Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

Call for Applications: San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, Independent Citizens Oversight Committee

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Deadline Extended – Due April 18, 2018

Measure AA is expected to generate $25 million annually for San Francisco Bay restoration over the next 20 years. Funding from this voter-approved measure will allow for the restoration of thousands of acres of natural habitat for wildlife, support our local economy, improve access to public lands, address flooding issues, and create thousands of new jobs.

The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority’s Governing Board seeks six individuals to serve on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee. The Committee has three main roles:

  1. Annually review the Authority’s conformance with Measure AA.
  2. Review the Authority’s audits and expenditure and financial reports.
  3. Publish an annual report of its findings, which will be posted on the Authority’s website.

The Board seeks committee members from all four Bay Area regions (North Bay, East Bay, South Bay and West Bay) with special subject matter expertise. Each member of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee must possess expertise in one or more of the following:

  • Water quality
  • Pollution reduction
  • Habitat restoration
  • Flood protection
  • Improvement of public access to the San Francisco Bay
  • Financing of these objectives.

Ineligibility Factors for Membership

No person may serve on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee who:

  • Is an elected official or government employee;
  • Has had or could have a financial interest in a decision of the Authority; or
  • Is affiliated with an organization associated with a member of the Governing Board.

Apply to serve on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee by April 18, 2018.

Application Submittal, Materials, and Deadline

Send your application to karen.mcdowell@sfestuary.org by April 18, 2018. Electronic signatures and scanned signatures will be accepted.

For more information, visit the SF Bay Restoration Authority’s website or contact Karen McDowell, Project Manager, SF Bay Restoration Authority or 415-778-6685.

Frazier: One Delta tunnel is a deception

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California WaterFix (i.e. Delta Twin Tunnels) route. From californiawaterfix.com

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Jim Frazier, D-Discovery Bay, issued a statement on Thursday, after the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced it is significantly altering the proposed WaterFix project to construct one larger tunnel first and build a second tunnel later.

Assemblyman Jim Frazier

On Wednesday, the DWR sent a memo to the local public water agencies participating in the development and construction of California WaterFix and issued the following statement from DWR Director Karla Nemeth.

“WaterFix is a long-overdue infrastructure upgrade that will maintain a reliable water supply for 25 million Californians while also protecting the Delta ecosystem. With the current stated support of the participating public water agencies, the state is proposing to pursue WaterFix as planned, but also explore an option to implement construction in stages. This prudent approach aligns the urgent statewide need for action with the project’s current support. We are eager to move forward with WaterFix to protect the Delta and water supplies.”

The memo further states “The option for a first stage includes two intakes…one tunnel, one intermediate forebay, and one pumping station.”

Frazier responded with the following statement:

“The Department of Water Resources is trying to sell its latest WaterFix revision as a one-tunnel plan, but that is smoke and mirrors,” Frazier stated. “Their plan still calls for two tunnels. The new plan still poses the same threat to the Delta’s environment, agricultural economy and way of life. There still is no cost-benefit analysis or economic justification for the project.  The project still does not create a single ounce of new water.

DWR has shape-shifted the size of the tunnels. This is now an entirely new project. The process must start over from the beginning, with an entirely new Environmental Impact Report.  The proposed new and even larger tunnel will have even greater ecological and economic impacts on the Delta.

DWR can’t just amend the EIR and biological opinions and pass it off as legitimate. The size and scope of a project this size demands a thorough process and the ability for the people of the Delta to voice their concerns.

DWR’s method for estimating the cost of its revised plan is also curious. Instead of doing a comprehensive cost analysis for the revised proposal, they gave us lazy math. They just took $16.3 billion cost estimate they have been using and chopped it into thirds.

When I was a construction contractor, I couldn’t just change my building plans without bringing it back for review. DWR and the Administration should not be exempt from process that all building projects are subject to in California, especially on one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the state’s history.”

