HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-05-2012 B3 ChristiGoodwin, Heather
AGENDA
CORRESPONDENUCE -
Date-� LL Item #.
Subject: FW: re June 5 meeting, Item B3 - Filipponi/Twisselman acquisition
From: Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club [mailto:sierraclub8 @gmail.coml
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 5:41 PM
To: Council ALL
Subject: re June 5 meeting, Item B3 - Filipponi/Twisselman acquisition
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San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
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May 31, 2012
To: Mayor Jan Marx and City Councilmembers
From: Andrew Christie, Director, Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club
Re: June 5 Council Meeting, Item 133: Adoption of a resolution approving a bargain sale agreement with the Filipponi and
Twisselman families to purchase 89 acres of property above Johnson Avenue, etc.
On behalf of our members in San Luis Obispo, the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club strongly supports the City's
acquisition of the Goldtree Vineyard Tract.
To anyone opposing this purchase out of a general desire to reduce government spending, we would point out the
following: The funds needed for acquisition have already been collected via the Measure Y sales tax, and are in surplus.
Prior to the passage of Measure Y, city residents, in telephone and mail surveys, consistently ranked "Protecting open
space" ahead of hiring more police officers and firefighters when listing top priorities for city services. A specific priority
in the Measure Y ballot measure was funding of the City's open space acquisition program. The people have spoken, and
in large majorities.
The 1995 report "A Vision for Sustainability in San Luis Obispo: Recommendations of the Environmental Quality Task
Force," which resulted in the establishment of the office of the Natural Resources Manager and the expansion of the
City's greenbelt, noted that "Our community's remaining natural assets are becoming increasingly rare in California. They
can be lost through ignorance, inattention, or conscious political action. Once lost, they can never be replaced.... We
speak to protecting the environment not just for its intrinsic value, but for the kind of place we want to live. Looked at
another way, our whole natural landscape is an historic treasure which is fast disappearing."
In its recommendations for recognition of valuable habitat, the EQTF wrote "It is important to recognize that all habitat is
valuable, and that none should be considered expendable." In particular, the report noted that "The serpentine hills around
San Luis Obispo offer one of the rarest habitats in North America relative to soils and the plants that the soils support....
The hills flanking Johnson Avenue are valuable serpentine habitat, and development of hills should not be allowed at any
grater elevation that the present reach of the city."
The establishment of the greenbelt around San Luis Obispo via its open space acquisition program was the single most
significant factor in the city's recognition today as having the highest quality of life in America. We think that's a
tradition worth continuing.
For all these reasons, and all those cited in the staff report, we consider the appellation of "bargain" in the description of
the sale agreement to refer to far more than the fact that the land is being offered at below- market value.
We urge the Council to approve the Bargain Sale Agreement, transfer $67,500 from the Unallocated Reserve to the Open
Space Capital Improvement Fund, and authorize negotiation of an amendment to the existing conservation easement at
Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve to include the purchased property.
Sincerely,
Andrew Christie
Chapter Director