Conservation Corner March/April 2017

By Shani Kleinhaus, SCVAS Environmental Advocate

Santa Clara Valley Audubon recently filed suit against the City of San Jose, challenging the approval of the Topgolf Project in Alviso.

In December, San Jose City Council certified an Environmental Review Document and approved a General Plan Amendment to the Alviso Specific Plan in conjunction with planned development rezoning. This will allow a 36-acre site along North First Street to be developed into a commercial/retail space, hotel, and an indoor/outdoor Topgolf recreation facility: a three-story driving structure where groups drive golf balls into an artificial turf area surrounded by 170-ft. netting. This center will open in the direction of the Guadalupe River, and will have lights and music every day, from the evening to the early morning hours.

We believe that the City has violated the California Environmental Quality Act by providing an inadequate level of analysis and mitigation for this project, circumventing its own land use directives, and degrading the natural and social fabric of Alviso. The City failed to recognize the significant and permanent harm that this project will impose on the environment and the Alviso Community.

Situated in an ecologically valuable and sensitive area of the bay, Alviso is a small, quaint town known for its natural amenities. Along the waterfront, marshes, salt ponds, and tidal sloughs comprise the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge and Salt Pond Restoration project, contributing to the beauty and unique character of the coastal town. Flocks of wintering and migratory birds visit Alviso’s bay lands, making it a popular location for birders. In addition, the Guadalupe River provides habitat and a wildlife and migration corridor, to the enjoyment of the many residents who frequent the Guadalupe Creek Trail. Alviso is also home to the largest breeding Burrowing Owl population in the South Bay.

We consider development of the Topgolf project to be a significant and permanent loss of Burrowing Owl habitat, a resource that is desperately needed to support the largest remaining population of owls in the South Bay. As if the loss of foraging habitat for Burrowing Owls was not enough, the Topgolf facility will be surrounded by a staggering 170-ft netting structure adjacent to the Guadalupe River, creating an eyesore that will be seen for miles in San Jose, Santa Clara and all along Highway 237. What’s more, the project has been approved for late night use: bright lights, loud music, and drinking will be permitted on site until 2AM. Did we mention the development would also be located across the street from Alviso’s elementary school? Surely this project will cause a disturbance to migratory birds and to the Alviso community. 

Our lawsuit is based on our finding that the Mitigated Negative Declaration document produced by the City does not provide an adequate level of analysis and mitigation for the loss of Burrowing Owl habitat and the aesthetic impacts of 170-ft netting. We believe that the Topgolf project does not align with unique aesthetic and ecological qualities of Alviso, and is therefore an inappropriate development for this community.

A win for wildlife!

Los Gatos Town Council has selected wildlife-friendly fencing as a strategic priority for the Town, modifying the town code regarding fences to allow wildlife movement. Along with other environmental organizations, SCVAS asked town leaders to preserve permeability and migration routes. Rapid urbanization of the Bay Area has created a severely fragmented remnant wildlife habitat, forcing animals to traverse roads, highways, fencing and other barriers in order to migrate and access vital resources. With this, conflict between humans and wildlife often arise, posing a safety hazard to both animals and vehicle traffic. By developing an ordinance that restricts the use of impassable property fences, the Town of Los Gatos is making an effort that will make a tremendous difference in the ability of wildlife to move through our area. 

The City of San Jose is updating its Greenprint, a long-term strategic plan that guides future expansion of San Jose's parks, recreation facilities, and community services. PLEASE HELP by filling out the Greenprint Survey at (link no longer available) and prioritize "natural places that support wildlife habitat and low impact recreation uses."

For more information or to get involved in conservation and advocacy work, contact Shani at shani@scvas.org.

