Palo Alto: 10 minutes to protect the Palo Alto Baylands

Killdeer: Tom Grey

New Survey: Please take 10 minutes to save the Palo Alto Baylands!

What is happening?

Palo Alto is embarking on a Long Range Facilities & Sustainability Plan for the City’s airport. This Plan will guide the airport development for the next 20 years. Looking to accommodate increased future use and large airplanes, the City offers several alternatives for expanding the airport. All but the “no project” alternatives would encroach into Palo Alto parkland and Baylands. A new Survey is now available online, which illustrates the alternatives and asks for public preferences. The deadline to respond is July 15. Information about this project can be found here.

Why is it important?

Situated on the Pacific Flyway, Palo Alto Baylands provide habitat for 270 species of local and migratory bird species, and several endangered species. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the Baylands and adjacent parklands for recreation, education, and relaxation. The Baylands are loved and appreciated by Palo Alto and East Palo Alto residents, and by visitors from other communities. As the sea level rises, the Baylands provide resilience and nature-based solutions to flood risks. Proposed Alternatives 2,4 and 5 of the proposed expansion of the airport threaten to fill the duck pond and marshlands. These alternatives include various configurations for lengthening or re-aligning runways, expanding aircraft parking, and altering levees to protect the airport from sea level rise. These alternatives will destroy habitat for resting and feeding during migration, negatively impacting the survival and breeding of numerous bird species. 

Alternative 3 would expand the airport into the golf course, thereby taking parkland away and filling freshwater wetlands on the golf course. This alternative will also pave a large open space area for aircraft parking.

All but the no-project alternative will destroy habitat for resting and feeding during migration, negatively impacting the survival and breeding of numerous bird species. Airport expansions and increased flights will intensify noise disturbance to birds, visitors to the baylands, and East Palo Alto residents, disrupting sensitive shorebird flocks, diminishing recreational spaces, and worsening the already significant disturbance to East Palo Alto residents. 

While the plan includes transitioning to clean solar power and unleaded aviation fuel, these upgrades do not mandate runway expansion. Any expansion of runways, support systems, or airport use will harm Baylands wildlife, the enjoyment of residents, and the community of East Palo Alto. Alternatives should be offered that can safely accommodate the sensitive habitat surrounding the airport.

What you can do?

Please find 10 minutes to respond to the survey! The survey is available here. Deadline is July 15th. Please read about the alternatives and scroll down to answer a few questions.

Please choose Alternative 1 (no-action) for all questions that ask you to rank or prioritize alternatives. When asked for an explanation, please say a few words about the value of the baylands to you and to the public, and consider social justice, education, and the protection of birds and nature. For example: “Expansion of the footprint and increased use of the airport will have a negative impact on birds and wildlife in the Baylands, on the people who enjoy the Baylands and Byxbee Park for education, recreation, and relaxation, and on the residents of the community of East Palo Alto.” 

In addition, please ask for a new, balanced alternative that focuses on resilience and sustainability features without expanding the footprint of the airport.

For example (mix and much as space allows):

• The proposed alternatives do not provide a wide enough scope of possibilities and do not balance the needs of the airport with the needs of the community and the protection of nature. We need additional alternatives to be analyzed.

• We need an alternative that maintains the current footprint of runways and aprons, add a vertiport at the south-west corner, and increase sustainability elements without expanding into parkland and wetlands.

• Let's continue to accommodate airplane models that currently use the airport safely, but stop allowing use by more demanding airplanes that require runway expansion for safe operations. We need alternatives that increase sustainability features without increasing the paved footprint of the airport

Please say that the project needs to address environmental justice and the protection of nature at the baylands.

Palo Alto: Palo Alto Airport vs. Bay Wetlands

American Avocet and chick: Chris Overington

Palo Alto Airport vs. Bay Wetlands: Survey and Public Meeting

What is happening?

Do you frequent the Palo Alto Baylands to watch birds and enjoy nature? 

The City of Palo Alto is working on a Long-Range Facilities and Sustainability Plan for the Palo Alto Airport. This plan will look into potential expansion of runways and intensification of operations in the next 20 years at the Palo Alto Airport.

There are 2 ways to learn about the plan and to provide input:

1. Submit a comment online

2. Participate in a public meeting (June 20th) to:

• Review facility requirements, environmental and sustainability considerations

• Review draft airport alternatives

• Introduce the concept of runway location and levees as a result of sea level rise

Community input and guidance will be key throughout the planning process. Please join this public meeting on the planning effort underway.

Why is it important?

The Palo Alto Airport is adjacent to the wetlands of the Palo Alto Baylands, the duck pond, Byxbee park and San Francisquito Creek - places that serve millions of migratory birds and the people who love them. Some of the locations that are considered for expansion would take away the duck pond, wetlands, and potentially move levees to protect the airport from Sea Level Rise. 

