Category: News

The US Supreme Court has agreed to review whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) allows the federal government to protect wetlands that are hydrologically connected to navigable “waters” (rivers, lakes, etc.), but are not directly adjacent to navigable waters. A decision limiting the CWA would further reduce wetlands protection, a process that began several years...

Following up on our post last week about potentially disastrous Endangered Species Act amendments introduced by Congressman Pombo (whose district includes Morgan Hill), we were concerned to see the Congressman listed as one of “The 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress” by an organization called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. While general ethics...

(Below is a guest posting by CGF volunteer Chris Montague-Breakwell. Guest postings reflect the author’s viewpoints, which may or may not be shared by Committee for Green Foothills. -Brian) Last Thursday (9/22) the House Resources Committee approved the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 (TESRA). The bill, crafted by Richard Pombo (R-CA), ostensibly...

The Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter is hosting a panel discussion in Cupertino this Thursday on the relationship between urban planning, zoning regulations and environmental protection. Moderated by State Senator Joe Simitian, the panel includes a “green developer,” a rep from the Sierra Club’s California Urban Growth Management Committee, and a transportation planner. More info...

Thanks to everyone who responded to our Action Alert calling on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to endorse a Charter Measure for parks funding! The Supervisors heard you, and voted unanimously today to support an endorsement resolution. A lot of work remains between now and the likely election date of June next year,...

CGF sent out an Action Alert last week to call for support for extending the Santa Clara County Parks charter funding, which ensures that the parks will have a dedicated, stable financial funding source. We’re already hearing a lot of wonderful support from the community in response. With permission, I am posting below the response...

Santa Clara County Supervisors will be holding a land use workshop this month, and below is our suggestion on the subjects that need discussion and potential changes. -Brian ——– Memorandum Date: August 16, 2005 To: Santa Clara County Supervisors and aides From: Brian Schmidt, Committee for Green Foothills Re: Potential subjects for the forthcoming Land...

The New York Times has a long article on people choosing to live in “exurbs,” converting farmland and open space into isolated, long-distance commuting, bedroom towns. This raises a host of issues, but one interesting aspect of the piece was the polling that said people are willing to increase their commute by 15 minutes if...

We’ve become increasingly concerned in recent years about conversion of steep hillside grassland and forests into vineyards and wineries. See our appeal letter below – this is an issue that the County needs to examine more carefully. -Brian ————- August 4, 2005 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors County Government Center, East Wing, 10th Floor...

The news coverage continues on the issue CGF raised with the County District Attorney: potential tax fraud committed at the illegally-built Institute Golf Course in Morgan Hill, drawing subsidies for an “agricultural” tax break that it does not deserve. See The Pinnacle News for their report, and The Mercury News as well (Morgan Hill Times...