The Deanster
Well-known member
Edit: See post below for 12-10-2020 meeting info.
Thanks again to all who have signed the petition to open a multi-use and Zero Emission OHV park in San Jose here: Zero Emission OHV park in SJ
A main feature of the park is under threat of being destroyed, a 3.5-mile loop trail out on the bay around "Pond A-18".
The sale of Pond A-18 is on the agenda of the Treatment Plant Advisory Committee (TPAC) this Thursday. It would help very much if members of the public attended and spoke in favor of saving the levee trail and not selling it to the water district which will destroy the levee.
The TPAC meeting is Thursday 2-13 at 4:00 p.m. in Room T1734, 17th floor at:
San José City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara St.
Agenda is here: 2-13 TPAC Special Meeting Agenda Items 5-D and E.
TPAC meets regularly on the second Thursday of each month.
Allowing a trail around Pond A-18 will be mitigation for losing a 9-mile bay loop trail at Alviso Marina County Park.
See below text and for maps and letters see link here: South Bay Shoreline Plan Bay Trail Issue
Thanks!
South Bay Shoreline Plan Bay Trail Issue
A goal of the South Bay restoration project was to maintain recreation but we are losing unprecedented access to nature and wildlife with the loss of the 9-mile Alviso Slough bay loop trail at Alviso Marina County Park.
Mitigating the loss of the 9-mile trail with a paved trail along highway 237 and the zig-zag levee trail past garbage dumps and the sewage plant does not come close to mitigating what will be lost.
The zig-zag trail and highway bike trail were part of existing plans, the Bay Trail and San Jose bike trail plans. The shoreline plan does not actually add any trail mitigation to the area.
An 800-acre multiuse park is proposed for reclaimed land at the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Water Treatment Plant in the Alviso area.
As mitigation for the lost 9-mile trail, a new 3.5-mile park trail around pond A18 should be allowed. Mitigation for allowing the pond A18 loop trail could be satisfied by creating bird nesting islands in pond A18 and providing the species and habitat stewardship, staff and funding for the pond in perpetuity.
The pond A-18 trail is an important aspect of the park to get families and the elderly/disabled out into nature and on the bay. Having the loop trail as part of an official park will allow for controlled use such as seasonal closures and park staff for law enforcement and environmental stewardship.
Pond A-18 is not part of the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge and is owned by San Jose. San Jose is currently planning to sell the pond to the Santa Clara County Water District. If the sale goes through without the stipulation of including a bay trail the levee berm will be destroyed and the trail opportunity will be lost forever.
Recreation is the third most important goal of the Shoreline project but is lacking in the plan.
The Shoreline Plan does not retain the level of existing recreation and mitigation is inadequate. This plan is unbalanced without any recreation stakeholders and very little public input and needs more recreation opportunities to be balanced.
Under the McAteer-Petris Act, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) mandates increased public access to shoreline and waters and encourages maximum feasible public access to the bay and its shoreline.
The San Francisco Bay Plan contains policies that encourage the development of waterfront
recreation facilities and linkages between existing shoreline parks.
The BCDC amended the Plan in August 2005. The amendment focuses on the significance of the need to maximize public access and recreational opportunities along with the environmental aspect. The amendment failed to meet that goal in the Shoreline Plan.
See attached letter from Congressman Ro Khanna and response from the US Fish and Wildlife disavowing their purview over Pond A-18.
Thanks again to all who have signed the petition to open a multi-use and Zero Emission OHV park in San Jose here: Zero Emission OHV park in SJ
A main feature of the park is under threat of being destroyed, a 3.5-mile loop trail out on the bay around "Pond A-18".
The sale of Pond A-18 is on the agenda of the Treatment Plant Advisory Committee (TPAC) this Thursday. It would help very much if members of the public attended and spoke in favor of saving the levee trail and not selling it to the water district which will destroy the levee.
The TPAC meeting is Thursday 2-13 at 4:00 p.m. in Room T1734, 17th floor at:
San José City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara St.
Agenda is here: 2-13 TPAC Special Meeting Agenda Items 5-D and E.
TPAC meets regularly on the second Thursday of each month.
Allowing a trail around Pond A-18 will be mitigation for losing a 9-mile bay loop trail at Alviso Marina County Park.
See below text and for maps and letters see link here: South Bay Shoreline Plan Bay Trail Issue
Thanks!
South Bay Shoreline Plan Bay Trail Issue
A goal of the South Bay restoration project was to maintain recreation but we are losing unprecedented access to nature and wildlife with the loss of the 9-mile Alviso Slough bay loop trail at Alviso Marina County Park.
Mitigating the loss of the 9-mile trail with a paved trail along highway 237 and the zig-zag levee trail past garbage dumps and the sewage plant does not come close to mitigating what will be lost.
The zig-zag trail and highway bike trail were part of existing plans, the Bay Trail and San Jose bike trail plans. The shoreline plan does not actually add any trail mitigation to the area.
An 800-acre multiuse park is proposed for reclaimed land at the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Water Treatment Plant in the Alviso area.
As mitigation for the lost 9-mile trail, a new 3.5-mile park trail around pond A18 should be allowed. Mitigation for allowing the pond A18 loop trail could be satisfied by creating bird nesting islands in pond A18 and providing the species and habitat stewardship, staff and funding for the pond in perpetuity.
The pond A-18 trail is an important aspect of the park to get families and the elderly/disabled out into nature and on the bay. Having the loop trail as part of an official park will allow for controlled use such as seasonal closures and park staff for law enforcement and environmental stewardship.
Pond A-18 is not part of the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge and is owned by San Jose. San Jose is currently planning to sell the pond to the Santa Clara County Water District. If the sale goes through without the stipulation of including a bay trail the levee berm will be destroyed and the trail opportunity will be lost forever.
Recreation is the third most important goal of the Shoreline project but is lacking in the plan.
The Shoreline Plan does not retain the level of existing recreation and mitigation is inadequate. This plan is unbalanced without any recreation stakeholders and very little public input and needs more recreation opportunities to be balanced.
Under the McAteer-Petris Act, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) mandates increased public access to shoreline and waters and encourages maximum feasible public access to the bay and its shoreline.
The San Francisco Bay Plan contains policies that encourage the development of waterfront
recreation facilities and linkages between existing shoreline parks.
The BCDC amended the Plan in August 2005. The amendment focuses on the significance of the need to maximize public access and recreational opportunities along with the environmental aspect. The amendment failed to meet that goal in the Shoreline Plan.
See attached letter from Congressman Ro Khanna and response from the US Fish and Wildlife disavowing their purview over Pond A-18.
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