Statement of the Friends of Arana Gulch in support of the formerly excluded 6 acres to be restored to the Master Plan process EIR for the Arana Gulch greenbelt property
Submitted to the Santa Cruz City Council
27 September 2005
The voters of Santa Cruz overwhelmingly passed Measure O in 1979. Section 3 of Measure O described "greenbelt" land as that which was essentially unimproved and which could be devoted to only two kinds of economic benefits management: timber production and/or agriculture. All other uses were either wildlife, watershed or groundwater recharge, recreation or scientific and educational purposes.
Not one word about housing. In point of fact, the system of greenbelts established by Measure O was to address the "significant population and urban growth of the previous 10 years."
In 1992, the voters passed Measure I, which gave the City more time to do its greenbelt Master Planning. Measure I stipulated the following values of Greenbelt Lands, in part: they inhibit urban sprawl, serve to reduce traffic congestion, avoid costly urban service extensions, protect a natural resource with significant biotic importance and preserve scenic and other passive open space amenities.
No other greenbelts have been viewed as piggy banks for the City. Arana Gulch is the smallest, out-sized by Moore Creek and Pogonip. It may be small but its protectors are large of heart and filled with passion for the place. Tired of feeling sorta like the stepchild of the City, east side residents ask only one thing: give us, and all residents wherever they live, our itty bitty 63 acre biotic jewel... and give it to us whole, not chopped up, not put on the block to shore up the General Fund. Councilmembers wouldn't want to do to our greenbelt what Congressman Pombo wants to do with the National Park jewels of this nation, would they?
We ask you to restore the 6 acres to the EIR process, knowing that it must, by law, be included anyway. And we ask that your direction be, not to reserve it for future housing development, but rather to send the 6 acres through the Master Plan process exactly as it is: part of, not apart from, the rest of the greenbelt. Alive, somewhat wild, much of it within the City's riparian 100' setback lands, all of it designated critical habitat for a wee endangered floral plant by the USFWS.
Let us be conservative tonight.
Thank you,
Jean Brocklebank
On behalf of Friends of Arana Gulch
27 September 2005
The voters of Santa Cruz overwhelmingly passed Measure O in 1979. Section 3 of Measure O described "greenbelt" land as that which was essentially unimproved and which could be devoted to only two kinds of economic benefits management: timber production and/or agriculture. All other uses were either wildlife, watershed or groundwater recharge, recreation or scientific and educational purposes.
Not one word about housing. In point of fact, the system of greenbelts established by Measure O was to address the "significant population and urban growth of the previous 10 years."
In 1992, the voters passed Measure I, which gave the City more time to do its greenbelt Master Planning. Measure I stipulated the following values of Greenbelt Lands, in part: they inhibit urban sprawl, serve to reduce traffic congestion, avoid costly urban service extensions, protect a natural resource with significant biotic importance and preserve scenic and other passive open space amenities.
No other greenbelts have been viewed as piggy banks for the City. Arana Gulch is the smallest, out-sized by Moore Creek and Pogonip. It may be small but its protectors are large of heart and filled with passion for the place. Tired of feeling sorta like the stepchild of the City, east side residents ask only one thing: give us, and all residents wherever they live, our itty bitty 63 acre biotic jewel... and give it to us whole, not chopped up, not put on the block to shore up the General Fund. Councilmembers wouldn't want to do to our greenbelt what Congressman Pombo wants to do with the National Park jewels of this nation, would they?
We ask you to restore the 6 acres to the EIR process, knowing that it must, by law, be included anyway. And we ask that your direction be, not to reserve it for future housing development, but rather to send the 6 acres through the Master Plan process exactly as it is: part of, not apart from, the rest of the greenbelt. Alive, somewhat wild, much of it within the City's riparian 100' setback lands, all of it designated critical habitat for a wee endangered floral plant by the USFWS.
Let us be conservative tonight.
Thank you,
Jean Brocklebank
On behalf of Friends of Arana Gulch