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Greenbelt Newswire
In this edition Greenbelt Alliance Advocates for Farms at Slow Food Nation Eating local, sustainable food was the message of Slow Food Nation, a weekend-long festival in San Francisco, and Greenbelt Alliance Executive Director Jeremy Madsen made the connection to our obligation to save agricultural land from development. "Preserving Bay Area farmland is an increasingly urgent issue," he said. "We simply cannot make local, sustainable food available—much less mainstream—if we don’t have local farms." Madsen made his remarks on the "No Farms, No Food" panel during the festival's Changemakers Day last Friday. Moderated by the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, the panel also included leaders from the American Farmland Trust, Sonoma Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, and California Rangeland Trust.Slowing down was a component of the festival, too. Greenbelt Alliance's Ken Lavin did his part by leading a sold-out slow hike in East Bay watershed land on Saturday. Greenbelt Alliance offered a second slow hike on Sunday in Marin’s Tennessee Valley, which also sold out.
Event: Eat Local Food at Anniversary Party Sept. 10 Since 1958, Greenbelt Alliance has championed agricultural land preservation, so it's only fitting that farm produce will be on the table at our 50th anniversary party Sept. 10. Offering a "Taste of the Greenbelt," the celebration will feature farm-fresh ingredients from Knoll Farms in Brentwood, Webb Ranch in Menlo Park, Frog Hollow Farm and several Sonoma organic farms. The food will be prepared by acclaimed chefs from Betelnut Restaurant in San Francisco, San Mateo’s Flea Street Café, Wild Thyme Events, and Café Rouge in Berkeley Don't miss this incredible buffet, paired with regional wine. Buy your tickets now!
Success: Victories for Farmland in Solano and American Canyon Good news! Greenbelt Alliance and our allies worked hard (and flexed some legal muscle) to incorporate Solano County's Orderly Growth Initiative into the new Solano General Plan. On the ballot November 4, Measure T includes the General Plan and the renewal of Orderly Growth to protect over 440,000 acres of agricultural land and open space from development. Vote Yes on T in November! More great news nearby: American Canyon, the fastest growing city in Napa County, adopted a rural urban limit line August 5. The City Council approved the line after receiving signatures from over 25% of voters in support of the initiative. Now, precious rural land outside the line will be protected from development until 2030.
Success: Praise and Press for San Jose Urban Outing More than 70 people—including San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Kansen Chu—attended the well-received August urban outing in North San Jose. Greenbelt Alliance led elected officials, developers, architects, bike and pedestrian advocates, and members of neighborhood groups on a tour of the redevelopment area to promote good urban design along the light-rail line on North First Street. Advocates at the event urged the city to make streets friendlier to bike and pedestrian travel. The group also took light rail, with transit passes donated by VTA, to visit two developments, and the event concluded with a lunchtime panel at Bella Mia Restaurant. The San Francisco Chronicle ran a lengthy follow-up article the next day. Thanks to our cosponsors and to all who attended and made this event a success!
Action Alert: Building Consensus for the Reuse of Concord Base The last and most important public workshop for the Concord Naval Weapons Station is on September 13, when a consensus must be reached on the best reuse of the former base. Residents can recommend only one plan to the City Council and Community Advisory Committee. Come out to join Greenbelt Alliance and local partners to call for the "conservation and concentration" alternatives. Also, call supporters to urge attendance! Volunteer to make calls by contacting Christina at cwong@greenbelt.org.
Urban Outing: Tour East Bay Avenue's Potential Oct. 11 In the East Bay, leaders are focusing on the San Pablo Avenue corridor as an opportunity to provide new homes, jobs, and shops so more people can take advantage of the area’s many public transportation options. Residents and officials from El Cerrito and Richmond are teaming up to envision a better avenue between their cities. To showcase opportunities to create walkable neighborhoods, Greenbelt Alliance will host an urban outing on Saturday, Oct. 11. The tour will be in partnership with Urban Habitat, the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, and the Great Communities Collaborative. For more information or to receive an invitation, contact Marla Wilson at mwilson@greenbelt.org.
Action Alert: Vital Tasks as Sonoma County General Plan Wraps Up On Tuesday, September 9, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will be hearing the final version of the County General Plan. After seven years of work, this document—which will serve as the blueprint for land use and development through 2020—is still far too weak on policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Greenbelt Alliance, however, did have several wins—including restrictions on septic treatment technology that could have opened up thousands of rural acres to development. Another important win is the chance to see new areas designated as "community separators"—protected open space between cities. Be ready to fight for these important safeguards against sprawl at an upcoming November hearing. Since the General Plan doesn’t address climate change as strongly as it should, Email the supervisors to adopt strong policies on land-use in their Climate Action Plan.
Greenbelt Alliance in the News "We really see in the development of the First Street corridor how other (counties) and cities around the region could do infill development."
Supervisors OK General Plan, (Solano) Daily Republic, August 6 Urban Outing: Jack London Square to Estuary Park, San Francisco Chronicle, August 28
Wed Sept 10: 50th anniversary party at Herbst Exhibition Hall, San Francisco
Become a Member or Renew Your Membership Support Greenbelt Alliance's work to protect the Bay Area's open spaces and vibrant places. Join or renew now, or join the Greenbelt Guardian monthly donor club. And don't forget to ask your employer about matching contributions!
Thank you for reading! To subscribe to the Greenbelt Alliance Newswire email list, enter your name and email address at www.greenbelt.org. To unsubscribe, simply send an unsubscribe request to unsubscribe@greenbelt.org. |
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