Shani Kleinhaus
Environmental Advocate
Cupertino
At least once every decade, a developer comes to the City of Cupertino with a proposal to develop properties along the Stevens Creek Canyon. Recently, we joined Cupertino residents and successfully argued against a proposed the Canyon View General Plan Amendment that would change the permitted building requirements on hillsides, and allow 29 units where four units are currently allowed on an 86-acre hillside property adjacent to Linda Vista Park. This development on the steep rim of the Stevens Creek Canyon, with an average slope of ~48%, would pave small tributaries and wildlife corridors! We wrote and spoke to City Council about this fragile landscape: how critical it is to the welfare of wildlife species in the area, and how development in the urban/wildland interface would burden the City of Cupertino with geological hazards and significant fire risks. We congratulate the City Council for rejecting the proposed amendment. Always vigilant, we will keep watching for renewed proposals.
Lexington Reservoir
The ‘massacre’ of Pacific Newts continues on Alma Bridge Road, at Lexington Reservoir. This winter, iNaturalist volunteers documented over 3800 carcasses and found 27 other species that fell victim to this road, including deer, 5 species of rodents, 4 species of reptiles, 6 additional amphibian species, 4 species of birds (a barn owl, a yellow- rumped warbler, a hermit thrush, a house finch), and even a catfish! Santa Clara County signage, placed last year after the road claimed over 5000 newts, unfortunately seems ineffective. We are working with several agencies to identify solution and facilitate implementation.
We are also very concerned with the proposed Mid- Peninsula Open Space District Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections Project on Alma Bridge Road – the traffic associated with this project is likely to exacerbate the hazardous conditions and the loss of tiny lives.
Sunnyvale
Last year, we advocated with Sunnyvale City Council to minimize light pollution by developing a Dark Sky/Lighting ordinance for outdoor lighting. In the Council Study Issue Prioritization process, Council initially voted in support of our request, but the issue was dropped during the budgeting discussions. We continue to advocate this year.
Also in Sunnyvale, at the request of Google and other Moffett Park landowners, the City has started the process that would update its current Moffett Park Specific Plan to add office space and include housing as a permitted land use. This area, North of 237, is currently an office park bounded by the landfill hills, the Sunnyvale water pollution control plant, Moffett Field and Sunnyvale parks along the Bay. SCVAS participated in several focus groups to provide input. We focused on:
Potential changes to the Water District-approved Flood Control Project that includes tall walls on Charleston East and West Channels
Protection of baylands and of open space near the baylands (the Yahoo Campus, Lockheed-Martin)
Provision of parks and open space
Native plant landscaping
Preservation of large trees
We expect an Environmental Impact Report in 2020, and will continue to advocate for a bird-friendly district as the plans are formed.
Burrowing Owls
Burrowing owl populations have suffered significant population decline in the Bay Area, as well as throughout most of their range. The main causes of the population decrease are linked to habitat loss, high mortality rates, low reproductive rates related to quality prey availability and human disturbance. Many organizations including SCVAS have played a pivotal role in trying to reverse the decline of burrowing owls through advocacy, education, conservation and research efforts.
One organization that just recently came to the aid of burrowing owls is the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, which adopted a Habitat Plan in 2013 that includes conservation measures to protect 18 species including burrowing owls. The Habitat Agency has funded extensive research on burrowing owls and implemented habitat management agreements to address burrowing owl declines in the South Bay, its main focus is in Santa Clara County. Our habitat management project in Alviso has benefited from this funding.
One project that the Habitat Agency is presently implementing is a Juvenile Burrowing Owl Overwintering Project. Burrowing owl chicks have an approximate 70% mortality rate during their first year, thus with an already low reproductive rate very few chicks are surviving to adulthood to reproduce. During 2019, ten burrowing owl juveniles were removed from the population (only two juveniles per family were removed) and all the juveniles were relocated to an aviary at the Peninsula Humane Societies' facility in Burlingame. The burrowing owls were overwintered at the facility and will be returned to several existing breeding sites in Santa Clara County during the 2020 breeding season. The owls will be paired up based on DNA analysis, placed into a hacking aviary with artificial burrows until they lay a full clutch of eggs, then the aviary will be removed for the birds return to the wild as mature breeding adults. The purpose of the aviaries is to acclimate the birds back to the original breeding locations. Upon the success of this project and hopefully with an increase in the local breeding population the ultimate goal of the project is reintroduce burrowing owls to new locations in Coyote Valley in the future, to establish additional populations in more natural areas.
North Coyote Valley
Following the purchase of 937 acres in North Coyote Valley, we now focus on the process of updating the San Jose General Plan. We are advocating for an updated plan that will change the zoning of the purchased lands from Industrial to Habitat and Open space designation. For the privately owned lands in the valley, we seek Agriculture zoning that should help avert development into the future.
Join Us Our Environmental Advocate and Action Committee are busy working in YOUR neighborhood and throughout Santa Clara County – please let shani@scvas.org know if you’d like to get involved!