Conservation Corner January/February 2017

by Shani Kleinhaus, SCVAS Environmental Advocate

Great news for wildlife and open space: Winfield Project in San Jose dropped! Our advocacy team worked closely with Almaden Valley residents to oppose a housing and trail development on designated open space on a hillside near Almaden Lake. This land, at the edge of the city’s boundary, was designated private open space in the 1980’s and is used by deer, California Quail and other wildlife species as a corridor for moving from the Santa Teresa Foothills to Almaden Valley. Changing the land use designation to public open space and residential housing would have significantly degraded the beautiful views of the hillside from Almaden Lake Park and Alamitos Creek Trail. In addition, we felt that protecting the wildlife habitat and corridor was far more important than public access everywhere. Our comment letters, advocacy with decision makers, and over 1200 signatures on a petition helped support San Jose staff position and convince the Planning Commission that this project should not proceed. The applicant dropped the application and we are hopeful that the wildlife in this area will remain protected from any inappropriate development.

Continuing the fight to protect Coyote Valley: 

• SCVAS staff and volunteers (thank you!) attended a public scoping meeting for the proposed Blanchard Rd. (Panattoni) Warehouse Project that would consume thirty acres of North Coyote Valley. We also submitted scoping comments regarding potential impacts on birds, creeks, and wildlife corridors.

• The 2011 General Plan allocated 50,000 jobs for North Coyote Valley, an unrealistic number for the area and one that could lead to widespread industrial development. In its four-year General Plan Review, the City recommends reducing job allocation to 35,000. Along with other organizations, we have asked the City to adhere to its task force recommendation of 20,000 jobs, explaining that we see this as a move in the right direction but continue to believe Coyote Valley is an inappropriate place for development.

Integrating nature into urban and suburban landscapes: 

• Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority has awarded its first grants to urban open space programs. A conversation with the Environmental Action Committee was the first to highlight the importance of connecting people to nature within our built environment and SCVAS also endorsed Measure Q in 2014. We are glad that funding is now available to support nature restoration and education programs.

• In Palo Alto, we engaged as a stakeholder in the planning of the Palo Alto Parks, Trails, Natural Open Space and Recreation Master Plan. The plan now includes the goal to “Preserve and integrate nature, natural systems and ecological principles throughout Palo Alto” as well as policies that support this goal. We hope these plans along with Palo Alto’s Urban Forest Master Plan will help birds thrive.

• The City of San Jose is updating its Greenprint, a long-term strategic plan that guides future expansion of San José’s parks, recreation facilities and community services. PLEASE HELP by filling out the Greenprint Survey (link no longer available), and prioritize “natural places that support wildlife habitat and low impact recreation uses.”

• On IBM’s campus in North Coyote Valley, we successfully advocated for the replacement of six dangerous Eucalyptus trees with twelve Coast Live Oaks. We also helped landscape architects incorporate native plant understory with native trees on property along the Guadalupe River Trail across from Ulistac Natural Area.

Mountain View is considering an updated North Bayshore Precise Plan (NBPP) that appears to keep its commitment to birds and wildlife while building “complete neighborhoods” of 8- to 10-story buildings to provide housing, goods, and services to residents. Previously, the NBPP focused on expanding the office park while integrating nature into the campus fabric. We asked the City to keep development away from the egret colony of Shorebird Way and to safeguard Shoreline Park’s wildlife, especially Burrowing Owls, from disturbance. 

The Lehigh cement quarry has been polluting air and water in Cupertino for decades, discharging selenium, a chemical compound toxic to birds and other animals, into Permanente Creek and area ponds. In November we joined approximately 100 people in an informational public meeting regarding the quarry. Given the known impacts of selenium on fish and birds, we are disappointed that government agencies have not acted faster to stop this source of selenium pollution. We will continue to follow future plans for the quarry and advocate for clean water and air. 

For more information or to get involved in conservation and advocacy work, contact Shani at shani@scvas.org.