Airport expansion, changes in runway location and levees, increase in number of flights and ongoing use of leaded fuel have an impact on birds and birders.

What you can do?

Please email the City Council and tell them not to cut fees for parks!

1. Participate in the public meeting: Thursday, June 20th, 2024, 06:00 PM - 08:00 PM Baylands Café at Baylands Golf Links, 1875 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94303

2. Submit an online comment

You will be asked:

• What role does the Airport play in your life? (Please consider: do you use the airport? enjoy events there? Does it interfere with your enjoyment of birds and nature?)

• What would you like to learn more about as part of the Palo Alto Long Range Facilities & Sustainability Plan? (Please note: your response can be supportive or unsupportive of the plan)

• Additional comments (Please note: your response can be supportive or unsupportive of the plan)

San Jose: Help Protect Park Funding!

American Robin: Mary Ann Robertson

Tell Council: Developers Should Pay Their Fees!

Downtown developer fees have been discounted for years. There’s a proposal to cut fees further AND extend the cuts throughout the city. The fees pay for major park repairs and new parks for underserved areas and near new big developments. The San Jose City Council will be meeting Tuesday, June 18. You can find further details on the meeting agenda under item "8.2".

What is happening

For years, the City of San Jose has been trying to encourage residential high-rise development in the Downtown neighborhood, with little success due to the high cost of this type of development. In 2017, park impact fees for Downtown high-rises were significantly reduced, but according to City staff, only two new high-rises have been completed since then. Now, staff is proposing cutting park fees again by 50%, even though the city’s own study acknowledges that these fees only account for a tiny fraction of the total cost of development and are unlikely to make the difference as to whether a project gets built. 

In addition, City staff is recommending exploring similar cuts in park impact fees for all multi-family residential housing throughout the entire city. This could radically harm San Jose’s ability to provide enough parkland to serve the whole community.

Why it matters

Parks are necessary for a healthy and thriving community. The pandemic made it abundantly clear that people need to be able to get outside to relax, socialize and enjoy nature. Particularly for those who do not have their own backyards, access to parks is a matter of equity. Cutting fees for multi-family developments will hurt most those who live in those new developments. 

Parks and urban green space provide tangible health benefits. Studies have shown that stress levels are lower and ADHD symptoms are reduced when people get out into nature. In addition, trees and other vegetation absorb carbon from the atmosphere, reduce air pollution, and lower temperatures on hot summer days. 

As climate change causes our city to become hotter, it is more important than ever to provide enough parks and green space to keep pace with new development. Studies show that neighborhoods with fewer trees and less green space can be up to 20 degrees hotter than neighborhoods with sufficient greenery.

What you can do

Please email the City Council and tell them not to cut fees for parks!

Email Addresses: city.clerk@sanjoseca.gov, district1@sanjoseca.gov, district2@sanjoseca.gov, district3@sanjoseca.gov, district4@sanjoseca.gov, district5@sanjoseca.gov, district6@sanjoseca.gov, district7@sanjoseca.gov, district8@sanjoseca.gov, district9@sanjoseca.gov, district10@sanjoseca.gov, mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov

Subject: 6/18/24 Agenda Item 8.2: Downtown Residential High-Rise Incentive Program Extension

Body:

Dear Mayor Mahan and Councilmembers, 

Please protect San Jose’s parks by voting NO on item 8.2(c) and 8.2(d) on the 6/18/24 City Council agenda, “Downtown Residential High-Rise Incentive Program Extension.” Both the drastic cuts to park fees for Downtown high-rises and the potential for further park fee cuts for all multifamily developments citywide would drastically affect San Jose’s ability to provide enough parkland to serve the whole community. Parks are necessary for a healthy and thriving community. The pandemic made it abundantly clear that people need to be able to get outside to relax, socialize and enjoy nature. Particularly for those who do not have their own backyards, access to parks is a matter of equity. That means that cutting fees for multifamily development will hurt most those who live in those new developments. 

Parks and urban green space provide tangible health benefits. Studies have shown that stress levels are lower and ADHD symptoms are reduced when people get out into nature. In addition, trees and other vegetation absorb carbon from the atmosphere, reduce air pollution, and lower temperatures on hot summer days. 

As climate change causes our city to become hotter, it is more important than ever to provide enough parks and green space to keep pace with new development. Studies show that neighborhoods with fewer trees and less green space can be up to 20 degrees hotter than neighborhoods with sufficient greenery. 

Please do not cut park fees any further! Please vote NO on item 8.2(c) and 8.2(d) on the 6/18/24 City Council agenda.