FOG – the unwelcome guest in your home this holiday season

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With the holiday season upon us, it is a good time to remember the only people we want visiting our homes are family and friends – not plumbers and wastewater professionals. Disposal of unwanted food waste and fats, oils and grease (FOG) down your kitchen drain, dishwasher and garbage disposal can lead to overflowing pipes, sewage spills, and emergency calls to plumbers.

Traditional holiday foods such as turkey, ham, meats, gravy, potatoes, sauces, vegetable or olive oils, salad dressings, baked goods and dairy products are sources of FOG. With family and friends celebrating together, it often means bigger meal preparation and cleanup with a lot of scraps incorrectly disposed of though pipes that may already be partially clogged and go unnoticed until guests overload the system.

People mistakenly believe their garbage disposal and dishwasher are effective methods of dealing with food and FOG; however, these devices only shred it into smaller pieces or wash it further down pipelines where it hardens in areas which require professional plumbers or wastewater professionals to remove safely.

Grease is one of the leading causes of residential sewer blockages. These blockages can cause costly, unpleasant sewage overflows that can damage our homes, and potentially find its way into our local waterways damaging local fish and wildlife habitat.

Delta Diablo reminds customers that prevention is the best way to tackle an unpleasant FOG experience in your home, and offers tips for this holiday season and throughout the year to reduce overflows, backups and clogs:

•Never pour FOG down kitchen sinks, garbage disposals or into toilets.

•Keep a heat-proof container in your kitchen to capture all FOG after cooking. When cooled, safely secure it and bring it for proper disposal at the Delta Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility.

•Scrape grease and food scraps from plates, pots, pans, utensils and grills into a compost receptacle or the regular trash before washing.

•Wipe pots, pans and plates with paper towels to capture any leftover grease before handwashing or placing into dishwasher.

•Use a strainer or place paper towels over the kitchen drain to help keep grease and food scraps out of your plumbing system. Home garbage disposals and dishwashers do not help, not even with running hot water.

For more information about safely disposing of FOG, or services provided by the Delta Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, please visit www.DeltaDiablo.org or call 925-756-1990.

Forget shopping, Opt Outside on Black Friday with free entry to East Bay parks

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Entrance to the East Bay Regional Park District will be free on Black Friday (Nov. 24) to encourage people to visit parks, not malls.

The Park District will be waiving fees for parking, dogs, horses, boat launching and fishing permits at all 65 parks in the District. Entrance fees at Ardenwood Historic Farm will also be waived. This is the third year the Park District has been free on Black Friday.

“Getting out into nature the day after Thanksgiving is a great way to spend time with the family,” said General Manager Robert Doyle. “The East Bay Regional Park District is pleased to be part of the annual ‘Opt Outside’ event that encourages people nationally to connect with nature by visiting a park or going for a hike on Black Friday.”

Fee waiver does not apply to state fees, including fishing licenses and watercraft inspections, and does not apply to District concessions such as the Tilden Merry-Go-Round and train.

Opt Outside started in 2015 when REI closed it doors on Black Friday and encouraged its employees and the public to explore the outdoors instead of shopping. More than 1.4 million people and 170 organizations participate in Opt Outside each year.

To find a park or activity visit www.ebparks.org.

Save Mount Diablo partners with real estate firm to raise funds for land purchases

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The Sand Creek Focus Area inside Antioch’s and the county’s voter-approved Urban Limit Lines is planned for 4,000 new homes, including 1,200 that are already approved. Photo by Michael Amorosa

Paragon Real Estate Group and Save Mount Diablo are pleased to announce a creative new partnership to further the protection of the Mount Diablo area as the real estate industry depends on quality of place.

The beautiful natural open lands of the Mount Diablo area serve as the nourishing and distinguishing foundation for the East Bay’s communities – from affording us with outdoor recreational and educational opportunities, stunning scenic vistas, critical wildlife habitat, water resources, and local agriculture to making our area a desirable place to live, work and visit.

