[Sosfbay-discuss] Fwd: BAREC: Urgent Action Items, Final EIR Meeting April 25

[WB4D23 at aol.com]

The GPSCC endorsed Save BAREC in March 2005.  Warner
 
In a message dated 4/23/07 9:16:51 AM Pacific Daylight Time,  
kmathewson at secretgardens.com writes:

Dear BAREC Supporters: 
It is Earth  Day, a day to celebrate BAREC and the good it has brought all of 
us today and  for the past 125 plus years.  In the last decades of the  18th 
Century many places in our Valley of Heart’s Delight had a common theme –  
people could be healed by surrounding themselves with healthy food and living  
in a garden setting.  The 1880s  BAREC sanitarium for “feebleminded children” 
was one of several in the Valley  with this theme including Agnew State  
Hospital.  Although the cast of residents changed  from seniors to Civil War 
veteran families to UC agricultural researchers, the  food/garden/health theme 
persisted and is even more needed today than in  BAREC’s past.  Wouldn’t it be  
wonderful to bring back this theme to Silicon  Valley? 
BAREC  HISTORY TALK TO SANTA CLARA CITIZENS ADVISORY GROUP:  Monday,  April 
23 7 p.m., Santa  Clara City  Hall Council Chambers   
REALITY  CHECK:  This Wednesday, April  25th at 7 p.m., the Santa Clara 
Planning Commission will meet to  discuss and approve the Final EIR  which states 
that all BAREC’s 17 acres will be devoted to housing (with a  private locked 
park and a one acre public park) and no plans to recognize  BAREC’s historical 
importance.   The State’s first BAREC EIR writer was an outstanding local 
company  (David Powers and Associates) but they were fired and the Sacramento EDAW 
firm  was hired.  Don’t local firms know  our history better than those in 
Sacramento?  Meeting location: City Hall,  1500 Warburton Ave.,  Santa Clara, 
Council  Chambers 
PROBLEM  #1:  The Santa Clara planning  staff is saying that there will be no 
public comment at this April  25th public meeting.  Their minutes show that 
this was voted  upon by the Commissioners.   However, those of us who attended 
the meeting never heard such a motion  let alone a vote.  Given that the  
State took one year and 1500 pages to write the Final EIR, that the public had  
one week and an Easter week-end to review it and publicly complained to the  
commission about this problem, and that the Commission agreed that there was  not 
enough time for public comment, why in the world would they vote not to  take 
more public comment and more time to  consider the BAREC issues?    
PROBLEM  #2:  The Draft EIR public hearing  for the 600,000 square foot 
expansion of Valley Fair across the street from  BAREC is being held the same night 
as the April 25th BAREC  hearing.  Since the Valley Fair hearing canceled  
their first hearing because of the Santa  Clara’s Planning Commission’s first 
BAREC hearing, it seems logical  that the city of Santa  Clara should do the 
same and cancel their April  25th hearing.  These  two EIRs are huge changes in 
the community.  The community needs to be able to  participate in both of 
these hearings.   Santa  Clara citizens must complain to Mayor Mahan and their  
councilpersons on these two problems/issues.  Email:  
Mayor&Council at ci.santa-clara.ca.us; call:  408-615-2250 or 408-241-0484 (Mahan’s  office).     
These two decisions along  with the City Council’s decision not to allow any 
BAREC questions for the two  campaign debates last fall, makes one wonder what 
kind of democracy is being  practiced in the city of Santa  Clara.  There 
were at least 7  BAREC audience questions which were not allowed to be presented 
to the  candidates. 
PROBLEM #3:  IN TWO WEEKS (MAY 8TH)  SANTA CLARA CITY COUNCIL SCHEDULED TO 
VOTE TO APPROVE BAREC  FINAL EIR AND TO CHANGE ITS ZONING FROM AGRICULTURAL TO  
HOUSING:  Given the above issues, it appears  that the Santa Clara City staff 
and commissions are not about to get in the  way of the council’s schedule to 
begin building housing on BAREC.  If the council votes to approve the  Final 
EIR and changes the zoning, then we are left with no alternative then to  file 
for an Initiative and a law suit at the same time. 
CORTESE,  MAHAN, YEAGER, OLIVERIO LEGISLATORS AGREE THERE NEEDS TO BE A BAREC 
 LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT TO DISCUSS SAVING BAREC:  Finally  at the ninth hour four 
legislators (San Jose Vice Mayor David Cortese, Mayor  Patricia Mahan, County 
Supervisor  Ken Yeager, and San Jose Councilman  Pierluigi Oliverio) agree 
that our local and state legislators, Save BAREC,  and the state need to come 
together at one table.  They are busy and the problem is  finding a time when 
they all can meet before the Santa Clara City Council  votes.  Encourage your 
legislators to attend this  important meeting and to slow down Santa Clara City 
Council’s vote on May  8th.    
KEEP THE  VISION:  The 40 year old UC Santa Cruz Center  for Agroecology and 
Sustainable Food Systems _www.casfs.ucsc.edu_ (http://www.casfs.ucsc.edu/)   
(CASFS) has promised to repeat their  award winning program at BAREC.   It will 
help us all learn more about our dysfunctional food system  which contributes 
to health problems and how to change our habits and markets  to improve the 
situation just as it has done for Santa Cruz County.  In just three and 
one-half years the  UC Santa Cruz farm is producing one-third of the food for the 
campus (total  budget is $60 million), producing all the cafeteria 
plates/utensils/napkins  from vegetables, recycling all the food waste and 
plates/utensils/napkins into  a machine that makes oil for the buses and machines on the 
campus.  This is true sustainability and  something our Valley cities, businesses, 
and schools need to consider and have  as a goal…a closed supply loop.   Wouldn’
t it be great to have this kind of thinking here in Silicon Valley and to 
have UC Santa Cruz CASFS show us  the way? 
BAREC ON PUBLIC  RADIO WEDNESDAY APRIL 25 7 A.M.:  Kathryn Mathewson will be 
interviewed  about the current BAREC issues on Public Radio station KKUP 91.5 “
Free and  Clear”.  Call in questions at  408-260-2999.


 



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From: "Kathryn Mathewson" <kmathewson at secretgardens.com>
Subject: BAREC: Urgent Action Items, Final EIR Meeting April 25 
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:11:36 -0700
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