Category: News

Last week, at the last minute, we learned about an environmentally-destructive proposal in front of the San Jose City Council, one proposing a change in zoning for a parcel to allow development in a riparian buffer zone. I blasted off the following email and made some phone calls a few hours before the vote. Maybe...

Just came back from the the Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s State of the Valley Conference. Interesting speakers, some related to our work, others were more “just business”, but it was useful to get out and meet folks. Thought I’d just repeat here some of the notes I took on what they said, and some editorial...

Below is an Action Alert that will be posted on the regular part of our website, but because of the press of time, I’m posting it here right away. -Brian ——— Dear Friends, The San Jose Water Company wants permission to log, in perpetuity, 1,000 acres of redwood and Douglas-Fir trees near Los Gatos Creek...

A public service announcement on energy efficiency.I could argue that efficient land use patterns are also part of a larger effort for energy efficiency, but mostly I’m posting this for the humor value. -Brian UPDATE: On a more serious and somewhat more-related note, San Jose wrestles with its ineffective tree protection ordinances and procedures. While...

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association has filed papers to circulate a new anti-environment Initiative to replace the failed Proposition 90 (interestingly, they don’t make any mention of this on their own website). Proposition 90 would have stopped many new environmental regulations on destructive land use, and we joined many other environmental groups in successfully opposing...

Lot’s going on in this new year in Santa Clara County. Coyote Valley will be hot, as will the Santa Clara County LAFCo’s decision whether to require mitigation for the loss of farmland. Developer proposals will come to the table and we’ll have to decide what to do about them. There are even projects we’re...

A grab-bag of news today: Palo Alto commits to an eco-friendly plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing sprawl, and reducing monster mansions in the hillsides, will be a helpful step in fighting global warming. Farm produce buyers link wildlife restoration to contamination fears, despite a lack of evidence. The E-coli problems are unlikely to...

I recently attended a meeting intended to help advise the new incoming mayor of San Jose about environmental initiatives he could take. The group was trying to limit the recommendations to a small number of items. At the end of the meeting, I tossed out as a last comment that the next General Plan revision...

CGF submitted two sets of comments on the proposed subdivision of the 8,000 acre Castro Valley Ranch, both of them reprinted below. This is a potentially dangerous project, so we’ll need to watch it carefully. -Brian——– December 6, 2006 Rob Eastwood, Senior PlannerSanta Clara County Planning Office 70 West Hedding Street, East Wing, 7th FloorSan...

Lennie Roberts, CGF’s San Mateo County Legislative Advocate, attended yesterday’s hearing at Camp Jones Gulch about the YMCA’s plans to log part of the camp. One of the issues has been how best to reduce the threat of fire within the camp. Lennie presented this information about the qualities of a redwood forest that make...