With this partnership Paragon Real Estate Group and Save Mount Diablo are putting into action the recognition that we cannot take our natural foundation and competitive economic advantage for granted.  According to At Risk: The Bay Area Greenbelt 2017: “Across the eight Bay Area counties addressed in this report, Contra Costa County has the most total land at risk; about one out of every five acres of threatened land in the region is in Contra Costa.  Contra Costa also has the most land at high risk, land that could be developed in the near term.”  Further, it is projected that about 2 million more people will move to the Bay Area by 2045 which will put further pressures on the natural resources of the Mount Diablo area.

Paragon Real Estate Group is the first real estate company in our area to join Save Mount Diablo’s new program for real estate professionals.  Under this program, Paragon will provide Save Mount Diablo membership gift packages to all its clients at closings and other special occasions.  This will provide a unique and meaningful way to welcome someone to their new community and get them involved with the local non-profit organization that is helping protect their recent real estate investment and quality of life through its efforts to conserve the lands of the Mount Diablo area. 

“We are grateful for Paragon’s leadership and long-term vision in stepping up to join Save Mount Diablo’s new program for real estate professionals,” said Ted Clement, Save Mount Diablo Executive Director. “The real estate industry can do much to help us protect the natural beauty of the Mount Diablo area for the benefit of all.”

“At Paragon, we believe in the value of open spaces. Even with the enormous pressure for housing in the bay area, it’s important that we focus as a business on what we can do to contribute to the overall quality of life for all of our residents,” added Hank Perry, President of Paragon Real Estate Group of Contra Costa. “Among the many reasons people choose to live here are the love of the mountain’s natural beauty, and the many places it provides us to enjoy outdoor recreation with our friends and family.  We know the mission of Save Mount Diablo contributes greatly to all of our residents in this regard, and we choose to support it.”

The Save Mount Diablo membership gift package menu that real estate professionals can choose from in putting together a gift for their clients at closings follows:

About Save Mount Diablo

Save Mount Diablo is a nationally accredited, non-profit land trust founded in 1971 with a mission to preserve Mount Diablo’s peaks, surrounding foothills, and watersheds through land acquisition and preservation strategies designed to protect the mountain’s natural beauty, biological diversity, and historic and agricultural heritage; enhance our area’s quality of life; and provide recreational opportunities consistent with the protection of natural resources. Located at 1901 Olympic Blvd., Ste. 320, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596. Learn more at www.savemountdiablo.org 

About Paragon Real Estate Group

Paragon Real Estate Group is known for representing the most beautiful homes in the Bay Area, but it is more than just a residential real estate company. Diverse by design, our breadth of expertise also covers investment, new developments, commercial, and leasing. Our agent bench is deep: we hire the right people and help turn them into solid, high-producing agents with second-to-none support and training resources. Located at 1400 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94109. Learn more at https://www.paragon-re.com/

Volunteer for Annual Coastal Cleanup Day in Contra Costa this Saturday, Sept. 16

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The 33rd Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, the state’s largest volunteer event, is going to take place this Saturday, September 16, 2017 from 9 AM to Noon.

On Friday, Sept. 15 in Antioch will be the 4th Annual Coastal Cleanup Kayak Day. (Click here for details). Then on Saturday in Richmond another kayak cleanup will take place at Shimada Friendship Park. (See below)

The event is expected to draw more than 70,000 volunteers who will combat marine debris at over 800 locations throughout the state by removing the trash that has accumulated on California’s beaches and inland shorelines over the past year.

There are multiple locations throughout Contra Costa County where you can volunteer. Click on the name, below of the one you’re interested in to go to the information page for that location:

Clayton

McNabney Marsh, Martinez

Martinez Regional Shoreline

Marsh Creek Watershed, East County

Kirker Creek

Garrity Creek at Hilltop, Richmond

Pittsburg

Davis Park, San Pablo

City of El Cerrito

Bayfront Park, Pinole

Baxter Creek, El Cerrito

Antioch – 3 locations to choose from. Details here.

Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, Richmond

Point Pinole Regional Park

Rheem Creek, San Pablo

Richmond Greenway at Carlson Avenue

Richmond Greenway Rain Garden & Bioswale

Rodeo Creek, Rodeo

Shimada Friendship Park, Richmond

Shimada Friendship Park-Kayak cleanup

Wildcat Creek at Verde Elementary School, Richmond

North Richmond Farm

Wildcat Creek Staging Area, North Richmond

Eckley Pier, Crockett

County Draft Hazard Mitigation Plan Update available for public review, input

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Comment Period Runs from September 1 – 15, 2017

Your input is welcomed as Contra Costa County and our regional planning partners have now completed a draft update to the County’s Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. In November 2016, a coalition of Contra Costa County cities and special districts embarked on a planning process to prepare for, and lessen the impacts of, specified natural hazards by updating the County’s Plan. Responding to federal mandates in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390), the partnership was formed to pool resources and to create a uniform hazard mitigation strategy that can be consistently applied to the defined planning area and used to ensure eligibility for specified grant funding success.

The County and regional planning partners invite residents and other stakeholders to review and comment on the recently completed draft update. The 14-day public review period of the Draft Plan began on September 1st and ends on September 15th, at 5:00 p.m. You can attend one of the public meeting below to hear a brief presentation regarding the Draft Plan; you can also offer public comment at the meeting:

September 12, 2017  4:00 PM 7:00 PM

San Ramon City Hall, 7000 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA 94583

Members of the Public can also provide written comments of the draft plan via the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan website, which can be found at: http://www.contracosta.ca.gov/6415/Local-Hazard-Mitigation-Plan. The Plan contains two volumes:

  • Volume 1 contains components that apply to all partners and the broader planning area.
  • Volume 2 contains all components that are jurisdiction-specific. Each planning partner has a dedicated annex in Volume 2.

Please direct your comments and questions on the HMP to Rob Flaner, Tetra Tech, Inc. at: rob.flaner@tetratech.com<mailto:rob.flaner@tetratech.com>, or (208)939-4391.

New County Sustainability Commission to help Supervisors make Contra Costa cleaner, healthier

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Next meeting Monday, August 28

The Contra Costa County Sustainability Commission will hold its second meeting on Monday, August 28, 2017, 5-7 p.m., at 30 Muir Road, Martinez. The Board of Supervisors created the Sustainability Commission earlier this year to advise the Board and County staff on how to make Contra Costa County healthier and reduce pollution, important goals of the County’s Climate Action Plan.  The agenda for the meeting can be found here.

Thirty-five people applied for the 10 seats on the Sustainability Commission. Given the high level of interest and the opportunity to include more voices, the Board of Supervisors created an additional At-Large seat and allowed each Supervisor to appoint an alternate from his or her district. The 15 members and alternates of the Sustainability Commission appointed to date come from across the County and represent a range of interests and professional experience.  The members include:

Nick Despota, Member, District 1. Nick Despota, a longtime resident of Richmond, has served on numerous commissions and non-profit boards. His professional career has included video production, writing for educational media, and web design. After retiring in 2016, he began volunteering with an environmental organization to develop its online media presence. Nick currently leads the communication team for the Alameda Chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. 

Victoria Smith, Member, District 2. Victoria Smith is the former Mayor of Orinda and longtime City Council Member. Victoria served as Chair of the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority, RecycleSmart, which provides recycling, reuse and garbage services to the cities of Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Danville, and central Contra Costa County.  Victoria is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of the Law, and practices real estate law.

Reid Edwards, Alternate, District 2. Reid Edwards is a retired senior public affairs executive who worked for many years on all aspects of energy and environmental issues, both locally and in Washington, D.C. He resides in Lafayette and has lived in Contra Costa County, with short interruptions, since 1963. He currently volunteers with a number of local institutions including White Pony Express and the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. 

John Sierra, Member, District 3. John Sierra teaches AP Environmental Science and was the Freedom High School teacher of the year in 2013.  He is actively involved with multiple community organizations and frequently takes his students on adventures near and far including Yosemite and Nicaragua.  John is dedicated to protecting natural resources while creating a healthy living environment for all.

