It’s a good day to be an environmentalist in the Bay Area.  Proving that people power can beat a well-financed opponent, we defeated the developer-backed Measure B and passed Measure C in San Jose. Measure B would have approved a gated development of luxury homes on 200 acres of open space in the Evergreen hillsides, and also would have rewritten San Jose’s General Plan to allow similar suburban residential sprawl in other parts of the city, including North Coyote Valley.  Instead, voters chose to enact Measure C, which puts limits on residential sprawl by requiring that developers meet higher standards for affordable housing, environmental design and fiscal responsibility if they convert employment lands to residential.

For months, Committee for Green Foothills has been organizing volunteers for No on B/Yes on C and harnessing the power of the community to speak up for the environment.  With the help of so many passionate people and a grassroots campaign in San Jose, we succeeded in spreading the word to voters about the deceptive claims of the opposition. The result was a resounding defeat for Measure B and victory for Measure C.

At the state level, we are thrilled to say that Proposition 68 was approved with 56% of the vote and will authorize $4.1 billion in bonds needed to protect freshwater resources, bring parks and green space to urban neighborhoods, and provide infrastructure funding for natural resources throughout the state.  Committee for Green Foothills organized phone banks for Proposition 68 and reached out to voters while working behind the scenes to secure additional endorsements and provide outreach support to the campaign. Voters in the Bay Area were a key part of Prop 68’s passage, and we owe a huge thank you to all the hardworking volunteers who helped bring about this much-needed improvement in California’s ability to ensure ecological restoration and environmental equity.

We are so grateful for each and every person who volunteered with these campaigns, to everyone who spread the word about No on B/Yes on C and Prop 68 within their social networks, who attended our phone banks, and who went to the polls to cast their votes – thank you!  Committee for Green Foothills will continue to mobilize the public for the good of our local environment not only at election season, but all year round. Tuesday’s primary has proved that we can win against powerful opposition, and we hope you’ll be with us for the next fight.