Point Reyes Light - November 13, 2003
Environmentalists defend salmon rights
By Andrew Pridgen
Marin County Superior Court Judge Lynn Duryee last week ruled the county had violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by approving construction of a new home along San Geronimo Creek without conducting more environmental review.
Two environmental groups that had brought suit against county approval of the new house, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) and the Tomales Bay Association were delighted with Judge Duryee’s decision.
"The days of ignoring its own 100-foot-stream [conservation area] setback and allowing continued development that is pushing endangered salmon to the brink of extinction are over," said SPAWN director Todd Steiner.
Nature of the lawsuit
Both SPAWN and the Tomales Bay Association filed the suit after county supervisors gave Josh Hedlund permission to build a 3,649-square-foot house along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in San Geronimo.
Although the building site is only 20 feet from San Geronimo Creek, the county approved construction based on creek protections that were part of the project.
The two environmental groups, however, argued that the Hedlund proposal should have undergone the CEQA process, which could have led to the county declaring the building would have no environmental impact or could have led to Hedlund’s having to finance a more expensive environmental-impact report.
County limits creekside building
Ironically, the Hedlund proposal had led to county supervisors adopting an emergency moratorium on building next to creeks containing migratory fish. That moratorium was eventually replaced with the current 100-foot buffer zone along creeks.
The court’s ruling in effect said that if a landowner proposes to build within that buffer zone, his project is subject to environmental review, as are any "mitigation measures" to avoid environmental damage, deputy county counsel David Hotzman told The Light.
Steiner would not predict as of Wednesday whether SPAWN would appeal a "negative declaration" of environmental impact prepared in accordance with CEQA. "It all depends if it is a thorough review," he said.
County culvert to aid migrations
Ironically, at the same time SPAWN and the Tomales Bay Association have been challenging the county’s protection of the Lagunitas/ Papermill Creek watershed, the county director of Public Works is scheduled to decide at 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, whether to approve restoration of the Bates Canyon fish passage.
The project would replace an aging culvert near the Woodacre Improvement Club that impedes the migration of salmon. Construction of a new culvert would take 35 days.
The fish passage restoration culvert would be built on the creek at San Geronimo Valley Drive and Meadow View Lane in Woodacre. Those wanting to visit the site can take part in a series of SPAWN-hosted walks on San Geronimo creek each Saturday Nov. 22, through Jan. 30.
‘Coho Salmon Recovery Plan’
In addition, the Department of Fish and Game last week released a draft of its Coho Salmon Recovery Strategy Plan. The plan is a "blueprint for the recovery of coho salmon in California, helping to revive struggling coho populations and restore their depleted habitat," Gail Newton, a spokeswoman for Fish and Game said.
Those wanting a copy of the plan can visit <www.cohorecovery.org>.