Conservation Corner November/December 2016

Conservation Corner: What our Environmental Advocacy Team is working on...

by Shani Kleinhaus, SCVAS Environmental Advocate 

We have previously reported on plans to pave North Coyote Valley with an industrial-sized warehouse and distribution center. The first proposal has now been submitted for a thirty-acre parcel on Blanchard Road, south of Tulare Hill. 

North of Highway 237/Alviso, plans are also moving forward to build data centers and distribution centers on both sides of Coyote Creek (in Milpitas and in North San Jose). New hotels and buildings are also planned along the Guadalupe Creek in Alviso. Top Golf, an indoor/outdoor entertainment facility, proposals would offer food, drink, music and a three-story golf driving range open to the public until 2AM every day. The project includes 120-ft tall fences at the 100-ft setback from the river. 

San Jose is considering the deregulation of removal of trees in the city. Currently, removal of a large tree requires a permit, providing the public with transparency and allowing us to express concern. We are concerned with this potential change, especially as it applies to native trees (such as oaks and sycamores), removal of more than three trees per site, or removal of trees from riparian and sensitive areas. We have asked that transparency be maintained in order to reduce the impact on visual and biological resources.  

Almaden Valley/Santa Teresa Hills: Should open space near Almaden Lake be converted to housing? Recently, a debate surrounding a twenty-acre parcel of open space located near San Jose’s Almaden Lake Park has caused us great concern. This area was designated private open space when housing development was clustered into an adjacent parcel. Now, housing is proposed for at least two acres, and the remaining acreage would be given to the public for open space and trail development. We are opposed to the change in General Plan designation: it would pollute the view of the hills from Almaden Lake Park, destroy habitat for birds and a wildlife corridor that connects Santa Teresa Park to Los Alamitos Creek and Almaden Valley, and continue sprawl into greenbelts and open space. 

Mountain View is in the process of approving Moffett Gateway, a ten-acre project on Stevens Creek in a triangle formed by Highways 101 and 85 and Moffett Boulevard. The project includes a 255-room hotel, 200,000 square-foot office building, a six-level above-grade parking structure, and will include the removal of 187 heritage trees. We are concerned because of the close proximity of this project to riparian corridor (75 feet) and the risk of bird collisions. We have highlighted the importance of bird-safe design and riparian setback. In discussions, developers have agreed to address our concerns. 

We see renewed efforts to develop Young Ranch, a 79-home subdivision on the 2,150 acres of Young Ranch, located in the southeast hillsides of San Jose.  The ranch’s rolling hills and deep valleys are home to elk, deer, butterflies, birds, and wildflowers; these are beautiful landscapes that should be protected. The developers are offering to donate 58% of the parcel to the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan to help preserve the endangered species of the area, and to retain most of the developed part of the ranch as open space. We remain concerned with the effects of sprawl on the bird and wildlife species of our region, and the continued pressure on wildlife species as their habitats are reduced and fragmented while being invaded by humans, pets and automobiles.

Victory for Crystal Springs Watershed: 

Great news for wildlife and water quality! The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to table (stop discussing) a proposal to open up the Peninsula Watershed Lands to unlimited public access, meaning that public access will continue to be restricted to docent-led tours. A community of Bay Area residents has been advocating for opening all of Crystal Springs Watershed to hikers, bikers and equestrians. Nestled within the pristine peninsula landscape of San Mateo County just off I-280, the watershed surrounds a reservoir providing the Bay Area with high-quality drinking water. The reservoir and watershed also serve as protected habitat for fish, wildlife, and endangered species. Opening this area for the public to roam freely could push wildlife out of their habitat, affect the quality of our water supply, and increase the possibility of wildfires. We are celebrating a victory this week as the tireless work of the Committee for Green Foothills, Sierra Club (Loma Prieta and San Francisco Bay Chapters), California Native Plant Society, Sequoia Audubon Society, Golden Gate Audubon Society and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society has paid off. We are relieved that this beautiful place will continue to be protected from encroachment.

For more information or to get involved in conservation and advocacy work, contact Shani at shani@scvas.org.