HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07231996 - C79 C . 79
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on July 23, 1996, by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Bishop, DeSaulnier, Torlakson and Smith
NOES: None
ABSENT: Supervisor Rogers
ABSTAIN: None
SUBJECT: Wildcat Creek bu ldozing
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the letter dated July 7, 1996, from Norman
La Force, Chair, East Bay Public Lands Subcommittee, Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay
Chapter, 5237 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618, advising that the Public Work's
Department is proposing the bulldozing of a reach of Wildcat Creek as part of the
maintenance program, and expressing concern with the possible consequences to this area that
was recently restored through an Environmental Protection Agency Program is REFERRED
to the Public Works Director..
and IT IS BY THE BOARD FURTHER ORDERED that the Deputy Director of
Public Works, is DIRECTED, within 24 hours, to provide the Board of Supervisors with a
status report on the proposed bulldozing.
1 hereby certify that this is a true and corractcopy of
an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Supe i o on the date h wn.
ATTESTED: g2A, 1 to ---
PHIL CHE R.Clerk of the Board
Of Supe isors and County Administrator
By rlaadaa= Deputy
c.c. Correspondents
Public Works, Deputy Director
C•-71
SIERRA CLUB
SAN FRANCISCO ]SAY CHAPTER
Serving the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Francisco
o° ter
Office: 5237 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618 o (510) 653-6127
L'VDED ♦$qry Bookstore: 6014 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618 - (510) 658-7470
REPLY TO: 802 Balra Drive
El Cerrito, CA 94530
July 7, 1996
Mr. Jeff Smith, President and EREEIVED
Members of the Board of Supervisors Contra Costa Count 199y 6County Administration BuildingPine and Escobar Streets FSUPERvlS,^�OSTA cC.�
Martinez, CA 94553
Dear President Smith and Members of the Board:
The Sierra Club has been involved in the protection and
restoration of Wildcat Creek for a number of years. The Club
supported the environmentally innovative flood control project on
lower Wildcat Creek led by community groups and the Urban Creeks
Council. We were active in the restoration of Wildcat Creek in
Alverado Park several years ago. One of the Club's goals has been to
encourage the creek as an educational and recreational resource for
the very diverse urban population that lives along it. A related
objective has been to support Wildcat Creek as a model of what
public interest and support can do to restore environmental
resources. Collaborations among the East Bay Regional Park
District, California Dept. of Fish and Game, Sierra Club, Grizzly Peak
Flyfishers, Golden Gate Women Flyfishers, the Urban Creeks Council,
West County Toxics Coalition, Community Youth Council for
Leadership and Education, and the East Bay Conservation Corps has
resulted in the re-introduction of the Wildcat Creek trout. Inner
city high school youth from Richmond are provided with year-round
employment and job training on Wildcat Creek restoration projects
using federal funding.
As Chair of the Sierra Club's East Bay Public Lands
Subcommittee, I would like to call to your attention an unfortunate
issue occurring with the Contra Costa County Public Works
Department on Wildcat Creek. Past agreements with federal, state,
®Recycled
Sierra Club Letter to Jeff Smith Re: Wildcat Creek, 7/7/96, page 2
local agencies, and community organizations to manage Wildcat
Creek for the dual objectives of environmental quality and flood
damage reduction are being violated. In fact, the spirit and intent of
the Contra Costa Board of Supervisor's adopted Master Plan for
Wildcat Creek (File No. 4007-50-20, May 10, 1980) is being violated.
The Public Works staff is proposing the bulldozing of a reach
of Wildcat Creek just recently restored through an Environmental
Protection Agency program. The involvment of EPA is benefitting
the county by helping it meet its maintenance expenses on the creek
by funding local non-profits to do restoration work, which also
serves the flood control district's needs. The Public Works
Department is characterizing its Wildcat Creek basin proposal as
routine maintenance. The scientifically collected data on the creeks
flood flows and sediment deposition by non-profit groups clearly
indicates that maintenance of the kind proposed is unwarranted to
maintain the flood capacity of Wildcat Creek.
The Club urges the Board of Supervisors to direct the Public
Works Department to arrive at a long term management plan for this
sediment basin reach of Wildcat Creek as approved by the EPA,
California Dept. of Fish and Game, and the Regional Water Quality
Control Board so that the environmental education and restoration
programs for this creek are not jeopardized by unnecessary
maintenance activities and practices.
The proposed maintenance actions of the Contra Costa Public
Works Department are particularly egregious because the reach of
creek to be irreparably damaged is directly below a newly
constructed fish ladder built at significant expense. The blatant
disregard of other agency's programs and efforts, public sentiments
and past agreements should not be tolerated by the Board of
Supervisors. This problem is not isolated on Wildcat Creek in the
county, but we urge you to take action on this issue to ensure that
Sierra Club Letter to Jeff Smith Re: Wildcat Creek, 7/7/96, page 3
the Board's prior policies and directives are followed by the Public
Works Dept so that the County remains a team player in an effort
that saves taxpayers' dollars while enhancing and restoring our
environment.
Sincerely yours,
Norman La Force, Chair
East Bay Public Lands Subcommittee