Pacifica Riptide

General Plan Update Notice of Preparation/DEIR and LCP

The City of Pacifica is preparing an update to its General Plan and Local
Coastal Plan and has determined that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
will be necessary pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA). The City of Pacifica requests your input on how the General Plan
and Local Coastal Plan update may affect the environment. More
specifically, input is being solicited relative to the scope and content
of environmental analysis that is relevant to your individual or agency's
statutory/regulatory responsibilities in order to ascertain potential
impacts of the proposed project.

Specific proposals and revisions for the Pacifica General Plan and Local
Coastal Plan update have not yet been determined. However, your input will
be taken into consideration during the formulation of the environmental
impacts of the General Plan and Local Coastal Plan to be addressed in the
EIR. A description of the proposed project, location map, and preliminary
identification of the potential environmental effects are contained in the
attached materials. If your agency is a responsible agency as defined by
Section 15381 of the State CEQA Guidelines, your agency will need to use
the environmental documents prepared by the City of Pacifica when
considering your permit or approval for action.

Due to the time limits mandated by State law, you should submit your
comments as soon as possible but no later than March 20, 2012, or 30 days
after receipt of this notice per CEQA Guidelines Section 15082(b). Please
send your written response, along with the name of your agency contact
person, to Elizabeth Claycomb, Management Analyst, City of Pacifica
Planning Department, 1800 Francisco Boulevard, Pacifica, California 94044.
Responses can also be faxed to Ms. Claycomb at (650) 359-5807 or emailed
to claycombe@ci.pacifica.ca.us. A public Scoping Meeting will be conducted
on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, at the Pacifica
Community Center, 540 Crespi Drive in Pacifica. If you have questions
regarding this NOP or the Scoping Meeting, please contact Ms. Claycomb at
(650) 738-7361.

CLICK FOR GENERAL PLAN UPDATE PAGE

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Tell Congress & The White House to Protect Yosemite

When you think of cyanide, you think of poison. You don’t think of Yosemite National Park, and neither should mining companies. But with the price of gold over $1,700 an ounce, the pressure is on to open up mining claims around Yosemite.
 
The home of Half Dome and El Capitan is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s crazy to think there are 185 active mining claims within just 10 miles of the park, and with enough pressure from mining companies, they can be reopened anytime.
 
You and I know that Yosemite is priceless — no matter how high the price of gold, this beautiful park and the wildlife that live there are worth much more. Will you join me in urging the president and Congress to ban new mining claims near Yosemite? President Obama has already protected the Grand Canyon National Park with a buffer zone that prevents industrial mining near that park. Now it’s time for the President to give Yosemite the same protection.
 
A modern gold rush would be a disaster for the Yosemite we know and love. Industrial mines remove hundreds of tons of ore from the earth to process a few ounces of gold, scarring the land and releasing heavy metals like lead into ponds and streams that flow into Yosemite. Industrial mining operations use toxic chemicals like cyanide and mercury to separate gold from crushed ore. With a heavy rain or landslide, these chemicals can escape their containment ponds and poison the surrounding area.
 
We cannot let this happen. Urge President Obama and Congress to save Yosemite from toxic mining. The animals and endangered species that find refuge in Yosemite National Park don’t know where the park border ends and a gold mine begins. They can easily drink from a stream or eat a fish that’s contains a lethal dose of mining waste. But if enough of us speak out, we can save Yosemite from toxic mining. Thank you for taking action and spreading the word.

(Riptide heartily endorses this action statement from Environment California. Please contact your elected representatives in Congress and the White House.)

San Bruno Mountain Watch Events and Volunteer Opportunities

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION on San Bruno Mountain Watch stewardship programs and upcoming events. We have volunteer opportunities for everyone from students to grandparents. Our wetlands restoration group meets every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the end of Cypress Lane. Mission Blue Nursery volunteers meet every Wednesday  from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. We also have two grassland restoration groups. The Weed Rangers meet every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Join the Weed Warriors for fresh air and exercise, and help weed San Bruno Mountain's south slope, which has grasslands critical to resident butterflies. Work days are on the fourth Friday and Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. You're welcome either day. Gloves provided. Wear long pants, layers, and sturdy shoes. Bring water. For information, email lorettaandchuck@sbcglobal.net or call 415-467-6631. Meet behind Mills Montessori School at 1400 Hillside Boulevard, South San Francisco.

When the Moment Is Right: Time for a Dose of Niagara

According to the San Pedro Valley Park rain gauge, we have had about 7 inches of rain so far this season, compared to 10+ inches last year at this time. Seems hard to believe. What few storms we have seen since Thanksgiving don't feel like they produced very much precipitation. Can't somebody seed the clouds? Or pray for rain? Or do a little rain dance? Or is it time for a big dose of Niagara?

