Santa Clara County conservationists submit their version of
‘Measure G’
Environmentalists in Santa Clara County submitted this week
nearly double the amount of signatures they needed to place a land
conservation initiative on the county’s ballot.
Santa Clara County conservationists submit their version of ‘Measure G’
Environmentalists in Santa Clara County submitted this week nearly double the amount of signatures they needed to place a land conservation initiative on the county’s ballot.
Called the Santa Clara County Land Conservation Initiative, the proposal is reminiscent of San Benito’s failed Measure G of 2002. It seeks to preserve unincorporated agricultural and ranch lands – most prevalent in the South Valley-Gilroy area – by making the minimum size of new parcel sizes on hillsides 40 acres instead of 20.
Ranchland parcels are at densities between 20 and 160 acres, and the initiative wants new parcels to be a flat 160 acres minimum.
“That’s still less strict than Alameda County, which is 320 acres minimum [for ranchland parcels],” said Peter Drekmeier, spokesman for the group than organized the ballot drive.
People for Land and Nature (PLAN), a coalition of local conservation organizations, submitted some 62,000 signatures for the initiative, but need only 36,040 of those to qualify for the November general election. The Santa Clara Registrar of Voters has 30 days to verify the signatures. From there, the initiative goes to the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, which has the option – as in San Benito’s Measure G – to either enact it or place it on the ballot.
But a major difference between San Benito’s hotly controversial Measure G and its neighboring initiative, perhaps, is the strong support PLAN organizers say they have received for the ballot item. Drekmeier said a recent poll shows only 14 percent of residents would oppose the initiative.
“We’ve had a great response from the community,” he said. “We also have a great list of endorsers, so we’re feeling very optimistic. There’s a long history of environmental values here.”
Proponents of the initiative, including the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club, say it will help protect hillsides, ranchlands and agriculture in unincorporated Santa Clara County by amending the County General Plan to reduce the number of developable parcels in rural areas. It also places additional safeguards on scenic views, streamside corridors and sensitive wildlife habitat.
For more information on the issue, go to http://www.OpenSpace2006.org.
