Bob Pilgrim is a Pacifica resident who has been involved in local conservation/preservation efforts for many years in Pacifica, both as a member of Pacificans for Sustainable Development and the Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter for the Peninsula. This story is reprinted with permission from Pacifica Riptide, because the status of Highway 1 is a critical issue for every coastal community in California, particularly in neighboring cities

In June 1980, Pacifica City Council adopted a new General Plan, the work product of Ironsides and Associates of Oakland. This was revised, published, and adopted by Pacifica City Planner Michael Crabtree in October 1990. His revision (now 19 years old) has stood the test of time, and it’s fair to say the taxpayers got their money’s worth by virtue of Crabtree’s contribution. 

But City Council realizes that the existing General Plan is now out of date, and has contracted with Dyett and Bhatia of San Francisco to create a new plan at a projected cost of about $1 million. The purpose? At least two elements of the plan can use updating: seismic/safety and circulation. 

This writer has learned that the new circulation element will contain language about a six-lane road between Westport Drive and Fassler Avenue. The ostensible reason for doubling the road’s carrying capacity is to facilitate the morning commute for drivers going out of town between 7. and 9 a.m. The increase in carrying capacity is to create a "segment" that allows Caltrans to connect Interstate 280 with the tunnels at Devil’s Slide. There is nothing new about this Caltrans/Pacifica approach to induce population growth on the San Mateo coast; this activity has been continuous since the Adopted Alignment first surfaced in 1958.

Following-up on my letter about CCWD's failed leadership,  the  board of directors of CCWD will hold a public hearing on Tuesday July 14 at 7 pm to discuss a possible 12 percent increase in residential water rates. The board will only accept written protests against the proposed rate increase which are delivered by U.S. Mail or in person (no email) and received on or before Tuesday July 14. CCWD's water rates have experienced explosive growth since 1999 and are projected to spike even higher over the next several years (see accompanying chart). Where is all this money going? According to CCWD's proposed budget 2009-2010 budget, the rate increase will be used in part to increase employee salaries by 10 percent and to increase employee retirement contributions by 13 percent. Both increases appear excessive in light of current economic conditions and past rapid growth in CCWD employee salaries and benefits. As elected officials, the CCWD board has a duty to act as good stewards of the public's money. They do not appear to be fullfilling their duty. A sample protest letter is on the next page.

We are in the midst of what appears to be a significant statewide  stranding incident involving mostly California sea lion yearlings. With heavy summer beach attendance, there is potential for injury, for beachgoers and their dogs. The animals are cute, pathetic to see, and don’t know not to bite a hand extended in kindness. In addition, they’re protected by law, by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and anyone attempting unauthorized interference with one could be subject to fines.

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary has posted notices in the Coastside area, and provided posters to the Pillar Point Harbor office since they have been getting so many stranding reports. The message is:

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and Pillar Point Harbor advise:

CAUTION: Sea Lion Stranding Advisory!

Sick and starving marine mammals are washing up alive and dead on local beaches.

TAKE CARE! These are stressed wild animals and can bite and transmit diseases to you and your pet.

Report strandings at once (24 hours):

Live seals/sea lions: Marine Mammal Ctr., 415/ 289-7325 (-SEAL)

Dead seals/sea lions: California Academy of Sciences, 415/ 379-5381

A woman came up to me and said, "I’d like to poison your mind
with wrong ideas that appeal to you, though I am not unkind."

—They Might Be Giants, "Whistling in the Dark"

"Whatever their motivation, a fear of change or something more ominous, they have hidden their agenda behind a shield…"

—Jim Larimer, referring to "No Growthers"

"Wrong ideas that appeal to you" is a pretty good description of Jim Larimer’s column in last week’s Review.

Larimer’s column is a rickety confection of name calling ("NIMBY"), scapegoating ("plans for the school were crushed"), demonization ("Do they fear of the type of people who might choose to live here?"), ad hominem ("hidden agendas"), peculiar reasoning ("No growthers", like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, have hidden agendas and are therefore like slaveholders), and old-fashioned hoodoo ("Whatever their motivation, a fear of change or something more ominous").

