HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/16/2018 Item 9, Czek
From:Genevieve Czech <
To:CityClerk; apease@sloicity.org; Gomez, Aaron; Christianson, Carlyn; Rivoire, Dan
Subject:Fwd: Item#9, City Council meeting, Jan.16,2018
Further comment upon Item#9, Jan. 16th, 2018 ,City Council meeting
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Genevieve Czech <agczech@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Jan 13, 2018 at 7:56 PM
Subject: Re: Item#9, City Council meeting, Jan.16,2018
To: "Harmon, Heidi" <hharmon@slocity.org>
Thank you for the automatic reply. However, you have not clearly dealt with any of my individually presented points.
Your logic, with the quote referenced, does not argue that mountain bikers will grow in their love of nature by their
mountain biking at night hours when they cannot see the nature. You seem to think that the best way to teach people to
love nature is to encourage them to destroy it, by noise, light and rapid movement at night.
Have you taken notice of the fact that the Sierra Club is opposed to this proposal? Our son is a keen mountain biker, and
a keen cyclist, having set an all time record of the CA Terrible Two, and he will attest that he is a great lover of nature,
but that love of nature is something very different from the thrill of speeding and fighting rocks, tree roots, sudden
changes of terrain, all of which are obstacles that nature puts in the way of a mountain biker. They should be seen as
defenses that nature has put up to protect the habitat of species great and small.
You are furthermore using arguments about climate change and its impact on our open spaces, that has no link to the
argument against nighttime recreational use of our open spaces. In fact, the erosion that will occur and the disturbance
to the ecosystem and wildlife will indeed make our open spaces more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. It is
precisely in the hours after sunset that animals come out to forage and should be left alone by both hikers and mountain
bikers. It is this magic time of dusk that inspires poets and calls upon us to respect it, instead of appropriating it for a
perceived need of exercise after work that can be had in a myriad other ways.
Your argument seems to be that since there is a much larger overall threat to nature, i.e. climate change, we might as
well add to the damage in this supposedly "little way". The best way to teach our community to address climate change
and the effects it will produce on our precious natural environment would be to join the arguments against extending
the recreational use of the Cerro by mountain bikers and hikers. Are you aware that our National Park Service, in order
to protect the remnants of undisturbed nature, is trying to restrict access in various ways? Has the wisdom that nature
needs to be protected even from those who love it not yet trickled down to the local level at San Luis Obispo?
It is disturbing that you use the present continuous tense and the use of the first person plural as if the vote had already
occurred, while the proposal is meant to be up for final vote after due consideration of all the arguments put forward by
all sides.
It is not the language of someone who is only proposing, and gives the impression that the proposal has already been
accepted.
Thank you, Genevieve Czech , 612 Stanford Drive, S.L.O.
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On Sat, Jan 13, 2018 at 5:56 PM, Harmon, Heidi <hharmon@slocity.org> wrote:
>
> Dear Genenieve,
>
> I value and appreciate the importance of how essential our open spaces
> are for many reasons. Our open space is one of the many things that
> make San Luis Obispo so special, and it is valued by so many who live here.
> Incredibly hard and dedicated work has been done by many who have come
> before us to support and maintain our open spaces and make them what
> they are today.
>
> As with any community we are constantly broadening our horizons,
> adapting to the times and growing alongside the dreams and visions of
> those who live here. It is essential that we continuously listen with
> our whole hearts while remaining open minded to new possibilities, and
> engaging our city as a whole in how it wants to morph, grow, be used,
> be engaged, be enjoyed, be sustained, and more! This includes our open
> space. We know and take seriously our responsibility as a city to
> honor our open spaces as well as all those who live here.
>
> Vital contributions have been made by many in our community to
> maintain our open spaces, to protect the natural resources and
> habitats and increase a sense of stewardship among those who use these
> lands. Each space is unique in its own special way and we stand by
> continuing to steward these spaces in a way that respects the land as
> well as increases access for enjoyment and awareness by those in our
> community. With gratitude, we know that these same principles can be
> applied in new ways as we will offer our community opportunities to engage with these spaces during limited night
hiking.