Gretchen Logue, Alternate, District 3. Gretchen Logue is dedicated to community civic engagement, and has a lifelong passion for environmental sustainability.  She is the co-founder of the Tassajara Valley Preservation Association, an organization dedicated to the sustainability of Contra Costa County.  In addition to serving as a board member on the Tassajara Hills Foundation, fundraising for educational programs, this mother of three is also a California Naturalist.

Wes Sullens, Member, District 4. Wes Sullens, LEED Fellow, is the Director of Codes Technical Development at the US Green Building Council.  Prior to joining USGBC, Mr. Sullens worked for a local government agency in Alameda County, California (StopWaste), where he provided green codes advocacy, building and product standards development, and green building policy support. Previous to StopWaste, he was an energy and sustainability consultant at a prominent firm in the US.

Travis Curran, Alternate, District 4. A lifelong environmentalist, Travis Curran has spent the past 11 years working in adult mental health.  The Administrator at Crestwood Healing Center in Pleasant Hill, Travis led a sustainability project that transformed facility practices, saving over 2 million gallons of water, and earning a green certification and multiple green awards in the process.  Travis is passionate about waste reduction, and the preservation and protection of our state and national parks.

Charles Davidson, Member, District 5. Charles was the lead community organizer for MoveOn East Bay during the housing crisis. He then became involved with 350BayArea and helped found the Sunflower Alliance, organizing for climate and environmental justice issues, opposing multiple planned large-scale toxic tar sands refinery expansion projects, and lobbying for Community Choice Energy and a fossil-free and inexpensive clean energy future.  Charles has studied cancer biology and medical physics at the graduate school level and holds a US patent in advanced medical imaging. 

Mark Thomson, Alternate, District 5.  Long-time Martinez resident Mark Thomson is Co-President of the John Muir Association, which works closely with the National Park Service to share the legacy of John Muir.  Mark is also Co-Facilitator of Thousand Friends of Martinez, an organization dedicated to defending parks, creeks, wetlands, open space and historic elements in the Martinez area. Mark has previously volunteered with the Boy Scouts, Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center, and other organizations. His professional background is in Information Technology.

Howdy Goudey, At-Large, Community Group.  Howdy Goudey has an Engineering Physics degree from UC Berkeley and has worked for 24 years in the research and development of energy efficient buildings, particularly windows, at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has also been a member of the City of El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee for 9 years, as well as a volunteer with community gardens and native habitat restoration.

Harry Thurston, At-Large, Community Group.   Antioch resident Harry Thurston is committed to furthering sustainable resource usage by Contra Costa County and the municipalities within. He received formal training in sustainable resource usage from Humboldt State University, receiving a BS in Forestry. He put this knowledge into practice as a Peace Corps volunteer, followed by 10 years of Commercial Forestry practice, receiving California certification as a Registered Professional Forester.  Most recently, over the last several years, he has been leading the East Contra Costa effort to implement a Community Choice Energy program for the County’s unincorporated area and for the incorporated municipalities within the County. Harry is a member of the Contra Costa Clean Energy Alliance.

Kathy Cutting, At-Large, Business.  Kathy Cutting is a Bay Area native, settling in Oakley in 1989, where she raised her family.  Over the last 20 years she has enjoyed working as a residential landscape designer promoting sustainable land options for homeowners.  As an alumna of Cal State East Bay, Kathy now works at the University’s Concord Campus, where she is a liaison for all sustainability programs within the Concord campus community. 

Nicholas Snyder, At-Large, Business. Nicholas Snyder is a Senior Analyst at Tierra Resource Consultants, an energy and natural resource consulting firm in Walnut Creek.  Most recently, he has served as a lead on the funding and financing of energy efficiency, renewables, and energy storage.  Before joining Tierra, he interned at Contra Costa County Climate Leaders and the Energy Division of the California Public Utilities Commission, where he supported regulatory oversight of the Energy Watch, Regional Energy Network, and Community Choice Energy programs.

