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From the Executive Director...
by Zoe Kersteen-Tucker

These are exciting times at the Committee for Green Foothills. For the first time in our 41-year history, we now have three Legislative Advocates "on the ground" working on behalf of the local environment in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. In little more than two months, our new environmental advocacy team has gained traction and is surging ahead in what's proving to be a powerful regional force.

In Santa Clara County, we recently welcomed Brian Schmidt as our new full-time Legislative Advocate. A graduate of Stanford Law School and Georgetown University, Brian is a former fellow at the nonprofit public interest law firm Earthjustice (formerly known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) and has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the land use law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. He is experienced with the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the California Environmental Quality Act. As the Committee's Santa Clara County Advocate, Brian will turn his considerable expertise to an array of open space and natural resource protection issues ranging from a comprehensive new riparian protection ordinance to a possible Countywide Habitat Conservation Plan.

And, as you will read in this issue of Green Footnotes, Brian, along with Stanford Open Space Alliance and CGF Board members, recently tested their mettle by seeking tighter protections for the Stanford foothills through proposed revisions to the draft zoning language for Stanford's Open Space and Field Research (OS/F) district. While the Santa Clara County Supervisors ultimately approved final zoning language which fell short of our high expectations, Brian has nonetheless firmly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the Stanford land use arena, and will continue to closely monitor Stanford's compliance with the terms of the 2000 General Use Permit. Monitoring Stanford's development plans for the beloved foothills has been a centerpiece of our work in Santa Clara County since the Committee's inception.

In San Mateo County, legendary CGF Legislative Advocate Lennie Roberts has been joined by veteran environmental activist and organizer April Vargas. Many of you will recognize April as the Committee's past Treasurer and Green Foothills Foundation President; April is also finishing out her term as an elected representative on the MidCoast Community Council.

In her new role as our second San Mateo County Legislative Advocate, April successfully orchestrated a broad-based and powerful show of community support for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's proposed coastal annexation, a move that resulted in that Board's unanimous and historic vote in favor of forwarding the proposed annexation to San Mateo County's Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) for approval. (For full details, see "Open Space District poised to expand to the Coast" on page 13 of this issue of Green Footnotes.)

In the coming months, April and Lennie will also work on a comprehensive set of revisions to the San Mateo County Midcoast's blueprint for development, the Local Coastal Program (LCP), seeking tighter restrictions on the development of substandard lots in the urban Midcoast area. The dynamic duo will also focus increased attention on coastal agricultural land protections and furthering the long-awaited Devil's Slide tunnel project.

The most exciting aspect of having additional advocacy staff on board is that the Committee is now better able to focus much-needed energy on proactive advocacy. While much of our work is and always will be reactive in nature, mobilizing local communities against precedent-setting development proposals, real power lies in creating new land use and habitat protection policies that stave off damaging development proposals altogether. Our new staff will be seeking out new opportunities to be proactive, to tighten existing zoning ordinances, and to craft new policies that create stronger and better environmental protections.

In other staff news, the Committee is pleased to introduce our first-ever Associate Director of Development, Velma Gentzsch. Many of you will know and recognize Velma, who has served as the Committee's beloved Office Coordinator for the last two years. Velma has now been promoted to the vital role of Associate Director of Development, where she will concentrate on expanding our sources of private Foundation funding and opportunities to connect with you, our members - our most valuable natural resources!

And finally, another familiar face has come back to the Committee, Andi (Levine) Fray. After a two year hiatus in Chicago in which she got married (and tired of the weather), Andi has returned to the beach and her position as the Committee's Office Manager. Welcome back, Andi!

Thanks to your generosity and support, the Committee has bolstered its staff in key and strategic ways. We hope you are as pleased and proud of these accomplishments as we are. In these troubling times with unprecedented assaults on the nation's environmental protections, we can all draw comfort from the knowledge that here, on the Peninsula, our power to protect the local environment is stronger than ever. Lasting environmental protection begins at the grassroots level with people like you who care enough to take action. We thank you for caring, and the land thanks you!

Published July 2003 in Green Footnotes.
Page last updated July 7, 2003 .