King Tides=Big Surf @ Linda Mar Beach

Paul Donahue

Opinion: Pacifica Must Revisit Oddstad Project Decision

The February 14 City Council meeting lacked a quorum due to Councilman Jim Vreeland's absence, so the Oddstad project agenda item #7 was continued to Monday, February 27. Please turn out then and request additional EIR analysis and recirculation for additional public comment. In short:

1. There is significant new information that appeared only in the Final EIR. The Final EIR must be recirculated for another round of public comment and city response. Only in the Final EIR was the public told that the middle fork of San Pedro Creek was spawning and rearing habitat for threatened steelhead or that the project site includes such suitable steelhead habitat. This is significant new information that the public deserves the right to comment on.

2. The EIR fails to discuss the feasibility of the proposed mitigation measure of “bioswales.” An EIR must discuss the feasibility of proposed mitigation measures. This is particularly important because here the EIR admits that the project could generate stormwater runoff that could cause/contribute to water quality standard violations, provide substantial additional polluted runoff sources, and substantially degrade San Pedro Creek water quality. In addition, the EIR admits that project runoff could cause substantial erosion and siltation, and contribute to stream channel impacts. Despite acknowledging such impacts, the EIR fails to discuss the feasibility of the mitigations in reducing these impacts.

3. Increased erosion potential exposes the city to significant financial liability.  The project conflicts with the Clean Water Act requirement that stormwater discharges not cause ANY increase in erosion. The EIR admits that this project will cause erosion from stormwater runoff and water quality violations from graywater for landscape. Clean Water Act violations are punishable by fines of up to $32,500 per day per violation. The Oddstad project, as currently proposed, will expose the city to significant Clean Water Act liability.

Three groups have filed appeals to the City Council: San Pedro Creek Watershed Coalition, Neighbors Concerned About Pacifica, and Protectors of San Pedro Creek. Please lend your voice.

Brian Gaffney
Neighbors Concerned About Pacifica

Bayer's Common Garden Pesticide Linked to Bee Colony Collapse

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Our Beautiful Coastside's Rosy Afterglow

Sunset @ La Costanera Peruvian Restaurant, Montara, Calif. (Dave Yuhas photo)

The Lighted Desert

Saguaro cactus in holiday lights, Scottsdale, Arizona (Sherri Shafer)

Team Gearhead Cleans Up San Pedro Creek

Daniel Blake, Justin Olsen, Michael Olsen, John Dolan, Anders Chippendale, Liam Miller, and Matt McPhail show off their haul.

Michael Olsen carries debris from San Pedro Creek.

North Fork of San Pedro Creek as it is today.
 
STORY AND PHOTOS BY IAN BUTLER
 
San Pedro Creek in Linda Mar drains Pacifica’s most extensive watershed. Clean water runs off the pristine slopes of Montara Mountain, creating ideal steelhead spawning habitat in San Pedro Valley Park on the middle and south forks. Fingerling rainbow trout still swim in the Sanchez fork behind St. Edmund's Church. But the neglected north fork is the creek's abused stepchild.
 
Paved over decades ago to build homes, streets, and schools, this steelhead paradise was reduced to a hidden network of concrete tunnels. The water now passes through miles of these tunnels before finally being exposed to dirt and daylight in the dense thicket behind Park Mall, adjacent to the site of the proposed assisted-living facility.
 
Recently, while Councilmember Mary Ann Nihart was given a tour of the area, a tremendous amount of litter and debris was found clogging the creek where it emerges from the tunnels. Matt McPhail, owner of nearby Gearhead Bicycles, offered to organize a cleanup with a group of kids from Team Gearhead.
 
So on Saturday, January 14, the kids arrived by car, bike, and unicycle, three even decking themselves out in full wetsuits, complete with abalone knives hanging from their belts. They quickly went to work, some scouring the creek for debris, others rigging up a rope system for pulling larger items up the steep bank. A few hours later they had hauled up an impressive collection of junk, including a mattress, two shopping carts, an old car tire, and—ironically—a rusted bicycle. Parents who knows what it’s like to get their kids to clean their rooms would have to be impressed with the effort these kids put into cleaning up a neglected waterway.
 
The north fork’s problems remain, including unnaturally high water flows, erosion, and pollution from paint, oil, detergent, and coliform bacteria, but on this day it was the beneficiary of hard work by an enthusiastic group of kids learning to care for the environment.