Want to stay up to date on our advocacy work in 2025?
You can now follow our efforts and read all of our public comment letters! Browse the letters here.
Thank you for standing with us for a healthier, more sustainable future!
Calling all Palo Alto residents and neighbors!
On Thursday, June 12, 6–8 p.m. the City is hosting Cubberley Master Plan Community Meeting #2 at the Cubberley Community Center Pavilion (4000 Middlefield Rd.). This is our chance to speak up for an ecological future for Cubberley and ask for open space, a rich ecosystem of native trees and plants, and bird-safe buildings with minimal glass.
Bring your ideas, your friends, and your passion for a greener Palo Alto. Let’s make sure the new Cubberley puts nature first!
Help Stop BAD Senate Bill 607
SCVBA joined with conservation, land use, and environmental justice organizations to oppose Senate Bill 607 (Wiener)—a dangerous rollback of environmental protections and public transparency. SB 607 would exempt a wide range of private and government projects from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including:
Freeways, Airports, Sports complexes, Office parks and shopping malls, Rail yards and shipping terminals, Mines and incinerators, Power plants and sewage treatment facilities and Massive mixed-use developments, even on farmland, sensitive habitats, and wildfire zones.
These CEQA exemptions mean these projects could move forward without public notice, environmental review, or mitigation for harm to communities, ecosystems, or climate
TAKE ACTION: Call your state legislators (your elected officials ) and urge them to oppose SB 607. It takes just 1 minute to make a difference! This bill is a direct assault on California’s environment, public transparency, and our democratic right to know what’s being built in our communities. Let’s protect what matters—our land, air, water, and voice.
Update: Pacheco Dam Project
SCVBA continues to oppose Valley Water’s Pacheco Dam Project in southern Santa Clara County. The proposed project would construct a major new reservoir on the North Fork of Pacheco Creek—approximately two miles north of Highway 152 and east of Casa de Fruta—flooding about 1,500 acres of remote canyons and wetlands. Water would be diverted from the nearby San Luis Reservoir during wet years and stored for use during dry years.
SCVBA maintains that, if built, this project will destroy landscapes and values cherished by our organization. The affected area consists of natural, unfragmented habitat that provides critical refuge for birds and wildlife—an area that has, so far, remained largely untouched by human development, including roads and artificial lighting. The inundation zone includes a portion of Henry W. Coe State Park and encompasses sensitive natural communities and habitat for endangered species, including one of the last intact native sycamore riparian forests. It also serves as an essential wildlife movement corridor.
In contrast to the extensive ecological harm the project would cause, Valley Water’s proposed environmental benefits are both uncertain and minimal. For instance, the claim that the project would provide 2,000 acre-feet of water to wetlands in the Delta watershed is only marginally beneficial—and that benefit would disappear entirely in drought years. Nevertheless, these questionable ecological benefits were the basis for the State Water Commission allocating over half a billion dollars to a project now estimated to cost nearly $3 billion.
SCVBA submitted comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Design-Level Geotechnical Investigations related to the Pacheco Dam Project (and we thank all who responded to our Action Alert and submitted their own comments).
In May 2025, Valley Water presented an update to the California Water Commission (CWC). The report revealed little progress on planning and permitting for this project. Community feedback at the meeting demonstrated widespread opposition. Commissioners openly questioned whether the state funds allocated to the project should be redirected.
You can view SCVBA’s verbal comments to the Commission, and a Mercury News story by journalist Paul Rogers, here.
Off-Highway Vehicles at Henry Coe State Park?
Henry Coe is one of the State Parks being considered for increased motor vehicle access under the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Access Project. This threatens quiet trails, wildlife habitat, and sensitive ecosystems with noise, erosion, and fragmentation. While recommendations for expansion have not been presented at this time, we urge you to keep advocating for keeping Henry Coe wild for the wildlife, for the hikers, and for future generations.
The next California State Parks OHV Commission meeting is June 11–12, starting at 8:30 AM. Public comment is allowed on items not on the agenda and you may join the meeting remotely. The link will be available on the Commission meeting page by June 9th: https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27160
You may also sign for the OHV Access Project & mailing list.