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Battle to Save Comanche Creek Rages On!Stalwart Neighbors... prepare for June 5 Special Electionby Luisa Garza [This article first appeared in the Spring 2001 issue of the Environmental News. It's included here for archival and research purposes.] The battle continues and momentum is building to stop the Otterson Drive Extension (Extension), a road and bridge that would parallel and cross Comanche Creek. The Extension would be built along a thirteen-acre strip of rich riparian land in southwest Chico. Using the argument of "more jobs for Chico," the City Council approved the project in May of 2000 and agreed to spend an estimated $2.7 million of taxpayer's money to pay for it. The project would provide an attractive "grand entrance" to the Hegan Lane industrial complex from East Park Avenue at the Midway. A grass roots citizens group, Neighbors for Environmental and Fiscal Responsibility (NEFR), formed in July 2000 in response to the City Council decision to approve the project. NEFR has three primary concerns:
In the current General Plan, the targeted area of Comanche Creek is designated as a creekside greenway which disallows the construction of roads or bridges. NEFR members agreed to offer a referendum opposing the General Plan amendment that the Extension requires. NEFR members also decided to file suit against the City of Chico, challenging the illegally adopted Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The campaign to place the referendum on the ballot was highly successful - a true citizen effort with over fifty community members gathering well over 4,000 signatures. Only 2,850 signatures were required (10% of registered Chico voters) to qualify the referendum. The petitions were triumphantly delivered to the City Clerk's office on October 17, 2000. With the petitions certified, the Otterson Drive Extension is effectively stopped unless it receives an affirmative vote of the citizens of Chico in a special election scheduled for June 5, 2001. A legal challenge is already underway. NEFR was fortunate to hire Rose Zoia of the law firm, Brandt-Hawley and Zoia. The firm is nationally recognized as being highly successful with environmental law cases. The suit is straight-forward: The adopted EIR was illegal in several major areas, all brought up numerous times in public testimony and written comment, but never corrected. These areas are: (1) The objectives were too vague, (2) the analysis did not include cumulative impacts as required, (3) the scope of the analysis was too limited, and (4) the overriding considerations were neither compelling nor supported by the evidence. Preventing the use of this limited EIR will ensure that whenever new road projects are again considered in the area, they will need to be based on a more robust EIR that considers all the elements that affect the environmental values in the area. At the December 19, 2000 City Council meeting, the Council had the opportunity to either stop the project or call for a special election. A 4-3 majority voted to go with the special election: Herbert, Keene, Wahl and Bertagna. They selected June 5 as election day, despite many speakers from the community pointing out that a June election would effectively disenfranchise students. The Council majority gave no compelling reasons for their decision [see "Students Disenfranchised" for more on the student issue]. On another front, several NEFR supporters answered their phones in mid-January to receive a telephone survey asking "quality of life" questions subtly slanted against the NEFR position on Otterson Drive. After some investigation, it was discovered that Tod Kimmelshue, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Hegan Lane Business complex owner Doug Guillon, and his partner Bill Brouhard, had commissioned Competitive Edge Research (a San Diego-based company with extensive ties to the National and State Republican Party machines) to conduct an extremely costly telephone poll of Chico voters to determine how the political winds were blowing regarding the referendum election. One might ask, if they are truly interested in supporting local business and job creation, why didn't they contract with a local entity to do the polling? Shortly thereafter, Kimmelshue announced a new local Political Action Committee, the "Coalition for Parks and Jobs," formed specifically to channel large amounts of money into the pro-Otterson Extension campaign. This choice of name makes clear the approach they are taking to convince Chicoans to vote for the project. On the issue of Parks, they say that the project will provide Chico with a park including all the land that is not paved over. Try not to notice the noise of the trucks roaring by - 10,000 vehicle trips per day at full build-out. On the issue of jobs, they claim that this THIRD entrance to the business complex is needed to attract businesses that will provide jobs. This, in spite of the fact that Brouhard stated at a City Council meeting that they would surely achieve full build-out whether or not the bridge and road are built. The February 6 