On Tuesday, January 28, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will vote on an ordinance that would prevent the County from installing new artificial turf on County-owned property. Artificial turf (plastic grass) causes microplastic pollution and exposure to PFAS “forever chemicals,” as well as causing more player injuries than natural grass. Please use the...
Category: Action Alert
Development Interests Seek to Circumvent Measure A
Measure A, passed in November, requires voter approval for development proposals that change agricultural, rural, or rangeland to commercial, industrial, or residential in San Benito County. This added protection for open space and farmland is great for nature and the county but was opposed by developers. In the weeks surrounding the election, a few developers...
Palo Alto Approves Resolution in Support of Juristac
Earlier this month, Palo Alto became the seventh city in our region to pass a resolution opposing the Sargent Ranch Quarry and calling for the permanent protection of Juristac, a critical wildlife linkage and sacred Indigenous landscape. We are urging Santa Clara County to heed the growing movement to defend Juristac and deny the permit...
Ask Palo Alto City Council to Support Protecting Juristac
Update: The Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously in favor of the resolution to protect Juristac. Thank you to everyone who sent emails or attended the City Council meeting. On Monday, December 2, the Palo Alto City Council will consider a resolution in support of protecting Juristac and opposing the Sargent Ranch mining operation. Please...
Victory for San Benito’s Measure A
We are thrilled to announce that the voters of San Benito County have passed Measure A! A strong majority of voters supported this citizen-led initiative, which protects open space, wildlife and farmland and empowers the people of San Benito to decide how the county will grow. Green Foothills supported the Measure A campaign throughout the...
Development Continues to Threaten Coyote Valley – Please Sign Petition
Despite our 2021 victory in gaining protections for Coyote Valley, parts of this critical landscape continue to be threatened with development. Green Foothills is working to protect the valley from a proposed cemetery and crematorium, an energy facility, and the potential for increased development along the Coyote Creek/Monterey Road corridor. We have launched a petition...
North Coyote Valley Wetland Is Now Preserved as Public Land
Today Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced it has transferred the historic wetland of Laguna Seca in North Coyote Valley to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. This transfer is an important step towards the goal of protecting and restoring all of Coyote Valley, and it was advocacy by Green Foothills and the Protect...
Election Results to be Happy About
With the national election results weighing heavily on many people’s minds, I wanted to let you know about some good news for the environment in our local and state elections. First, thank you to California voters for passing Proposition 4 – the climate bond! Second, San Benito’s Measure A, the “Empower the Voters to Make...
Green Foothills 2024 Voter Guide
There’s less than a week left to cast your vote! Here are the ballot initiatives that Green Foothills has endorsed for November 2024. Yes on Proposition 4 Proposition 4 (also known as the “climate bond”) will create $10 billion in funding for climate resilience – including $25 million specifically for ecological restoration and protection of...
Measure A Will Protect the Environment Far Beyond San Benito County
This November, San Benito voters can change the way land use decisions are made in the county. Measure A, the “Empower Voters to Make Land Use Decisions” initiative, would make voters the decision makers on any proposed development that would change rural, agricultural, or range land to commercial, industrial, or residential uses. It would protect...