On Tuesday, October 6, county supervisors voted to require that the county take steps to protect wildlife migration corridors and native serpentine plant habitats from the negative impacts of building a solar power facility in North Coyote Valley.
Santa Clara County is planning to construct several solar power “farms” at various locations, including a 9-acre site on Malech Road south of San Jose. Though supportive of the underlying project, we were concerned about this particular site due to its location in the midst of the North Coyote Valley wildlife migration corridors and adjacent to serpentine soils, home to threatened and endangered native plants.
On behalf of Committee for Green Foothills and working with other environmental groups, we requested that the project utilize wildlife-friendly fencing in place of barbed wire and that the county’s contractors follow certain procedures (warning signs for construction crews, requiring all boots and equipment be washed before entering, etc.) to protect the serpentine habitat.
During the meeting, Supervisor Cindy Chavez moved that our recommendations be adopted in their entirety, and the board voted to approve. Thank you to Cindy Chavez and her fellow supervisors for protecting wildlife and native plants in Santa Clara County!
Sincerely,
Alice Kaufman
Legislative Advocate
PS: for more information on our position on this project, please see the advocacy letter submitted by Committee for Green Foothills and other environmental groups.
Leave a Reply