City Council meeting proved once again that the Chamber of Commerce calls the shots with the Council majority. At a hearing to decide whether the special election in June will be a precinct or mail-in ballot, community members lined up to express solid reasons for a mail-in ballot - it would cost the City $24,000 less than a precinct vote, and would be more convenient for all voters, including students. Only two people spoke in favor of precinct voting - guess who? Chamber President Tod Kimmelshue and Hegan Lane Business spokesperson Bill Brouhard! Although studies have shown that mail-in voting is more "fraud-proof" than precinct voting, fear of fraud with mail-ins was the ostensible reason given by the City Council majority for supporting precinct voting. Once again democracy went down in flames. The Council majority continues to ignore the will of the peopl: sound reason, and fiscal responsibility. Another item on the February 6 agenda was to discuss an advisory measure that Steve Bertagna wants to put on the ballot. It would communicate the real costs of not building the bridge - "way more than the extension would cost," stated Steve. He was implying that the cost of the No Project Alternative, which requires improvements on the Midway, is linked to the cost of the gasoline toxic cleanup on the Midway [See "Toxic Task Force"]. This is a confusion of issues. The gasoline spill is a problem, and it must be cleaned up. The responsible owners are liable for all costs incurred, and there is state and federal super-fund monies that can be tapped in such situations. According to State law, it is not the City of Chico's responsibility to cleanup the toxic contamination of the Midway. In any case, linking the no project alternative with the Midway cleanup suggests a cynical attitude on the part of the City Council majority, that they are not concerned about the need to clean up this dangerous contamination unless it interferes with improving the flow of traffic on the Midway. Why has there been no concern expressed that MTBE might be getting into your water table? The City Council majority has also ignored NEFR's request to create a Citizens Toxic Task Force.
It should be noted here that even the project proponents acknowledge that there is no pressing hurry on the Otterson Drive Extension. Their concern is for future traffic slow downs, not the present need. This makes their use of the Midway clean-up issue even more ludicrous - if the project is not needed for five or ten years, surely the Midway clean-up can and should take place before then. Also discussed at the Council meeting was a proposal by Maureen Kirk and Dan Nguyen-Tan that the City purchase the land now, before the election, to protect the land with Chico development standards. The Council majority spoke against the idea. Mayor Dan Herbert stated clearly for all to hear that purchase of the property would "muddy the election issues," meaning, of course that if the City buys the land now, they would lose the "parks" argument. No action was taken. What's Next?With NEFR at the helm, the campaign now moves to the next phase - preparing for the special election. NEFR's knows that the people of Chico do not want to pay upwards of $3 million for a road and bridge to benefit a single owner when there are so many other traffic and road problems not being addressed: pot holes on East Avenue, numerous residential streets which flood every time it rains, crawling traffic and high accident rates at the corners of East Avenue and Cohasset, Esplanade and Cohasset, and Mangrove and Vallombrosa. There are already long lines of traffic on East Park Avenue at Highway 99, - the very intersection that will be clogged even more by this boondoggle project! How does the Hegan Lane Business complex merit so much attention? Why has the Chamber of Commerce made this project a priority over all the pressing traffic and road repair needs in Chico? Why this "Gift to Guillon"? Is there is hidden agenda here that "they" don't want to discuss? Perhaps the real reasons will surface as the campaign goes forward. It will be an interesting - and busy - spring! The campaign will be a costly and time consuming. The "Coalition for Jobs and Parks" will have plenty of money to spend. NEFR has to work hard for every donation - and appreciates every penny. Through the months of the petition gathering, there was a steady flow of donations, several unexpected very generous gifts, and a continued outpouring of support. NEFR believes that the community will come through once again.
Check out the NEFR web site at www.shocking.com/~creeks/. From the Spring 2001 issue of the Environmental News. |
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This swimming hole at the foot of Ivy Street is a summertime haven for neighborhood kids. It would fall victim to the proposed roadway if the Northern Crossing is built.
Until recently, there was a beaver dam in this section of the Creek; after floods breached it, the Creek continued to nourish a broad marsh. This is about the place where the City intends to put the bridge, unless the Otterson extension is stopped.