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How big is San Bruno Mountain?
3300 acres -- about 3 times the size of Golden Gate Park.
- What is an endangered species?
An endangered species is "any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range” (Endangered Species Act, 1973).
- 3. What protection does the Endangered Species Act (ESA) give to endangered species?
Most basically, if a species is put on the Endangered Species List, it becomes illegal to kill it or destroy its habitat.
- Who is in charge of the Endangered Species Act?
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which is part of the Interior Department.
- What is an Incidental Take Permit (ITP)?
Since the ESA is supposed to prevent the killing of endangered species, the USFWS has to issue a special permit that allows the “taking” of a species.
The ITP is a loophole in the Endangered Species Act, originally designed to allow scientists to occasionally take a species for study. In the battle over development on San Bruno Mountain, developers and allies went to Washington and successfully lobbied the Reagan administration to change the law to allow for development.
- What is a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)?
An HCP is a plan, under the ESA, that allows development on endangered species habitat by issuing an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) for the endangered species. In return for the harm to the species, mitigation measures are planned. Mitigation often includes land set-asides for the species, and money for habitat restoration.
- Who is in charge of the HCP?
The USFWS is the ultimate authority. In the San Bruno Mountain HCP, the San Mateo County Parks Department is the plan operator. The HCP Trustees, composed of the city managers of Brisbane, Daly City, and South San Francisco, and the San Mateo County Council and County Manager, make decisions carried out by the plan operator.
- Why are they still building on San Bruno Mountain? – I thought it was saved.
The HCP allowed for a certain amount of planned development. SBMW has fought nearly all of these. When we have been unsuccessful or had only limited success, development has taken place as planned under the HCP.
- What is mitigation?
Mitigation means lessening the negative effects of something, usually something that cannot be entirely prevented. Thus a pollution mitigation plan would be a plan to reduce the effects of pollution.
(From the HCP) “Mitigation includes the designation or reservation of land as open space or the provision of money to provide funding for wildlife conservation, protection or enhancement, and further includes the lessening of adverse development impacts through design modification, fencing at the grading perimeter, erosion control, reclamation, habitat enhancement or other protective activities.”
- Where does the money come from to operate the HCP?
Each home or commercial building built under the HCP agreement pays a yearly assessment for habitat restoration. In the original plan, the amount of money needed to conserve the habitat was badly underestimated, so the plan is under-funded.
New homes built under the new HCP Amendment would pay substantially more each year, so the funding would increase. In addition, the developer would put $4 million into an HCP trust fund. Interest from the fund would be spent on the yearly management costs.
- What is habitat restoration?
The HCP defines restored habitat as “areas where both invasive species control and replanting of native species is conducted.” Although it doesn’t define habitat restoration, it defines habitat enhancement as “manipulation of habitat in conserved areas to reverse the effects of previous disturbance, control exotic species, retain natural diversity, and maximize the value to endangered species.”
- Why does SBMW object to HCPs?
An overwhelming majority of Endangered Species have already lost so much habitat that they are endanger of extinction. Taking more of their habitat further threatens them. Most scientists agree that re-creating their habitat elsewhere is difficult to impossible. Natural ecosystems are too complex to duplicate.
The San Bruno Mt. HCP is the first one in the country, so it is precedent setting. We feel it is not only wrong in principle, but it is also a failure in terms of its goals and outcomes.
- What is an EIR?
Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), if the governing agency determines that a proposed building project may impact the environment, an Environmental Impact Review (EIR) is required. It includes an examination of several environmental factors, including biology, water and air quality and traffic. If problems are found, building plans may be altered, mitigation measures may be put in place or the plans can be rejected. The EIR is examined by the governing agency where the building is to take place…in the case of the SB Mt. Northeast Ridge EIR, that is the city council of Brisbane.
- When was the original Northeast Ridge EIR approved?
The original EIR for the Northeast Ridge was approved in 1982. Building did not take place at that time, and an Addendum (addition that involved changes) to the EIR was approved in 1989. That makes the EIR 27 years old and the EIR Addendum 20 years old.
