REDWOOD NEEDLES
REDWOOD NEEDLESPresented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES
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Sierra Club Sonoma Group is considering the endorsement of candidates for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors election in March, 2002. In order to provide an endorsement, specific guidelines are established by the National Sierra Club and the Political Committee is in the process of evaluating criteria for a candidate endorsement.
There are two declared candidates for the 2nd District, Mike Kerns and Ray Peterson, and two candidates for the 4th District, Fred Euphrat and Paul Kelley. The Sonoma Group's Political Committee submitted a questionnaire to each of the four candidates as a first step in the endorsement process. Mike Kerns and Paul Kelley have failed to respond by our deadline, but the following are excerpts from responses provided by Ray Peterson and Fred Euphrat:
Question: Basis of candidacy. Please describe the reasons you decided to run.
Ray Peterson's response: " I am running because the incumbent is doing nothing for the environment, neither in the Second district nor throughout the County….I have a history of activism, including helping to craft the historic Petaluma growth control measure that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and passing the Petaluma UGB…"
Fred Euphrat in response to this question: "The North County needs an advocate who will speak for its needs. I support urban growth boundaries (UGBs), oppose gravel mining in the Russian River and believe we need to create a partnership between the urban and rural areas of the North County. The incumbent has opposed UGBs and supports gravel mining and rezoning of the urban fringe, and has no vision of implementing balance in the future. This is bad for the economy, bad for farming, and bad for the people of the North County…"
Question: If elected to the Board of Supervisors, what will be your priorities?
Ray Peterson's response: "My number one priority will be to make Sustainability a County goal. We must protect our watershed and the Russian River aquifer from gravel mining and sewage disposal. I would like to implement stronger protections for family farms, and stronger regulations of destructive corporate vineyard practices. I would pursue the recommendations of the last 5 Sonoma County Grand Juries that have found communications problems and no written policies within the PRMD…"
Fred Euphrat's response to this same question: "Housing crisis&emdash;I like the collaborative effort Assemblywoman Pat Wiggins has started to get our city and county governments to work together. We need to develop incentives which support cooperation and result in ample housing for people of all income levels, not just the very wealthy.
Transportation improvements&emdash;we must plan for the future, while making real progress on our present problems. Hwy 101 needs to be widened and we need public transportation that is friendly, inviting and workable. Train service should focus on intra-county needs, and not be a tool that encourages sprawl or more San Francisco commuters to live in the country (further exasperating our housing problems!).
Public safety concerns&emdash;in the wake of recent developments, we need to fully evaluate our local ability to handle disasters on a large scale. The county has recently re-evaluated its emergency response services, but still needs adequate contracts and funding for police, fire, and medial workers to be here&emdash;and live here&emdash;in the event of a real emergency.
Recreation&emdash;over the last nine years, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District has partnered with just one community to create access to the Russian River. I will direct the energies of the District to implement a network of access points and trails for the river, to benefit both residents and tourists, working with farmers to protect agriculture and give fair compensation to willing landowners for access."
Question: What Sonoma County natural resources/systems do you consider in need of protection? What environmental issues would you become actively involved with once elected? What activities would you undertake to ensure that these goals are accomplished?
Ray Peterson: "The Russian River and its aquifer are the number one priority. Our oak woodlands and natural ridgetops must be protected. Environmental issues: Gravel mining is a continuing issue that threatens the aquifer. Finding appropriate sites for affordable housing inside urban growth boundaries must be co-ordinated by Cities and the County working together. We need to protect small family farms while strictly enforcing erosion controls and regulating excessive pesticide use. The Second District does not receive its fair share of funding for parks and open space or traffic issues. I would publicly state the goals. Work with other supervisors to establish them as board goals. I would monitor our progress in accomplishing them and expect staff reports to include their efforts and accomplishments. Basic management- state the objective, review accomplishment, and establish accountability."
Fred Euphrat: "Areas that most need environmental protection are: the Russian River, our watersheds in general, open space (particularly hillsides and urban separators), and our water supplies. I would be actively involved in all of these issues as a county supervisor. As a forest hydrologist I would be uniquely qualified to make the Sonoma County Water Agency responsive to community needs and concerns on water issues. From protecting the Russian River to ensuring small farmer's water rights, to making this nearly-invisible, but immensely powerful, agency accountable, I can help manage our counties precious resources for the future."
Question: Sierra Club's Sonoma Group ExCom has identified land use and water issues as two of our highest conservation priorities. Please describe how you think the County General Plan update should address environmental sustainability, land use and water concerns.
Ray Peterson's response: "We must identify the sustainable water production of Sonoma County. Both from the Russian River aquifer and ground water from the entire county. That finite supply must limit the total development allowed to occur. It should be the limit in city and County general plans. The Russian River aquifer must be protected. The sand and gravel is the storage and filtration for our drinking water. Ag land must be preserved. Changes in Land Use in unincorporated areas must pay for itself. Rezoning land from Ag to residential with greater densities creates a large increase in value. Currently that all goes to the landowner, typically a developer. The privilege of rezoning and subdividing land must be coupled with responsibility for increasing the supply of low-income housing. Increased densities and mixed use zoning should be used to encourage a range of housing needs. Infrastructure must be in place before development projects can go forward. Development outside the city UGB's is expensive because of the higher cost of extending services and consumes land in Ag. Coordination of transit schedules so that city, county , and Golden Gate buses can get people to places efficiently. Traffic congestion is causing a reduction of air quality in our county. We should reduce auto use by zoning to mix jobs and housing and encouraging transit use."
Fred Euphrat's response: "The most important element in sustaining environmental quality in the North County is maintaining development within urban growth boundaries and promoting the sustainability of farms outside of them. Sustainability of farms requires good access to water, zoning that does not allow incompatible or incrementally degrading uses, and a recreation component to promote farms' use by local recreationists and tourists. In this way, the farms are increasingly valuable to the whole community.
The General Plan update needs to reconfirm the Russian River as a trail, and demonstrate an interest to develop access to it. The plan needs to recognize aquifer areas as recharge zones, and absolutely prevent mining from them. The plan needs to respect the citizen's wishes for urban growth boundaries, and prevent untimely, inappropriate and plan-busting development of productive agricultural land, the land we most need to protect."
Fred Euphrat has a web presence at http://www.fredeuphrat.com/
Ray Peterson's website is at http://www.raypeterson.org
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