May 1, 2001
Marshall
Jones, Acting Director
U.
S. Fish & Wildlife Service
1849
C St. NW
Washington
D.C., DC 20240
Re: Marin Baylands National Wildlife Refuge
Dear Mr. Jones:
This letter is a result of my reading and
concurring with a letter recently written to the Portland, Oregon office by Mr.
Fred Grange of Canalways Properties in San Rafael, California.
This letter is about the development project
known as “Bahia”.
The Bahia project, located along the Petaluma
River, in the City of Novato, Marin County, California, is presently included
within the boundaries of the proposed Marin Baylands National Wildlife Refuge.
As project manager for the Bahia Development, I strongly urge you to withdraw
Bahia from this proposed project. No matter how well intentioned such programs
are, they are used as tools by local no-growth pressure groups to derail
projects such as Bahia, even though it contains significant environmental
benefit.
By including Bahia in the Baylands Mapping
project, you jeopardize the delivery of the final phase of the Bahia housing
project supported by the existing Bahia Homeowners Association. If this final
phase is delayed or derailed, needed financial support for those existing
residents and significant environmental enhancements that depend on our
project’s completion will disappear.
This is not a development program that has
recently come on the scene. The initial Bahia development dates back to 1964,
and we have been working since 1978 to achieve a plan acceptable to the long
list of involved Federal, State, regional and local agencies. Since then, thanks
to a myriad of sometimes conflicting requirements from these agencies and
authorities, the Master Plan submittal unit count has fallen from 1500 units,
approved by the city in 1985, to 729 in 1990, to 424 in 1995 (approved by the
Novato City Council in January 2001). Not withstanding the significant unit
reductions, the currently approved Bahia project would deliver more in
environmental enhancements than I believe Fish and Wildlife could possibly hope
to obtain from the land.
The approved project would provide the
following environmental enhancements:
·
530 acres (82% of the site acreage) of
open space (300 acres of diked, historic tidelands and 230 acres of tree
covered uplands)
·
179 additional acres of nearby upland for
restored wetlands (a combination of seasonal and tidal)
·
70 additional acres newly planted Oak
Forest, off-site but in close proximity to the City of Novato
·
Bear all “new” forest management and
maintenance costs for 10 years or until a standard of reasonable maturity is
met.
·
Establish a perpetual fund for the
maintenance and management of the 179 acres of restored wetlands.
·
Establishes and funds a program for
managing the remaining (22,000), on-site trees.
·
Creates on-site public trails for equestrian
and pedestrian use, and establishes controls, educational programs and viewing
stations as part of the on-site trail use.
·
Provides perimeter barriers to preclude
public intrusion into the preserved and sensitive natural areas.
Our project has squeezed an astonishing
amount of environmental enhancements from a project whose housing delivery
capacity has been shrunk by more than 300%. Furthermore, much of the sensitive
area designated for restoration and/or enhancement are already intended for public
ownership. For example, along the Petaluma River, the central lowlands and
western marsh areas of our property will be restored as tidal wetlands and
transferred to the State of California for long-term management. Many of the
benefits that go along with such enhancement and transfer will be lost without
the Bahia project moving forward. The proposed Marin Baylands Refuge will not
achieve the environmental benefits and enhancements available under the Bahia
plan. Instead, The Marin Baylands Refuge proposal will diminish our capacity
and ability to meet the enhancement objectives of these lands.
In politically charged Marin County, where
NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) pressure groups deftly work the political system to
impede housing development, the Bahia project cannot afford to have these
groups be given another tool which they will use against us.
We have an environmentally beneficial project
that few can equal. Please do not endanger the delivery of that product by
including us in your Baylands Refuge Mapping Zone.
Is there something more that I can provide,
or is there a particular form that I can submit to further my goal of having
the Bahia project removed from the proposed “Refuge” area?
Sincerely,
Art C., LLC
Charles
J. Linthicum
Vice
President
CC: Dan Ashe, Regional Director
Gale Norton, Department of Interior
Mel Martinez, U.S. Department of HUD
Julie Bornstein, California Dept. of Housing
Bill Pavao, California Department of Housing
Mike Spear, Regional Director USF&WS
Marge Kolar, USF&WS
Cathy Osugi, Wildlife Biologist
Novato Chamber
Senator Boxer
Senator Feinstein
Congresswoman Woolsey
Novato Council
Marin & Sonoma Supervisors
Bay Planning Coalition
Assemblyman Joe Nation