There’s a word for that: Propaganda.

His faulty reasoning is supported by a muddle of wrong ideas about who "crushed" the middle school at Wavecrest (it was the US Army Corps of Engineers), who "sponsors" Big Wave (it’s a couple of guys who stand to make millions), why Big Wave has little community support (it’s just plain huge), the wisdom of the county’s Midcoast Local Coastal Program (the county’s version was the last minute rewrite), and who was responsible for the US Civil War (hint: it wasn’t Madison and Jefferson).

There are two opposing viewpoints on the Coastside. Both sides believe the Coastside can be a better place. One side believes that this can be achieved through respect for the local environment and the rule of law (the Coastal Act, state and federal environmental regulations, and local planning and zoning), and the other believes something else.

Like Dr. Larimer, I recommend you vote accordingly.

The Chron reports that the power plant that will turn the methane produced by Ox Mountain is now operational. The power will be sold to Alameda and Palo Alto.

Julia Scott at the County Times had a longer and more detailed article on this back in January.

But it’s hard to miss the shiny new plant built at the top of the landfill. Starting this spring, the gas it collects will leave the landfill in the form of electricity — enough to power as many as 10,000 homes in Palo Alto and Alameda.

When it goes online in two or three months, the plant, recently completed by Ameresco Inc., will be able to capture and convert more methane than any other Bay Area landfill. Its six engines will operate 24 hours a day and generate up to 11.5 megawatts of electricity, more than twice that of most local landfills, which produce about 5 megawatts.

"It’s probably one of the largest landfill gas-to-energy projects that’s been developed in the past five years — certainly it’s the biggest project in California in the last five years," said Linda Nugent, senior project developer for Ameresco, which won a contract from Republic Services Inc. in 2004 to develop the plant.

Methane-capture technology has evolved considerably since it first came into use in the early 1980s. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 445 such projects exist in the United States, with the potential for 535 more.

 

Surfrider Foundation is holding a Montara State Beach Post-Fourth of July beach clean up on Sunday, July 5 from noon to 2pm at Montara State Beach.

The county is holding Green Building workshops on Monday June 30 at 6pm, in the multipurpose room

in the Library (new location), Room D-4 at El Granada Elementary School. The purpose is to discuss possible revisions to current regulations, include additional types of building, and set new standards.

Read the County’s staff report on green building [pdf] for more information on what is being considered.

The county’s Green Building Task Force and the Planning and Building Department are the sponsors.

The Liars And The Sages: Telling The Truth From Nonsense In The Era Of Post-Sustainability
Presented by Surfrider Foundation, Sierra Club & League for Coastside Protection

Thursday, July 2, 2009
At 7:30 P.M.
Half Moon Bay – Ocean Shore Train Depot
(Near Johnston House, Higgins-Purisima Road

Join us for an informative and stimulating presentation by one of the world’s leading experts in the field of sustainability. Ed Quevedo, Senior Counsel.  Ed will discuss the meaning of sustainability in today’s world. In this era where just about every product or company now claims to be "Green", Ed will give us some guidance on how to distinguish Nonsense from the Truth.

Ed Quevedo is Senior Counsel in the Paladin Law Group LLP, and Chair of the firm’s Sustainability Practice Group. He has over 25 years of experience advising clients on domestic and international environmental and health & safety (EHS) law compliance and litigation matters, sustainability planning and program development, and strategic EHS program development and performance counseling, both as an attorney and consulting advisor.

During his legal career, Mr. Quevedo has argued cases before the California Supreme Court, the International Board of Arbitrators in The Hague, and the European Court of Justice. He has led high-impact pro bono litigation teams in important Civil Rights, Clean Water Act, and environmental damages recovery litigation in public interest cases brought in state and federal courts.

He is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Environmental Partnership (www.svep.org), serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Multi-State Working Group on Environmental Performance (www.mswg.org), and is Past President of the Pacific Industrial & Business Association (www.piba.org).