>
> As you may know, at our study session on March 21st a majority of
> Council directed staff to bring back a program to allow expanded open
> space hours of use at one or more locations. Tuesday our staff with be
> proposing a very small pilot program at Cerro San Luis Natural Reserve
> that would allow access until 8:30 PM when daylight savings is not in
> effect during the winter. This is a very limited pilot program so that
> we can make the best decision about night hiking with adequate
> information and study into how the community will engage with this new
> availability. We must open this conversation to all voices, not just
> the loudest voices. As this program progresses, we will closely
> monitor the impacts and adjust accordingly as we move forward. I think
> this will be a great opportunity for us all to enjoy our city that we
> love so much in a new way, while also continuing to steward the land in new and meaningful ways.
>
> Someone reminded me of this quote recently. “We cannot win this battle
> to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond
> between ourselves and nature as well – for we will not fight to save
> what we do not love” – Stephen Jay Gould (Renown American geologist
> and evolutionary biologist and popular-science author). I love this
> premise and believe whole heartedly that people won't protect what
> they don't love, and they don't love what they don't know. By offering
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> our residents a new window to cultivate love for our lands, I believe
> we have an opportunity to increase our collective commitment to
> protecting these places we treasure. It is up to us to build the next
> generation of stewards. And this is only done by giving all of the
> people of San Luis Obispo equal opportunity to fall in love with nature and our open spaces.
>
> I invite us all to keep in mind that we can be energized about trails
> and defending our environment, and we should be, but it is imperative
> that we remain rooted in the larger picture, which is that without
> swift climate action and showing up to be actively engaged in the
> process to become a net zero city, our open spaces will be drastically
> effected in larger ways than can be addressed with hiking hours. It is
> within all of our reach too continue to be the stewards we need and
> pass the torch of stewardship to future hikers, no matter the hours.
>
> Thank you,
> Mayor Harmon
>
> ________________________________
> From: Genevieve Czech <agczech@gmail.com>
> Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2018 5:46:58 PM
> To: Harmon, Heidi
> Subject: Fwd: Item#9, City Council meeting, Jan.16,2018
>
> Lady Mayoress, You lead in your capacity, and I appeal to you to lead
> for the good of the environment and our planet, as you repeatedly
> pledge. Genevieve Czech
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Genevieve Czech <agczech@gmail.com>
> Date: Sat, Jan 13, 2018 at 5:44 PM
> Subject: Item#9, City Council meeting, Jan.16,2018
> To: emailcouncil@slocity.org, cityclerk@slocity.org,
> hharmon@slocityy.org, apease@slocity.org, "Gomez, Aaron"
> <agomez@slocity.org>, "Christianson, Carlyn"
> <cchristianson@slocity.org>, drivoire@slocity.org
>
>
> A new year, a pledge by our Mayor in the Tribune to protect our
> environment and the planet as the principal priority, an opportunity
> to honor that pledge, and join the ranks of those who put the health
> of our planet for now and posterity above the cry for pleasure and
> extreme sport... I once read a book called "The Battle of Badgers
> Wood", in which all the wildlife battle the human enemy in their
> insensitive greed for the sacred habitat of wildlife.
> You would perhaps open your hearts if all the wild species, mammalian,
> avian, insects, sent representatives to your Council meeting which
> seals their fate, whether it be nurtured and cherished, or whether it
> be disturbed and endangered. You have read the most eloquent appeals
> by members of the public, and you have in your own consciences a deep
> awareness that indeed nature needs our voice, our commitment to
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> protect it from further disregard. There is no need to have a trial
> period, that stretches the demands upon the limited time of the 7
> forest rangers, that invites abuse in the issue of permits, that
> imperils the safety of hikers and bikers, and that misinterprets the
> pledge in our Open Spaces Ordinance. What is the historic urgency of
> the mountain bikers who have daytime use and weekend use, that they
> MUST demand further hours for their pleasure and exercise? There are
> more than enough sites available to them in our blessed environment.
> It seems that the City is being beguiled by newer trends elsewhere,
> and wishes to tout its attractions to the tourist industry. Surely,
> the greatest attraction of our open spaces is their natural,
> undisturbed quality that participate in an unusually pure ecosystem.
> Surely, that attracts tourists who seek peace, pure nature, who
> promote the ideals of the Sierra Club, and who recognize an
> environmentally friendly town who has the courage to preserve rather
> than disturb.
> We have all heard about the Apocalypse of the Alps as a result of the
> skiing industry, and the detritus left under the melting snow in the
> Himalayas. Do we ignore our better knowledge and better conscience to
> our own peril, and will we sleep undisturbed at night when we dream of
> the wildlife who are disturbed by nighttime bikers and hikers?
>
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