Green Foothills has historically focused on Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Mountain lions and other wildlife, however, are unaware of county lines, and development impacts don’t stop when one county ends and another begins. As land further north becomes scarce, developers are turning their attention to lands further south in San Benito County. So...
San Benito County is considering whether to approve an expansion of the John Smith Road Landfill, located just east of Hollister, from its current size of 95 acres to 483 acres – the size of 365 football fields. This massive expansion is not because San Benito County’s residents generate that much trash, but because the...
Update: On January 31, the Planning Commission voted to deny the Conditional Use Permit for the Landfill Expansion. After hearing public comments, the Planning Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to conceptually deny the project, with Commissioner Scagliotti being the opposing vote. County Staff was directed to return with written findings for denial of the conditional...
An enormous truck stop called the “San Benito Ag Center” has been proposed on a site that would jeopardize a crucial wildlife corridor and damage the sacred tribal landscape of the Amah Mutsun. Green Foothills is requesting that San Benito County thoroughly analyze the potential cultural and environmental impacts of this project. San Benito Ag...
Green Foothills is delighted to welcome a new Environmental Associate, Jessica Wohlander, who will spearhead our work in San Benito County and southern Santa Clara County. Jessica will work on land use issues and development projects to protect the natural resources, rich farmland, and beautiful open spaces of the Upper Pajaro Watershed. Jessica Brings San...
While environmental issues mostly did well at the ballot box in November, there was one big disappointment in San Benito County with the failure of Measure Q, meant to protect agriculture and ranchlands across that county. Regardless, Green Foothills is proud to support local environmentalists and will help with some important next steps there in...
This November, San Benito County voters will have a chance for long-term preservation of 2,700 acres that they previously stopped developers from destroying in 2020, and at the same time to protect the majority of the County’s 890,000 rural acres from unwanted sprawl development. Measure Q, a General Plan initiative amendment on the November...
Over the years, Green Foothills has worked on a number of issues in counties adjacent to San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties that have cross-border effects. Our recent work in San Benito County has garnered us an invitation and funding to continue partnering with local organizations and the Amah Mutsun Tribe in fighting to protect...
Measure T: A Victory Funding Environmental Protection With over 81% voting yes, the massive public approval of Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority’s Measure T demonstrated how environmental advocacy can achieve positive change and a win on behalf of the environment. We actively played an instrumental role in Measure T’s passage. As Santa Clara Valley...
No on Measure N – Let Us Count The Ways to Say No From time to time, we encounter proposals that have so much wrong with them that the only unifying theme responding to the problems is simply, “No”. Welcome to Measure N, the San Benito County ballot measure that would approve the massive Strada...
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