2019-04-10 - NextDoor Forum Dialogue - State of CA - plans to create Small Water System Authority Agencies
2019-04-10 - NextDoor Forum Dialogue - State of CA - plans to create Small Water System Authority Agencies
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This thread was started on 4/6. I didn't find it until 4/10, and I thought it a great place to add my thoughts about the MOCOWS meeting on 4/9. It starts off talking about that meeting (because it was posted before the meeting), but at the bottom we'll get into post meeting dialogue including some of my mild analysis and opinions about superbly filtered water for toilet use AND a childhood favorite, wiener schnitzel.
Then Jim Kimball Posted a whopper letter to Governor Newsom. It strays from the water topic into general governing chaos to expose other issues and it has a LOT of signatures at the bottom...
Too big to screen shot. I cut and pasted non formatted text. I could figure out the numbering, so I did the best I could...
Posted by Jim:
Sustainable Development California Environmental Quality Act April 2, 2019
RE: Keeping CEQA Strong to Protect Californians’ Health and Environment To the Honorable Members of the California State Senate and Assembly and
Governor Newsom:
For nearly 50 years, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has protected our environment, improved the livability of our cities and communities, and kept Californians healthy and safe.
CEQA plays a vital role in both preserving California’s unparalleled natural resources and protecting the rights of residents to weigh in on the land use decisions that most affect them.
Development interests have long complained about California’s flagship environmental law. Now they are trying to blame CEQA for the state’s housing crisis.
However, CEQA did not cause the housing crisis, and weakening CEQA will not solve it. Rather, if implemented properly, CEQA can be an effective tool in helping to address California’s housing problems by encouraging sustainable development. CEQA is often unfairly accused of “stopping” housing and other projects.
That’s not the way the law works.
CEQA simply requires officials to consider environmental impacts and do what can be done to avoid or reduce these impacts, before moving forward.
Major changes to CEQA would pose a significant threat to our natural environment, including critical resources like clean air and clean water, and to California’s most disadvantaged communities.
The Senate Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality held a joint hearing on March 12, 2019 about CEQA’s role in development.
To aid the discussion, the legislators prepared a background paper, which made key findings regarding recent CEQA studies and the true causes of California’s housing crisis.
1We applaud these Committees for their efforts to dispel the myths surrounding CEQA, and strongly urge the Legislature to resist efforts to weaken this essential law. Studies show CEQA is not a major factor in California’s housing crisis; rather, CEQA encourages sustainable development. CEQA is not to blame for the housing crisis. A recent UC Berkeley study of five expensive Bay Area cities shows that most cities effectively streamline CEQA review for residential projects and very few projects require full environmental impact reports.
2 According to the study, the pace of development is influenced mostly by local zoning requirements, not by CEQA. A new follow-up study focusing on five southern California cities similarly suggests that local laws and approval procedures play a very significant role in determining the rate of entitlement of affordable housing.
3 The Legislature can build on recent efforts to address the housing crisis by helping cities increase zoned capacity for housing, especially affordable housing, near public transit and jobs. Notably, CEQA contains numerous exemptions and streamlining provisions that speed up housing construction and infill-type development. For example, CEQA excludes from additional environmental
AND THEN THERE WAS A CRAP LOAD OF SEEMINGLY VERY INTERESTING REFERENCES AND INFORMATION . UNFORTUNATLEY, I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT THE NUMBERING TO PRESENT IT PROPERLY... (SO SEEK OUT THIS LETTER YOURSELF OR FOREWARD ME A LINK TO IT?)
4 CEQA should be preserved and strengthened, not weakened. Strong environmental laws like CEQA ensure that California remains a healthy place to live, work, and visit. Our state enjoys vibrant cities, unrivaled natural areas, clean air and water, and a strong agricultural sector. All of these aspects of California’s way of life and economy are worth protecting—and CEQA has been key in doing just that. Californians should not be forced to make a false choice between affordable housing and a clean environment.
We can—and must—have both.