April 2024 Conservation Corner

Burrowing Owl: Sunny Mar

Burrowing Owl Petition

With other conservation groups, SCVAS petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission to protect five imperiled populations of the western Burrowing Owl under the California Endangered Species Act. The petition seeks endangered status for Burrowing Owls in southwestern California, central-western California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and threatened status for Burrowing Owls in the Central Valley and southern desert range. 

Only 21 Burrowing Owl pairs nested successfully (meaning, fledged at least one chick) in the South Bay Area in 2023. Almost all of the breeding birds came from conservation programs that were sponsored by the Valley Habitat Agency — the Juvenile Burrowing Owl Overwintering Program and the Captive Breeding Program. Habitat management programs, including artificial burrows, removal of invasive plant species and plantings of California Native species helped create viable habitat and provide food and shelter to the owls. 

At this time, the Burrowing Owls of the Bay Area are dependent on human intervention to avoid extirpation. SCVAS staff and volunteers continue to advocate for the owls and to implement habitat enhancements, but it is also time that our state recognizes that the owls are in fact endangered, and provide them with a more protective status!

Found a bird collision victim? Please repost dead or injured birds to dbird.org

Save Newark’s wetlands, sign a petition

One of the most important efforts to protect the future of San Francisco Bay is underway in Newark now, as conservation and climate resilience organizations advocate for the permanent protection of Newark’s baylands. At the center of the “Save Newark Wetlands” effort is a site called Newark Area 4 - over 500 acres of wetlands and uplands that scientists say are critical to preserve to support the long-term resilience of San Francisco Bay to climate change, and that have long been identified as a priority addition to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. However Newark Area 4 is under extreme development threat. If you have not yet done so, please consider signing This Petition to tell Newark: “Protect Newark Baylands, Say No to Mowry Village Project”.

Please Support the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act (H.R. 4389). 

Each spring, more than half of our nation's bird species return from their wintering habitat in Latin America and the Caribbean, including many of our beloved songbirds and shorebirds species. In the past 50 yr, many of these migratory species, including some once considered common, have declined dramatically. To stop the devastating losses of migratory birds, we need to invest in protecting their habitats across the Western Hemisphere. The bipartisan Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act would do just that by expanding available funding for the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grant program. Please write to your congress-person today and urge them to support critically needed conservation funding for America's migratory birds. Write to your congress-person or call their office  today!   (How to find your representative)

Zoe Lofgren: (408) 271-8700

https://lofgren.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact 

Anna Eshoo: (650) 323-2984 or (408) 245-2339

https://eshoo.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact/email-me 

Ro Khanna: (408) 436-2720

https://khanna.house.gov/contact/write-to-ro 

Jimmy Paneta: (408) 960-0333

https://panetta.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact 

Kevin Mullin: (650) 342-0300

https://kevinmullin.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact

Here is what you may say or write:

As a constituent who values and enjoys migratory birds in my community and is concerned about their significant population declines, I urge you to support and cosponsor the bipartisan Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act (H.R. 4389) and help advance this critical legislation. 

More than half of our nation's bird species migrate to Latin America and the Caribbean for wintering habitat, including beloved yet declining songbirds, shorebirds, and more. North America's bird populations have declined by 3 billion birds since 1970, and most of the losses are from migratory species. To succeed in recovering and conserving these birds, we need to expand dedicated funding for these species across their ranges. 

Protecting birds is good for the economy. According to a just-released U.S. Fish and Wildlife survey, over 96 million people report bird watching, contributing to more than $250 billion spent in 2022 on wildlife watching. 

H.R. 4389 would reauthorize and enhance the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act by expanding its authorized funding, accessibility, and capacity. This program advances critical bird conservation efforts throughout the Western Hemisphere by catalyzing partnerships and leveraging funding. It has supported more than 700 projects in 43 countries across the Americas, 40 U.S. states and territories, and provinces and territories in Canada. 

Our migratory bird populations urgently need support, so I hope I can count on you to support this critical legislation.

Upcoming community workshop about the Don Edwards Environmental Education Center in Alviso. 

The future of the Environmental Education Center at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge will be discussed in a community workshop, Tuesday, March 26 · 6:30 - 8:30pm PDT in Alviso. Please consider attending and speaking to the need to maintain the communities connection to the shoreline even as flood protection measures come into place. You can sign up here. 

Bay Area Protected Areas Database (BPAD) Update. 

The 2023 Edition of the Bay Area Protected Areas Database (BPAD) is in process! Updating the BPAD will help in the region's efforts to conserve 50% of our lands by 2050. Please let Advocate@SCVAS.org know if you have an interest in volunteering to follow this process.