June 8, 2023
Mountain View City Council
500 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Via email to: citycouncil@mountainview.gov
Subject: Environmental Groups' Support for Google's North Bayshore Master Plan
Dear Mayor Hicks and Members of the Mountain View City Council,
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, Sierra Club Bay Alive Campaign, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, Green Foothills, Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge and California Native Plant Society Santa Clara Valley Chapter have participated in the North Bayshore planning processes for more than a decade. Through the years, we have contributed to the North Bayshore Precise Plan vision and guiding principles and have participated in planning efforts including studies and environmental documents. We have engaged with the City, the community, and primarily with Google. Along the way, we have witnessed firsthand the commitment of Google to engage with the community and incorporate feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. We have also witnessed the dedication of City staff, elected and appointed officials to a robust and inclusive approach, faithful to the Precise Plan vision and guiding principles.
Our nonprofit organizations have devoted substantial resources, staff time and volunteers’ expertise and time, to influence the design and future of North Bayshore. This is because North Bayshore is a sensitive and special place. It contains important habitat areas and rich biodiversity at the Charleston Retention Basin, the egret rookery of Shorebird Way, the Coast Casey wetlands, Stevens and Permanente Creeks, as well as Shoreline Park and its constellation of special status species (including burrowing owls). All of this is critically important to us, to Mountain View residents, and to our tens of thousands of members in the area.
Furthermore, the low elevation and proximity to San Francisco Bay renders North Bayshore vulnerable to impacts of sea level rise, including rising groundwater and flooding.
We acknowledge the efforts of the City and Google to address this complex environmental setting in a holistic and resilient way. We look forward to continuing to engage with the City and with Google to effectuate the vision for this area.
We look forward to implementation of the following elements.
- Ecological development that supports biodiversity, including the Eco Gem to expand habitat for birds and butterflies, Habitat Overlay Zones, and protection of the egret rookery, Charleston Retention Basin, and the burrowing owls at Shoreline Park.
- We hope the City commits to protecting the Eco Gem as habitat in perpetuity and explores ways to accomplish this goal.
- We hope the trees that comprise the egret rookery are maintained to ensure their long term health.
- Sustainable building systems as well as resilient and sustainable infrastructure solutions.
- Robust monitoring of transportation solutions as a key to sustainable development.
Google’s North Bayshore Master Plan is an important milestone for the City and for Google. Our environmental groups conceptually support the plan primarily because of its ecological and sustainability elements. We thank the City of Mountain View and Google for the opportunity to engage in this exciting process.
Sincerely,
Gita Dev
Sustainable Land Use Committee
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
Susan DesJardin
Bay Alive Committee Chair
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
Matthew Dodder
Executive Director
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
Eileen McLaughlin
Board Director
Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge
Alice Kaufman
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills
Linda Ruthruff
Conservation Committee
California Native Plant Society Santa Clara Valley Chapter