Good news - Santa Clara County Supervisors reject Planning Commission advice to weaken water conservation standards

Yesterday I attended the County Board of Supervisors meeting, where they were considering a new landscaping water conservation ordinance.  The Planning Commission had recommended several steps to weaken the ordinance proposed by County Planning staff, which was strange because the staff version basically followed the state model ordinance, and state law says the alternatives must be at least as effective in water conservation.

Committee for Green Foothills spoke against the proposed changes, and I'm relieved to announce that the Supervisors voted unanimously for the staff version.  There was a proposed change that would eliminate maintenance requirements, which would be a very bad idea, and it's not totally clear to me whether that flaw has been fixed - we'll have to see when the draft ordinance comes out.

Overall, some good news at yesterday's meeting!

-Brian Schmidt

CGF comments on the City of Santa Clara General Plan Revision

(Not as many of our open space issues arise in Santa Clara as in other cities like San Jose, but there are some relevant issues, so we discuss them below.  -Brian)

May 6, 2010

Julie Moloney

City of Santa Clara

Re:  General Plan Revision

Dear Julie;

The Committee for Green Foothills supports the comments of the Santa Clara County Creeks Coalition that will be submitted separately, and additionally submits the following comments for the Santa Clara General Plan revision.

*Biological Resources (5-121):  Recommend adding a sentence stating "landscaped areas can provide some habitat value to common native species, particularly birds and insects."

*Wastewater Conveyance (5-123) Recommend adding a sentence stating "the amount and percentage of impervious surface in the City affect the ability of the WPCP to treat wastewater."

*Conservation Goals (5-123) To reinforce the importance of common native species, change 5.10.1-G1 to "The protection of fish, wildlife and their habitats, including but not limited to rare and endangered species."

*Conservation Policies (5-123 to 124) To support above changes, add new policies:

      "Require use of native plants and wildlife-compatible non-native plants when feasible for landscaping done by City services or on City property."  (This policy could follow current Policy 5.10.1-P4.)

"Encourage property owners and landscapers to use native plants and wildlife-compatible non-native plants when feasible." (Following new policy suggested above.)

"Encourage downspout disconnection and encourage replacement of hardscapes with landscaping and permeable surfaces."(Following Policy 5.10.1-P5

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Brian A. Schmidt

Legislative Advocate, Santa Clara County