Sincerely, Kathryn Phillips, Director, Sierra Club California
David Pettit, Staff Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council Howard Penn, Executive Director, Planning and Conservation League Gladys Limon, Executive Director, California Environmental Justice Alliance Kim Delfino, California Program Director, Defenders of Wildlife John Buse, Senior Counsel, Legal Director, Center for Biological Diversity Erica Martinez, California Policy Advocate, Earthjustice Patty Clary, Executive Director, Californians for Alternatives to Toxics Greg Suba, Conservation Program Director, California Native Plant Society Ashley Werner, Senior Attorney, Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability Shana Lazerow, Legal Director, Communities for a Better Environment Allen Hernandez, Executive Director, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice Caroline Farrell, Executive Director, Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment Mary Creasman, Chief Executive Officer, California League of Conservation Voters Helen Hutchison, President, League of Women Voters of California Michael Lynes, Director of Public Policy, Audubon California Eugene Wilson, President, California Clean Energy Committee Sumona Majumdar, General Counsel and Director, Earth Island Advocates Diane Takvorian, Executive Director, Environmental Health Coalition Tim Little, Executive Director, Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment Curtis Knight, Executive Director, California Trout Kim Kolpin, Executive Director, Bolsa Chica Land Trust Sean Bothwell, Executive Director, California Coastkeeper Alliance Janet Cobb, Executive Officer, California Wildlife Foundation/California Oaks Sarah Aird, Co-Director, Californians for Pesticide Reform Chay Peterson, Founder and Ed Amador, President, Canyon Land Conservation Fund 5 Linda Rudolph, Director, Center for Climate Change and Health Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director, Center for Food Safety Leah Simon-Weisberg, Directing Attorney, Centro Legal de la Raza Jason Merrick, Board Member, Citizens Advocating for Roblar Rural Quality Carin High, Co-Chair, Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge Robin Gerber, Chair of the Board, Citizens for Responsible Oil and Gas Dan Howells, California State Director, Clean Water Action Duncan McFetridge, Director, Cleveland National Forest Foundation Nicole Capretz, Founder and Executive Director, Climate Action Campaign Joseph K. Lyou, President/CEO, Coalition for Clean Air Alan Levine, Director, Coast Action Group Marco Gonzalez, Executive Director, Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation Megan Fluke, Executive Director, Committee for Green Foothills Susan Robinson, President, Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch Bob Purvey, President/Chairman, EcoMalibu Scott Sutherland, Vice Chair, Elfin Forest / Harmony Grove Town Council Dan Silver, Executive Director, Endangered Habitats League Morgan Patton, Executive Director, Environmental Action Committee of West Marin Linda Krop, Chief Counsel, Environmental Defense Center Colin Bailey, Executive Director and Managing Attorney, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water Tom Wheeler, Executive Director, Environmental Protection Information Center Bill Allayaud, California Director of Government Affairs, Environmental Working Group Jim Walsh, Renewable Energy Policy Analyst, Food & Water Watch Katherine Evatt, Board President, Foothill Conservancy Rick Coates, Executive Director, Forest Unlimited Paul Hughes, Executive Director, Forests Forever Anna Ransome, Founder, Friends of Atascadero Wetlands Angela Lindstrom, Friends of Coyote Hills Bridget Beytagh, Friends of Graton Marian Dodge, President, Friends of Griffith Park Michael Wellborn, President, Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks Matt Maguire, Secretary, Steering Committee, Friends of Lafferty Park 6 Nadine Scott, Founder/Attorney at Law, Friends of Loma Alta Creek Deborah Knight, Executive Director, Friends of Rose Canyon Stephanie Tidwell, Executive Director, Friends of the Eel River Marissa Christiansen, Executive Director, Friends of the Los Angeles River Harriet Buckwalter, Co-Chair, Friends of the Mark West Watershed Teri Shore, Regional Director, North Bay, Greenbelt Alliance JP Theberge, Executive Director, Grow the San Diego Way Dianne Prado, Executive Director, HEART L.A. Stevee Duber, CEO, High Sierra Rural Alliance Claire Schlotterbeck, Executive Director, Hills for Everyone Darcie Goodman Collins, Chief Executive Officer, League to Save Lake Tahoe Elizabeth Lambe, Executive Director, Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust Jeff Kuyper, Executive Director, Los Padres ForestWatch Linda J. Novy, President, Marin Conservation League Rika Gopinath, CoChair, MOMS Advocating Sustainability Geoffrey McQuilkin, Executive Director, Mono Lake Committee Alexis Ollar, Executive Director, Mountain Area Preservation Foundation Nils Lunder, Executive Director, Mountain Meadows Conservancy Susan Harvey, President, North County Watch Debbie Astrin, Executive Committee Member, Petaluma Community Guild David Keller, Founder, Petaluma River Council Martha Dina Argüello, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles Diane Nygaard, President, Preserve Calavera Padi Selwyn, Co-chair, Preserve Rural Sonoma County Manal J. Aboelata, MPH, Deputy Executive Director, Prevention Institute Laura Solorio, President, Protect Monterey County Joel Chaban, Secretary, Redwood Coast Conservancy Huey D. Johnson, Founder and Chair, Resource Renewal Institute Brenda Adelman, Chair of the Board, Russian River Watershed Protection Committee Manu Koenig, Executive Director, Santa Cruz County Greenway Seth Adams, Land Conservation Director, Save Mount Diablo Bruce Coons, Executive Director, Save Our Heritage Organisation Katherine O’Dea, Executive Director, Save Our Shores 7 Stephen Green, President, Save the American River Association Susan Britting, Executive Director, Sierra Forest Legacy Jenny Hatch, Executive Director, Sierra Nevada Alliance Tom Mooers, Executive Director, Sierra Watch Bob Berman, Chair, Solano County Orderly Growth Committee Rev. Earl Koteen, Member, Coordinating Committee, SunFlower Alliance Melanie Winter, Director, The River Project David Schonbrunn, President, TRANSDEF Kathy Pons, President, Valley of the Moon Alliance Diane Underhill, President, Ventura Citizens for Hillside Preservation Dee Swanhuyser, Board Chair, Western Sonoma County Rural Alliance Janus Matthes and Merrilyn Joyce, Wine & Water Watch
End of dialogue as of 4/11/2019...
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