Doria Robinson, At-Large, Environmental Justice.  Doria is third generation resident of Richmond, California and the Executive Director of Urban Tilth, a community based organization rooted in Richmond dedicated to cultivating urban agriculture to help the community build a more sustainable, healthy, and just food system. Doria is trained as a Watershed Restoration Ecologist, and is a Certified Permaculture Designer, Certified Bay Friendly Gardener, a Certified Nutrition Educator, and a Certified Yoga Instructor and the founder of Sanctuary Yoga. She was recognized as Environmental Advocate of the Year for Contra Costa County and as Woman of the Year for Contra Costa County in 2010. In 2011, she was presented with a Community Resiliency Leadership Award from Bay Localize.

Scott Warfe, At-Large, Education.  Scott Warfe is an Assistant Professor of English and Developmental Education Lead at Los Medanos College. In addition to work in the English Department, Scott is also one of the founders of the LMC Food Pantry and volunteers with The Trinity Center, which serves homeless and working poor people in East Contra Costa County. 

 

Final Plan Bay Area 2040 and Environmental Impact Report approved by regional agencies

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Main focus is on transportation and land-use; also focuses on economic development

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), on Wednesday, July 26 adopted Plan Bay Area 2040 and its associated Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The nearly unanimous vote – with 41 of the 43 officials from the two bodies voting in the affirmative on the Plan and 39 for the EIR – caps a three-year process of plan development and intensive public outreach.

The second such regional housing and transportation plan adopted by MTC and ABAG, Plan Bay Area 2040 is a long-range blueprint to guide transportation investments and land-use decisions through 2040, while meeting the requirements of California’s landmark 2008 Senate Bill 375, which calls on each of the state’s 18 metropolitan areas to develop a Sustainable Communities Strategy to accommodate future population growth and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks.

The Plan shines a spotlight on the region’s housing crisis – in terms of housing availability and affordability – and calls on citizens to join with business, government, academia and the non-profit sector to solve it. The Bay Area must “pursue a multi-pronged strategy that emphasizes the construction of new homes for residents of all incomes, the protection of the region’s most vulnerable households, and the need to advocate for more financial resources to pursue local and regional solutions,” the Plan notes.

The Plan points to two recent developments that will improve the region’s ability to address its chronic housing and affordability challenges. The recent integration of MTC’s and ABAG’s staff into a unified team will lead to more effective long-range planning and strengthen the region’s housing policy resources. And the newly created CASA initiative – the blue-ribbon Committee to House the Bay Area – is bringing together diverse interests to develop a bold new strategy for housing production and preservation.

The Action Plan portion of Plan Bay Area 2040 also focuses on economic development, particularly improving transportation access to jobs, increasing middle-wage job creation and maintaining the region’s infrastructure. Another focus of the Action element is resilience in terms of enhancing climate protection and adaptation efforts, strengthening open space protections, creating healthy and safe communities, and protecting communities against natural hazards.

Leaders of ABAG and MTC applauded the Plan’s adoption.

“The ABAG Executive Board’s and MTC’s passage of Plan Bay Area 2040 recognizes the changes that have occurred to our region’s cities and counties and adjusts the actions we need to take to meet our shared challenges,” commented ABAG President and Clayton Councilmember Julie Pierce.  “This successful second round of Plan Bay Area also highlights the good work that the agencies have done together in conjunction with the cities and counties.”

“The updated Plan charts a smart course by identifying the strategic investments and policy directions necessary to keep the Bay Area economy growing while maintaining a high quality of life,” stated MTC Chair and Rohnert Park Mayor Jake Mackenzie.

The draft Plan and approved revisions can be viewed at 2040.planbayarea.org/reports. The final report integrating the comments will be available in the coming weeks at the same location. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. ABAG is the council of governments and official regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns, and nine counties of the Bay Area.