Act now to protect the San Joaquin River Parkway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~from http://riverparkway.org
Dear Parkway Supporter,
On Tuesday, February 1, 2011, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors will vote on the Friant Ranch Development Project. This project, located across Friant Road from Lost Lake Park, will develop 2500 homes along with associated streets and utilities. This project will dramatically impact Lost Lake Park by concentrating a large group of users directly across from the park entrance. The project will also impact the park with the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in the riverbottom adjacent to Lost Lake Park.
Please contact the Fresno County Board of Supervisors to voice your concerns about the threat the Friant Ranch Development poses to the San Joaquin River Parkway. You can contact Board Chairman Supervisor Phil Larson by clicking here to send your email: jbarlow@co.fresno.ca.us
The River Parkway Trust has two primary concerns with the Friant Ranch Project:
The Wastewater Treatment Plant will be in the Riverbottom and Blights Lost Lake Park: Friant Ranch proposes to build a waste water treatment plant in the riverbottom and immediately adjacent to Lost Lake Park. The plant would have a 20,000 square foot industrial processing plant, plus it will empty its waste water into huge gravel pits surrounding Lost Lake Park. We find the combination of the potential water quality impacts, not to mention the offensive scenic impacts, to be unacceptable. The plant will be BIG, big enough to handle the waste from the 2,500 homes of Friant Ranch, plus the whole Friant community, including any future expansion. The location brings the possibility of contaminants from pharmaceuticals and other chemicals leaching their way to the river, affecting fish and families alike. The developers have other options for locating the plant. Why take the risk of locating it in the riverbottom?
Nothing's In Place to Help Parks-The Friant Ranch development is designed for new home buyers that want to take advantage of its location adjacent to Lost Lake Park, the San Joaquin River Parkway, and Millerton State Park. Yet the Friant Ranch project did not study what impacts its 6,000 new residents will have on these public resources nor is there anything in place to help pay for Park impacts. Why should our public parks bear the extra burden?
For these reasons, the Trust's Board of Directors asks for your help to let the Board of Supervisors know that the Friant Ranch Project is a bad idea. We join with many other civic groups and agencies including, Revive the San Joaquin, League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, Fresno County Democratic Party, Central Valley Water and the Consortium and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Here's what you can do:
1. Email the Fresno County Board of Supervisors today. Click here to email Board Chairman Supervisor Phil Larson.
2. Come to the public hearing, Tuesday, February 1 at 2:00pm. The meeting will be held at the Fresno County Hall of Records, 2281 Tulare St, Room 301.
With good planning, we can have vibrant communities and a healthy San Joaquin River Parkway. Write to your County Supervisors today!
On behalf of our Board of Directors,
Dave Koehler, Executive Director
http://www.riverparkway.org
For 22 years, the Trust has been working to create a 22-mile Parkway along the San Joaquin River. Support from our members and volunteers, and grants from public agencies, have enabled us to protect over 3,500 acres of open land for people living in the Fresno/Madera area and restore hundreds of acres for the plants and animals that live in and along the river.
http://www.facebook.com/SJRPCT
http://parkwayview.wordpress.com/ THEIR NEW BLOG
Since our founding in 1988, we've been working, with support from friends like you, to create a 22-mile Parkway along the San Joaquin River. We want to leave a legacy of open space for the rapidly urbanizing Fresno/Madera region.
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