The original EIR review environmental impacts in relationship to conditions that existed in 1982. SBMWC feels that in considering changes to the EIR for the present proposal, the new plan should be studied in the context of present day environmental conditions.
- What is a Environmental Assessment?
An Environmental Assessment (EA) is a study of the environmental impacts of a project under the Federal Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). An EA is akin to an EIR, only applying federal environmental law instead of state law.
- Isn’t coastal scrub advance the biggest threat to the butterfly habitat?
Loss of habitat is the biggest cause of the butterflies decline, and primary reason they are endangered. Permanent loss of habitat, we argue, is worse than habitat degraded by invasive plants including coastal scrub. Grassland can be reclaimed from coastal scrub, but is much more unlikely to be reclaimed once houses are built on it.
- How much habitat loss on San Bruno Mountain is due to scrub advancing,
and how much is due to building since the HCP went in to effect?
Since the HCP came into effect 26 years ago, 330 acres of habitat have been permanently destroyed (new houses and roads), and 230 acres temporarily and perhaps permanently disturbed -- that’s a total of 560 acres. Most of the disturbed land never returns to native habitat, and some has perpetual erosion problems. In that same time period, 122 acres were lost to coastal scrub succession. The HCP will sunset in 2012. During its duration, far more habitat will have been lost to development and accompanying disturbances than to coastal scrub advance. It would be prudent to see successful methods at work on San Bruno Mountain before any more habitat is taken.
- Can’t the disturbed areas be restored?
We take issue with the HCP definition of restored habitat since it doesn’t speak to successful restoration, or describe the amount of biodiversity of a restored site compared to the native site.
Even by the meager HCP definition, only 2 to 2.5 acres have been successfully restored in 26 years. The promise of the HCP has not been fulfilled, but endangered species habitat has been destroyed by the plan, and not mitigated as promised.
- If it takes $400,000 a year to restore the habitat on San Bruno Mountain, what other alternative is there to trading habitat for restoration money?
What we see as preferable is a concerted effort to find other sources of funding and to develop a very active volunteer stewardship organization. Such a plan does not destroy and or fragment even more habitat, remove open space and threaten already vulnerable species.
- The Bay Area needs housing, yet SBMW is blocking housing from being built. Does San Bruno Mountain Watch care more about butterflies than people?
We care especially for our children and grandchildren that will live with the planet we leave for them. Open space is at a premium in the north peninsula. Even more important, we must leave as much biodiversity intact as possible, since the very lives of our descendants will depend on it.
The preeminent biologist E.O Wilson said:
“The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.”
- What is a Negative Declaration?
A negative declaration, shortened to “Neg Dec” is a statement that says, “based on an initial study, no significant environmental harm will be done by a particular building project.” If the governing body feels that there will be no environmental harm caused by a project, they can approve a negative declaration.
- What happens for the Northeast Ridge project now that the Neg Dec was approved?
San Mateo County approved the negative declaration for the NER. Now the Brisbane City Council, which has already approved the EIR Amendment, will have a meeting to consider whether changes need to be made in the EIR Amendment so that is matches the EA. Once they have made adjustments, they are expected to give final approval to Brookfield’s 71 home development.
- Will SBMW is challenge the Neg Dec in court? SBMW has filed a suit objecting to the passage of the negative declaration.
- What does SBMW hope to gain by going to court?
Parties to a lawsuit are required to consider a settlement agreement – some sort of compromise both parties can live with. If no settlement is forthcoming, the suit goes to litigation.
We feel confident that we would win in litigation, if it comes to that. If we win, it seems likely that a new EIR, or at least an EIR Amendment, will be required by the court. Either of these should include a careful consideration of the project within present day environmental conditions as well as new scientific research about the needs of the Callippe silverspot and Mission blue butterflies.
Such research should inform what happens at that building site. We hope for a reconfiguration that will insure that the butterflies will not be isolated, and a development plan that will take into account the present day habitat restoration limitations, as well as air, water, transportation, energy, and global warming factors. Such a project should use the very best building practices to conserve open space, water, and energy.
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