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Home April 2005 |
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Greenbelt Alliance is lucky to have the help of hundreds of volunteers every year. They take gorgeous photos, feed hungry Go Greenbelt! cyclists, do groundbreaking research, address endless envelopes, lead wildflower hikes, endorse infill developments, keep our website running—and much more. We are starting a monthly profile of some of our star volunteers. To all our volunteers: thank you. Volunteer of the Month: Mark Atkinson Volunteer of the Month: Mark Atkinson Mark Atkinson joined our Urban Outings Team in 2003, intensely interested in making the world a better place through improving the built environment. His idea of a fun read includes texts that are mandatory for urban planning courses! Mark took a lead role in planning last year's San Francisco Urban Outing—doing research, drawing maps, coordinating logistics, and discovering the best stops for the tour—despite knowing he would be out of town for the event. A graphic designer by trade, Mark's most generous gift to Greenbelt Alliance has been the design and layout for our new Youth Outings curriculum (keep an eye out for the curriculum in next month's Newswire!). Mark is now helping to plan an exciting Urban Outing: a smart growth tour of San Francisco for visiting mayors on World Environment Day, this June. Soon afterward, he will be leaving the Bay Area to study urban design. We appreciate all Mark's hard work, and wish him the best in graduate school and beyond.
Support Transit and Planning in Solano County! Solano transportation leaders are considering another attempt to pass a transportation sales tax in Solano County. After two failed attempts to widen freeways without managing new growth, it's time to try an alternative transportation plan. Wasting taxpayer dollars on freeway expansions without controlling growth in the Bay Area's fastest growing county is a bad idea. That's why Greenbelt Alliance is supporting a Sensible Transportation Platform for Solano County that manages future growth and provides public transportation options. We can't improve traffic congestion unless we make public transit efficient and affordable and limit sprawling developments that dump more cars on our roads. Contact the Solano Transportation Authority and let them know that you support sensible solutions to the county's traffic problems, and that means controlling growth and funding transit. For contact info, campaign info, and a sample letter, click here.
Save East Bay Wildlife Habitat The City of Concord is making a bid to develop the Concord Naval Weapons Station. Didn't know the base had closed? It hasn't. But Concord wants it to. The City is now updating its General Plan, and has included development of the base in the plan. It wants to develop up to 65% of the base, and wants to cover half of that with sprawling low-density development that will waste land and force residents to drive everywhere. Why worry about an old military base? The Concord Naval Weapons Station is more than just asphalt and bunkers. Much of it has never been developed. The natural areas include rolling hills and wetlands, with a largely pristine creek running through the heart of the base. These lands are important habitat for wildlife, including tule elk, golden eagles, and the San Joaquin kit fox, as well as a wide array of rare plant species. You can help protect these lands! Come to Planning Commission hearings, or contact the City Planner, and say:
The Planning Commission's General Plan hearings are at 6:00 p.m. on the following dates:
If you can't attend the meetings, send comments to:
For more information, contact the East Bay Field Office at 925-932-7776.
May 14th: Affordable Housing in Santa Clara County Affordable Housing Week in Santa Clara County is coming up in May. The occasion helps highlight the serious need for more affordable housing in the South Bay. But you can have fun while learning about a serious topic! Join us for a tour of well-designed affordable housing developments in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Come see the positive impacts of attractive, affordable development within our cities. Elements of urban design, density, setbacks and much more can combine to create a vibrant and livable community. Prepare to be impressed! WHEN: Saturday, May 14th, 2005, 8:30am-1:00pm Organized by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and cosponsored by Greenbelt Alliance, the City of Gilroy, the City of Morgan Hill, the Emergency Housing Consortium, First Community Housing, the Housing Action Coalition of Santa Clara County, South County Housing, the League of Women Voters, and the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors. For more information, contact the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Run for the Greenbelt, July 31st, 2005 Did you know you could run in the San Francisco Marathon without running a whole marathon? You can run or walk 5k, 13 miles, or all 26 miles— and you can do it to raise funds for local open space protection, by joining the Greenbelt Alliance team! The event is July 31st, 2005. To register (or just sponsor—no running required), go to www.causetorun.com and choose Team 6.
Sun May 1: Ridgetop Ramble Click here
for recent press coverage of Greenbelt Alliance's work Become a Member or Renew Your Membership Support our work to protect the Bay Area's open space and make our cities better places to live. Click here to join or renew, or click here to join our Greenbelt Guardian monthly donor club. Questions? Contact Melissa Wright at 415-543-6771 or mwright@greenbelt.org.
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