policy has been that the Fund may only be used for parks and trails “of countywide significance” (i.e. which have the potential to benefit residents throughout the county). Examples of County parks and trails are Rancho San Antonio, Los Gatos Creek Trail, and the Sunnyvale Baylands. The Charter Fund has never been used to fund small neighborhood parks or playgrounds in urban unincorporated areas. However, in 2011 the County Board of Supervisors began consideration of a change in this policy. CGF, along with other open space organizations, has proposed a compromise solution to the Board of Supervisors that would prioritize funding for trails of countywide significance that are located in parks-deficient urban areas. This option would both preserve the integrity of the Parks Charter Fund and address the problem of lack of park facilities in some unincorporated urban areas.

Coyote Valley (San Jose)
Coyote Valley is the open space area immediately south of developed San Jose. It is primarily used as farmland, and functions as one of the few places where wildlife can migrate between the Diablo Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains. This vital wildlife corridor was scheduled to be developed into a mini-city in the early 2000’s, but our advocacy efforts along with the economic downturn stemmed the tide of development. As the economy improves, development interests will undoubtedly be looking towards Coyote Valley again. CGF will continue our efforts to protect Coyote Valley’s valuable open space, farmland, and natural resources.

Gilroy Climate Action Plan
The City of Gilroy is seeking to craft an effective Climate Action Plan (CAP) to meet the AB 32 goal of reducing statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite attempts to further refine the Draft CAP, there is still a 40% disparity in reaching a 100% of the required 2020 emissions reduction target. CGF has been a member of the City’s CAP Stakeholder group and has submitted suggestions to help further bridge the gap needed to meet the City’s CAP target. We will continue our involvement in this process as staff works to prepare the CAP for adoption by the City Council.

High Speed Rail
At present, CGF has not taken an official position on the California High Speed Rail project. However, the growth inducing effects on sensitive lands in south Santa Clara County are of particular concern to CGF. We are providing input to the High Speed Rail Authority on the proposed track alignments’ and maintenance/facility station’s potential impacts on land use in this area. The proposed Gilroy HSR station is one example. Although the Gilroy City Council has informed the Authority of their preference for a downtown station near other transit options and already developed property, the East of Highway 101 alternative alignment is still a consideration. This alignment would result in the loss of some of the most fertile and active farmland in the County, induce sprawl with new development springing up to support the station, and forcing more people to use cars to commute to it. In addition, the Authority is currently considering possible locations for a combined storage, maintenance and facility yard in south of San Jose’s Coyote Valley.

Hillside Development

The scarring of viewsheds along with geological & seismic hazards, hydrological and sewage issues, and disruption and destruction of animal and plant habitat are some of the reasons why building on foothills and in hills is problematic . CGF monitors and comments on these development proposals frequently. The most recent proposal we are monitoring is the Coyote Highlands subdivision situated in the eastern foothills outside Morgan Hill’s city limits.

Lehigh Permanente Quarry

The Lehigh quarry and cement plant (formerly Kaiser Permanente), located in Cupertino next to Rancho San Antonio Park, was in violation of state mining laws for years. In 2011, after intense pressure from neighborhood activists and local environmental groups, the quarry submitted an amendment to its reclamation plan providing for the restoration of the landscape once mining is terminated in the quarry area. Unfortunately, Lehigh is planning to continue mining for another decade, during which time the ongoing contamination of Permanente Creek due to selenium leaching from the limestone quarry is expected to continue. In addition, Lehigh may apply to the County for a permit to open a new quarry pit once mining is finished in the current pit. CGF is watching this process and advocating with the County to protect Permanente Creek and other natural resources from these mining activities.

Morgan Hill General Plan Update

The City of Morgan Hill is preparing to begin its General Plan update. This document serves as a city’s (or county’s) blueprint for land use, setting goals, policies and programs for achieving its vision. Morgan Hill expects to focus on two key areas: growth management and economic development. The City plans to keep its current (2001) General Plan’s Vision Statement to guide it through this update concentrate its efforts on updating the Land Use, Housing, and Economic Development Elements (chapters).

South County Vision

Committee for Green Foothills, together with Greenbelt Alliance and a number of volunteers, engaged residents of the South County in a series of design charettes that resulted in the South County Vision Map, a document that represents what residents of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and others in the area most love and want to preserve.

Southeast Quadrant (Morgan Hill)

The Southeast Quadrant of Morgan Hill is an unincorporated area that is currently the subject of a proposal to annex 760 acres of it into the city, while also setting the stage for much of its prime agricultural land to be slated for development of various sorts. As the City has not demonstrated its need for additional lands, CGF is advocating for a more careful and deliberate planning process that incorporates sound long-term development principles. Firmly tied to this project is the crafting of Morgan Hill’s Agricultural Policies and Implementation Program.

CGF recently completed a Study of Morgan Hill’s Proposed Agricultural Mitigation Ratios which evaluated the City’s premise that the high cost of land within Morgan Hill’s sphere of influence necessitates a sub-standard mitigation ratio. Our study could not substantiate the City’s claim and we are taking an active role in advocating for strong policies which will lead to appropriate mitigation and preservation measures.

Santa Clara County Food System Alliance

CGF is a member of the Food System Alliance (FSA), a county-based coalition of people working to create a vibrant local food system, one where local growers are economically viable, the physical environment and environmental services are maintained, and consumers have access to healthy food. Currently, the FSA is working on a Food System Assessment to evaluate the status of the county’s system and where the gaps exist.

Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan

The Habitat Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation Plan is a regional partnership between six Local Partners (the County of Santa Clara, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and the Cities of San Jose, Gilroy and Morgan Hill) and two Wildlife Agencies (the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). The Plan was required as part of State and federal approval for the widening of Highway 101, the Hwy 101/Bailey Ave interchange, and 85 Interchange. The Plan area covers 520,000 acres from San Jose to Gilroy and would use a new set of development fees to protect ecological diversity while streamlining the development permitting process. CGF, along with other environmental organizations, has been participating in this long process to ensure that endangered and threatened species habitat are preserved and enhanced in perpetuity.

Stanford Trails
In 2000, Stanford’s General Use Permit was approved, giving Stanford permission to build 2 million square feet of academic buildings and 3,000 housing units on its campus. As part of its mitigation for the lost recreational opportunities caused by this development, Stanford agreed to construct two trails on Stanford land as depicted in the County Trails Master Plan. After years of negotiation, Stanford eventually built one of the trails on a different alignment than the one in the Trails Master Plan, and insisted that the other trail should be relocated to San Mateo County. Over the next few years, San Mateo County rejected Stanford’s trail proposal three times, and in 2011 the funding for this second trail was returned to Santa Clara County. That fund now totals $10.4 million and must be used for recreational opportunities near Stanford. The County Board of Supervisors will soon be considering possible trail projects to fund with this money.

Wineries expansion
The County Planning Department has proposed a number of revisions to the county zoning ordinance to enable wineries to expand their businesses into activities such as hosting events and receptions. A number of winery owners advocated for a level of deregulation greatly beyond the Planning Department’s recommendations, including allowing events of up to 300 guests with no permit requirements. CGF advocated in support of the Planning recommendations, arguing that allowing so many large events with no oversight could have significant environmental impacts, as well as creating an inequitable situation with regard to non-winery landowners, who would still be required to abide by the existing zoning ordinances. The Board of Supervisors will consider the issue later this year.

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