 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
Home Resource Center April Newswire |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
Greenbelt Newswire
In this edition The Time is Now for America's Cities The New York Times trumpeted cities as not only cultural incubators but also more efficient places than suburbs for people to live. But, as reporter Nicolai Ouroussoff wrote on March 29, to save our cities will require “a radical adjustment in how we think of cities and government’s role in them. At times it will mean destruction rather than repair. And it demands listening to people who have spent the last decade imagining and in many cases planning for more sustainable, livable and socially just cities.” That means Greenbelt Alliance. In fact, we’ve spent five decades thinking about vibrant and walkable places. Greenbelt Alliance believes the kind of cities described in the New York Times is possible, and we’re acting now to protect our farmlands and revitalize our downtowns.
Greenbelt Alliance is on Facebook! Look for Greenbelt Alliance on Facebook! More than 120 friends and fans have discovered our group page. We’ll be posting hikes and campaign messages, and growing our reach. Join us!
Update: Promising Signs for Stimulus Spending How many of the almost 500 million dollars in federal stimulus dollars for transportation did the Bay Area spend on sprawl-inducing road expansion? Zero! Even better, more than two-thirds of the money was spent on transit, most of which will go directly to keep our existing bus and train systems running smoothly and frequently. Opportunity remains to do even better. The Bay Area will likely get more transportation stimulus funds passed through from the state. The next step is to ensure those dollars are prioritized for cities that are planning neighborhoods to give people the option of walking or taking transit, reducing climate change and helping residents’ pocketbooks. Update: Renewed Fight Against Delta Development On March 10, Oakley approved the sprawling 3,585-acre East Cypress Corridor Project along the delta. Much of this unwise and remote development sits five feet below sea level on farmland. Climate change and predicted sea level rise of nearly five feet, as reported March 12 in the San Francisco Chronicle, make this a foolhardy plan that poses a grave risk to the lives and property of its future residents. Greenbelt Alliance sued over the project in 2006, winning a requirement for the City to mitigate for lost farmland and poorer air quality. The lawsuit forced the City to redo its environmental analysis but unfortunately, the requirements were unheeded. This senseless development should not go forward. The delta is not only a pristine place to protect but also a dangerous place to build given rising oceans and levees that could fail. Greenbelt Alliance is negotiating with the developer to address the impacts of building on this Delta-edge farmland, but may have to initiate legal action again if a joint solution cannot be found.
Vote: YES for Smart Growth in Morgan Hill On May 19, Morgan Hill residents will have the opportunity to vote for a more vibrant downtown. Measure A proposes to take 500 homes that would otherwise be built on the rural edge of town and move them to the city center in the form of more compact condos and townhomes. Not only does this ease the pressure to pave over the greenbelt, but it places more people within walking distance of Caltrain, shops, and restaurants. These new customers will support local businesses. Greenbelt Alliance supports Morgan Hill’s efforts to make downtown walkable and attractive. The missing ingredient is people actually living there. Vote YES on Measure A on Tuesday, May 19!
Success: Tour Inspires Antioch; Vote Planned April 14 The March 28 bus tour of climate-friendly and affordable homes for families delighted young and old. Hosted by Greenbelt Alliance and TransForm, the tour of Dublin, Hayward, and Oakland inspired residents, advocates, and decision-makers from Antioch as they plan for a new community near the city's future eBART station. The tour, which was covered by KPFA, showed the advantage of placing homes near transit, which would reduce traffic on Highway 4 and greenhouse gas emissions. Antioch is eager, too, to create a more vibrant and economically healthy city center. But BART is going in the wrong direction and is proposing to put the station out near a PG&E transformer station. On April 14, Antioch will vote for its plan for a new neighborhood near transit. Attend these meetings to support the city’s efforts to move the eBART station to a more walkable location. For more information, contact Chris Schildt at chris@transformca.org or (510) 740-3150 x305.
Event: Bluegrass for the Greenbelt June 28 Mark your calendars! Greenbelt Alliance’s popular Bluegrass for the Greenbelt benefit concert will return for a fourth year on Sunday, June 28. Music lovers of all ages are invited to hear award-winning Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands and other special guests. Warren Hellman—financier and civic leader, as well as a renowned bluegrass benefactor and performer—is sponsoring Greenbelt Alliance’s event this year. The concert will be in the meadow at Dunsmuir-Hellman Historic Estate in the Oakland hills.
Action Alert: Cloverdale's Boundary Moves Too Far South On April 1, the Cloverdale Planning Commission voted to extend the city’s boundary 1.2 miles south of town, across vineyards and open space, all the way to neighboring Asti. Unfortunately, this was not an April Fools’ Day prank. Greenbelt Alliance was glad to see Cloverdale move one step closer to adopting an urban growth boundary, but disappointed at the decision to extend city limits so far south—essentially increasing the future size of the city by 65%. Despite strong public criticism, the Commission voted to lay the groundwork for future potential sprawling development to the south of town. Join Greenbelt Alliance’s efforts to reverse this decision at the City Council meeting Wednesday, April 22.
Volunteer of the Month: Mari Coniglione Mari Coniglione is our April volunteer of the month. She tackled one of the most necessary yet complex tasks: re-organizing the East Bay office’s filing system. An administrator at Finn Design Group Structural Engineers in Pleasanton, Mari offered her expertise in office management to color-code and re-organize the files. She also improved the accuracy and efficiency of the East Bay volunteer database. Mari always went above and beyond to take care of essential functions to keep the office running effectively. We will miss you, Mari!
Greenbelt Alliance in the News
Marin 'Slow Food' advocates say: know your farmer, know your food, Marin Independent Journal, March 29 Evening News: East Bay bus tour, KPFA, March 28 Urban Outings: Nob Hill Hike to Grace Cathedral, San Francisco Chronicle, March 19 Creating Sustainable Communities, maringchannel.org, February 25
Sat. Apr. 11: Rockin' Wildflowers (Solano)
Become a Member or Renew Your Membership Support Greenbelt Alliance's work to protect the Bay Area's open spaces and vibrant places. Join or renew now, or join the Greenbelt Guardian monthly donor club. And don't forget to ask your employer about matching contributions!
Thank you for reading! To subscribe to the Greenbelt Alliance Newswire email list, enter your name and email address at www.greenbelt.org. To unsubscribe, simply send an unsubscribe request to unsubscribe@greenbelt.org. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
