Take action on Earth Day
From EarthDay.org:
• Make children to habituate that planting trees will save our earth. Educate the people to use solar power.
• Recycle, I won't waste, and try to be as efficient as possible
• We will shop at the local farmers market, using our own bags, and eat as many locally sourced meals as possible for the entire year.
• Ride a bike
• I reduced the electricity usage in general life
I remember taking Ecology at Lee School in 1973 (when Lee was only for all seventh graders in town). We learned the basic principles of conservation and renewable resources. It is sad that 37 years later this town has a problem understanding land conservation. I'm speaking specifically about the Gateway II application to annex 154 acres in a reserved area. Gateway I is a classic example of urban sprawl with no LEED buildings, no mixed use and no significant green spaces - we should learn from that mistake and make better land use decisions in the future.
I applaud the efforts of the Woodland Tree Foundation. That group, led by David Wilkinson and Ken Trott, has helped bring back trees to the City of Trees. I applaud the folks who have organized the new farmers market held at Freeman Park.
For Woodland on Earth Day:
• No more sprawl, promote mixed use and green spaces
• Less focus on roads, more on the human element
• Plant more trees – more gardens not more concrete or asphalt
• Promote the use of bicycles and alternative vehicles, make this place pedestrian-friendly
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6 comments:
Encourage the city of Woodland to consider long term sustainability, energy efficiency and environmental impact in all of their decisions. Encourage them to paint all their decisions a shade of green, whether required by law or not.
8:39
You hit the right note there. There seems to be a tendency of doing things by the book (or the way it has always been done) with little regard to ingenuity, foresight and creativity. For once I'd like to see some proactive planning that isn't predicated on the basic legal standards.
This is our town, not every town. Let's not settle for watered-down, bureaucratic solutions to planning that we can see all up and down Interstate 5.
From the Internet Land of REXIE (right next to Zanadu) it reads "Now some of your are probably screaming "that Rexroad votes no on all taxes. He is just that way." (BULL SHITS!!!!) Let me remind you who worked very hard on Measure T to pass the school bond in 1999 and supported the sales tax increase to fund the Community Center, Police Station, and Library. There are very few people in this community that have worked harder than I have to work to improve the community when it is warranted. This time I do not think it is."
Let me remind MATT, the extended Sales Tax was right up your alley and a wind fall from the development and developers like Petrovich, Monly Cronin and Spring Lake Lombrado you allowed and benefited. The other taxes you endorsed and promoted like remember the "Flood Wall" Tax Measure S & G ? Matt you wrote and promoted this through your jackass marketing company this along with the PBID which was a tax that went to a local special interest group for Downtown. Remember you worked for Tom Stallard, the head of this group cutting up and redistricting Woodland?
In fact there is not a tax you do not support if it is not in your paid best interest.
The only reason you do not support the City tax is that you want a tax for the County and this might hinder yon efforts.
The only thing you could give 2 craps about is the environment.
HAIL MIGHTY matt
I am wondering about the best approach to support, encourage, cajole City Council members and City Staff to look at the full impacts of planning decisions and projects that are approved.
In the past year while attending City Council meetings, I have heard a concerned citizen commenting on the huge increase (every pun intended) in obesity in the population of Yolo County. I have heard Council member Marble bring up the HEALTHY cities concept in planning. Namely many of the concepts listed by Dino as being more environmentally sustainable are also healthier for the human species here in Woodland. Walking, biking, using public transit reduce carbon footprints AND waistlines.
Yet while the comments were proferred, the actual decisions in Community Development Department are to be based upon "priority projects, namely the job creators in the short term."
This is the comment I heard during the Special Budget Study Session at the Community Center on March 30 from a staffer with CDD. [This comment was in the context that reduced staffing in CDD would force prioritization and allocation of Planning staff time and resources and this was an explicit statement of the factors weighing such decisions]
In my mind a big piece of mitigation impact vis-a-vis the EIR for Gateway II needs to assess the costly adverse impacts on increased healthcare costs --the comorbidity and mortality--increases associated with increasing obesity rates and decreased physical activity.
Using a bicycle to travel to Gateway is dangerous and really undoable right now because no bike lanes. The shopping center itself has oceans of asphalt without trees which are thermal vortices during our hot summers.
The price of gasoline per gallon seems likely to increase, not decrease, so why rely on auto sales and auto dependent retail for future tax generation?
The real key is convincing the City Council that sustainability, energy efficiency, health of the planet and health of the humans is a priority. If the Council makes it a priority, the CDD will follow, eventually. An individual council member could indicate this is a priority for him or her by asking questions relating to the sustainability, energy efficiency, or carbon footprint, etc. of almost all items that come before the council. If the answer is that a project meets code, e.g. for energy efficiency, they need to say, just meeting code is not the goal. Individual council members could also suggest additions or alternatives to what is brought before the council. This could give the CDD some direction. Another option would be for the council as a whole to indicate this is a priority by adding an element relating to long term sustainability to the general plan. So the answer ( or part of the answer) involves convincing the city council this is a priority for the citizens of Woodland.
And as relates to the parking lot at Gateway - how about solar panels - would produce shade and power at the same time!
"So the answer ( or part of the answer) involves convincing the city council this is a priority for the citizens of Woodland."
You just don't get it.
Our city leaders are not on council for the citizens, they are only there for them selves! So, how can they direct staff to perform for the people?
Our citizens are blocked and then mocked when they approach city hall. So the people just stop communicating their wants and needs.
Gateway I and II are just a glaring example as to how out of touch Woodland city leaders are with the people who elected them into office.
45 days seems like a very short time to get response from the people of woodland. What kinds of outreach is council directing staff to do to elicit comments from the citizens of woodland ? I'll bet you that after the 45 day time period you could still poll people in Woodland and they would have had NO CLUE that the city was attempting communication. This is anything but an OPEN process!
Thank you Dino, and Bobby for keeping a few of us better informed.
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