A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 13, 2008
3. Watersheds
AMERICAN RIVER DEVELOPMENT:
Board gets dispute over houses atop river bluff - Sacramento Bee
Editorial: No bluffing; County should protect river parkway - Sacramento
Editorial: Locals should be involved in
AMERICAN RIVER DEVELOPMENT:
Board gets dispute over houses atop river bluff
By Ed Fletcher, staff writer
A five-year battle over a developer's plan to erect blufftop homes along
Supervisors will be asked to balance the rights of the property owner with the desires of those who want the 23-mile parkway to remain free of development while they walk, kayak, fish, bike or jog there.
At today's 11:30 a.m. hearing, Save the American River Association is asking the supervisors to overturn the
The commission gave Lien a special permit to build the homes 35 feet from the bluff. Normal rules call for a 70-foot setback.
Lien and the association agree that this fight isn't just about the two homes.
Lien, whose company RND Construction owns the 0.89-acre property, said his opponents don't like the rules. "The current ordinance allows us to do what we want to do."
But parkway advocates contend the area should remain a protected area where nature's architecture, not man's, predominates.
Today's hearing promises to be the most heavily attended board meeting of the new year. Those who use the recreational area have sent dozens of e-mails to supervisors, made scores of phone calls and are expected to jam the board's
They have marshaled support at www.mcmansions.org, a Web site whose name reflects the opposition to large houses on bluffs overlooking the
Lien says his Craftsman-style earth-toned homes will be neither dangerously close to the bluff, nor will be the eyesores that parkway preservationists make them out to be.
Whether strolling the bike path or floating down the river, there is no missing the jaw-dropping homes perched on the cliffs lining the lower
In the current Markis project – as it's referred to by the county – Lien proposes to replace an existing single-story, 5,700-square-foot home with two homes: one a single story and the other two stories.
The two-story house would be 5,800 square feet and 28 feet high. The single story would be 4,800 square feet.
Lien said he's done the required studies to prove the project won't contribute to erosion and he crafted a design that's easy on the eyes.
The current ordinance doesn't have a hard-and-fast 70-foot setback rule, as some suggest. The rule allows those wanting to build closer to do additional soil and waterflow studies.
Those tests concluded it was safe to build even closer to the edge than the current 35-foot setback, Lien said.
Save the American River Association President Warren Truitt said his organization has alerted its members because supervisors should know that interest in the issue goes beyond the group's regular representatives.
"McMansions" shouldn't dominate the view from the trails and river, Truitt said. The fight isn't about this project alone, he said.
The group's Web site identifies 11 homes on the parkway bluff, labeling each a "trophy house within the
"This isn't about the Markis permit per se," Truitt said.
He said even when homebuilders agree to build in certain colors or obscure their homes with trees, not everyone follows through on their promises.
Lien rejected the argument that his homes will create a visual intrusion. Neighboring homes are taller and more visible, he said.
"These are very understated homes," he said. "The colors and plantings have all been reviewed."
His landscape drawings show the two homes discreetly hidden behind olive, blue oak, valley oak and red willow trees.
Supervisor Jimmie Yee called the issue a "sticky one" and said he understands SARA's concerns. He added, however, that he will take into account the existing conditions and surrounding residences.
He said the easiest way out would be to compromise with a 50-foot setback the county staff is now suggesting and SARA says it will accept.
Lien said the planned houses are too big to move back an additional 15 feet.
Yee said both sides aren't likely to walk away entirely pleased.
"SARA would love to see open space there, but that is not going to happen. That is private property," Yee said. "So we have to come up with something that is 'reasonable.' " #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/708352.html
Editorial: No bluffing; County should protect river parkway
Sacramento
In October of 1964, Sunset magazine ran a story entitled, "How the American River was 'saved'." The story described the efforts of Sacramento-area citizens to "preserve the natural landscape and create recreation opportunities and open space in the midst of a rapidly expanding urban area."
Anyone who walks, rides or paddles down the parkway has seen the mansions that loom over the river on highly erodible slopes.
Many of these homes predate a county zoning ordinance that requires new homes to be 70 feet back from such bluffs. But over the years, supervisors have added to the blight by carving out exemptions.
They may do so again Wednesday, when they consider a permit that would allow developer Tim Lien to demolish an existing home in
That decision prompted a lawsuit by the Save the American River Association. A judge ruled that the county needed to complete an environmental impact report.
That report is now complete (with the county hiring an engineering firm previously employed by the developer to prepare the report). Some supervisors appear prepared to affirm their 2004 decision.
They should not. The river association argues persuasively that a 35-foot setback will not provide adequate space for vegetation to take root and properly screen the two houses from the parkway below.
Supervisors say they revere the parkway. If so, they need to stop carving out exemptions to the county's parkway corridor zoning. If you agree, call your supervisor today and urge him or her to vote against the exemption for the Lien property. #
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/705049.html
Editorial: Locals should be involved in
Desert Sun – 2/12/08
The state still doesn't fully understand the largest environmental issue affecting the
The State Legislative Analyst's Office is wrong to suggest that control of the
Our state representatives - Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia,
The Salton Sea does not have strong local leadership anymore, so we need our representatives who have been supportive of saving the
The LAO report, released late last month, says the the Department of Water Resources should lead the implementation of the project and it discounts that much federal or local funding will develop for the Seas restoration.
It is unfair and dangerous to cut local control because the possible loss of the
The LAO report not only suggests governance to come from
The
Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman has a plan that would cost $8.9 billion across 75 years to restore the sea, mitigating air quality problems and preserving wildlife. The LAO report said it would cost another $50 million to $140 million a year to operate. The plan remains stalled in the Legislature.
In addition to water and air quality, as well as wildlife protection, the Sea's restoration is viewed locally as an opportunity to increase recreational use and stimulate economic development. But like the Sea, funding also is at risk and local dreams of creating an attraction are under attack.
The Salton Sea Authority, which got us all to look at the problem and care about the Sea, has had a plan that would capture taxes on future development around the sea and set it aside to help pay for ongoing restoration, but the authority is only a skeleton of its former self. We need a group, made up of representatives from
In addition to losing local control, the concern is that lawmakers hundreds of miles away may not see the urgency and won't act immediately. We understand that money is a chief consideration here and the LAO report is right to advise the Legislature to outline long-term financing from the onset, and with that, the Legislature should also ensure the integration of local and state agencies because they should be the ones to monitor restoration and effects of the changes to the Sea.
The LAO at least recognized that addressing air quality was a serious concern in any restoration plan, but, unfortunately, does not consider the potential economic development opportunities as factors worth serious consideration.
Our local delegation must keep this issue at the forefront and must fight for a local voice. #
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080212/OPINION01/802120312/-1/newsfront
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