DATE: Wednesday, May 30, 2001

 

      TO: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (F&WS)

             Attention: Marge Kolar, P.O. Box 524, Fremont, CA., 94560        

                              Cathy Osugi, 911 N.E. 11th St., Portland, OR 97232-4181

 

FROM: Clark A. Blasdell, Chairman, President and CEO

              Suburban Alternatives Land Trust (SALT)

              14 Commercial Blvd., Suite 133

              P.O. Box 428

              Novato, CA 94948-0428/94949

                      Voice: 415/382-2530      Fax: 415/382-2538       email: clark@neh.org

 

Dear Ms. Kolar and Ms. Osugi:

 

I was present and testified during the Novato scoping hearings held at Novato Oaks Motel on May 2, 2001 for the proposed Marin Baylands Wildlife Refuge Study Area.

 

Since this federal refuge idea/issue was first discussed before the Novato City Council several months ago, I have become increasingly more interested in all the procedural issues, as well as some potential ‘unintended consequences.’ As you may know, the issue of a ‘possible Refuge status’ was used in public commentary before the Novato City Council in the deliberations and action in approving the Bahia Master Plan for 434 homes on 654 acres within the City limits.

 

Suburban Alternatives Land Trust (SALT) was incorporated three years ago as a nonprofit community development corporation to undertake landbanking, site acquisition, and other community economic development activities that can meet the human needs of low income people within the North Bay area of San Francisco. SALT operates under a philosophy of ‘dual use plus,’ seeking to achieve at least two of the following five human land uses on each and every site we option, control or acquire by gift or purchase:  homes, jobs, active recreation, agriculture, and open space. SALT is both a 501(c)(3) and further, is an affiliated and  ‘controlled supporting organization’ of Northbay Ecumenical Homes (NEH), and is thus further regulated under IRS section 509(a)(3). Incorporated in 1978, NEH has been involved in the development of over thirty projects with 2,500 homes of which 25% were affordable. Together SALT and NEH are currently involved in five projects delivering over 1,500 more homes with over 70% being affordable. Because it takes a lot (land) to deliver more affordable homes, the current Federal ‘refuge cloud’ makes the few remaining sites much more costly to control or acquire.

 

Because over 80% of all lands in Marin County already have public ownership or agricultural and open space designations, it is critical that F&WS identify any and all lands within the survey area that the Service believes can and clearly should be used to meet human needs (homes and jobs) as part of your survey.

 

Please advise SALT in writing, at the earliest possible time, whether and when the Service legally can and will make these requested written determinations within the required social and economic impact analysis that must be done under NEPA, so that some of the local land owners and local governments can be assisted in meeting their low income housing ‘fair share’ instead of being potentially harmed by the delays that the ‘no development cloud’ has already presented locally.

 

SALTF&Wscomment05302001