Category: News

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News roundup

Nice article about the beautiful and endangered San Francisco garter snake in the Chron. CGF Board Member Chris Powell has a quote in the article about the importance of small animals to the environment. The Mercury News has two articles of interest: first, that the landslides that destroyed homes in Southern California are equally a...

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Some good news in San Jose

I spoke at the San Jose Planning Commission last night to ask them to consider our recommendations for reducing the cumulative impact from impervious surfaces on San Jose watersheds. They were very receptive, and asked me to do a joint presentation with City staff at a study session. I also asked them to start overhauling...

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Pigeon Point Park?

The front page of today’s Mercury News has wonderful news: the Pigeon Point Lighthouse is, as of today, in the hands of the California Parks Department. This landmark building is the site of a long-fought battle in which CGF and others opposed the development at Pigeon Point of a bed and breakfast on Whaler’s Cove,...

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We’re watching you look around, Stanford

A little bird tells us that someone has commissioned a phone survey of Menlo Park residents to ask their opinions of Stanford, of increased development by Stanford, and their opinion of the Committee for Green Foothills. The callers aren’t saying who they’re working for, but we know they aren’t working for us, and that leaves...

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As the song goes, "Paranoia runs deep…."

But it may be accurate. Yesterday’s Coyote Valley Task Force meeting did nothing to reduce the worries we expressed earlier about eliminating San Jose’s triggers that forestall development. The meeting did raise a new worry though. Developer Steve Speno very briefly mentioned the possibility of some type of creative financing tying residential and commercial development...

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Did CGF invent a new catch-phrase?

CGF has long opposed oversized residences in rural areas that dominate the visual landscape, suck up resources, and encourage land speculation. I’ve never been satisfied with the term “monster home” because the word “home” connotes something positive and cozy, which these buildings aren’t. Last fall I thought of and began using the term “monster mansion,”...

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Trouble in Coyote Valley

A memo signed by Mayor Gonzales and Councilmember Williams suggests that San Jose is trying to abandon its decades-old policy of “triggers” that would restrain Coyote Valley development until the City is prepared to handle the massive growth. The memo is here. Some of our concerns: *The concept of “phasing by the willing” seems to...

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Our comments on the Vintage Subdivision project and North San Jose

CGF submitted two short comment letters on the Draft EIRs for a subdivision in the hillsides above Milpitas, and on the large development planned in North San Jose. They’re reproduced below. -Brian (To see a satellite picture of the Vintage Estate area click here. It’s the brown hilly area south of the main road.) ———...

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Short posts

The Mercury News gave us a great editorial on our effort to reform the enviromental review process at Santa Clara County: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/11440064.htm And another good article on local endangered species, featuring the checkerspot butterfly we’ve been working so hard to save on Coyote Ridge: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11460237.htm I actually didn’t realize the checkerspot had been found throughout...

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A public forum on Pilarcitos

The Pilarcitos Creek watershed isn’t all that large, but it drains the western slope of the foothills from Skyline to Half Moon Bay, and thus brings quite a lot of water to the Pacific. The debate about appropriate use of all this water has been going on for more than 140 years. Today its management...

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