	News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			From the Executive Director... by Zoe Kersteen-Tucker These are exciting times at the Committee for Green Foothills. For the first time in our 41-year history, we now have three Legislative Advocates "on the ground" working on behalf of the local environment in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. In little more than two months, our new environmental advocacy team has gained traction and is surging ahead in what's proving to be a powerful regional force. In Santa Clara County, we recently welcomed Brian Schmidt as our new full-time Legislative Advocate. A graduate of Stanford Law School and Georgetown University, Brian is a former fellow at the nonprofit public interest law firm Earthjustice (formerly known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) and has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the land use law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. He is experienced with the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the California Environmental Quality Act. As the Committee's Santa Clara County Advocate, Brian will turn his considerable expertise to an array of open space and natural resource protection issues ranging from a comprehensive new riparian protection ordinance to a possible Countywide Habitat Conservation Plan. And, as you will read in this issue of Green Footnotes, Brian, along with Stanford Open Space Alliance and CGF Board members, recently tested their mettle by seeking tighter protections for the Stanford foothills through proposed revisions to the draft zoning language for Stanford's Open Space and Field Research (OS/F) district. While the Santa Clara County Supervisors ultimately approved final zoning language which fell short of our high expectations, Brian has nonetheless firmly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the Stanford land use arena, and will continue to closely monitor Stanford's compliance with the terms of the 2000 General Use Permit. Monitoring Stanford's development plans for the beloved foothills has been a centerpiece of our work in Santa Clara County since the Committee's inception. In San Mateo County, legendary CGF Legislative Advocate Lennie Roberts has been joined by veteran environmental activist and organizer April Vargas. Many of you will recognize April as the Committee's past Treasurer and Green Foothills Foundation President; April is also finishing out her term as an elected representative on the MidCoast Community Council. In her new role as our second San Mateo County Legislative Advocate, April successfully orchestrated a broad-based and powerful show of community support for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's proposed coastal annexation, a move that resulted in that Board's unanimous and historic vote in favor of forwarding the proposed annexation to San Mateo County's Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) for approval. (For full details, see "Open Space District poised to expand to the Coast" on page 13 of this issue of Green Footnotes.) In the coming months, April and Lennie will also work on a comprehensive set of revisions to the San Mateo County Midcoast's blueprint for development, the Local Coastal Program (LCP), seeking tighter restrictions on the development of substandard lots in the urban Midcoast area. The dynamic duo will also focus increased attention on coastal agricultural land protections and furthering the long-awaited Devil's Slide tunnel project. The most exciting aspect of having additional advocacy staff on board is that the Committee is now better able to focus much-needed energy on proactive advocacy. While much of our work is and always will be reactive in nature, mobilizing local communities against precedent-setting development proposals, real power lies in creating new land use and habitat protection policies that stave off damaging development proposals altogether. Our new staff will be seeking out new opportunities to be proactive, to tighten existing zoning ordinances, and to craft new policies that create stronger and better environmental protections. In other staff news, the Committee is pleased to introduce our first-ever Associate Director of Development, Velma Gentzsch. Many of you will know and recognize Velma, who has served as the Committee's beloved Office Coordinator for the last two years. Velma has now been promoted to the vital role of Associate Director of Development, where she will concentrate on expanding our sources of private Foundation funding and opportunities to connect with you, our members - our most valuable natural resources! And finally, another familiar face has come back to the Committee, Andi (Levine) Fray. After a two year hiatus in Chicago in which she got married (and tired of the weather), Andi has returned to the beach and her position as the Committee's Office Manager. Welcome back, Andi! Thanks to your generosity and support, the Committee has bolstered its staff in key and strategic ways. We hope you are as pleased and proud of these accomplishments as we are. In these troubling times with unprecedented assaults on the nation's environmental protections, we can all draw comfort from the knowledge that here, on the Peninsula, our power to protect the local environment is stronger than ever. Lasting environmental protection begins at the grassroots level with people like you who care enough to take action. We thank you for caring, and the land thanks you! Published July 2003 in Green Footnotes. Page last updated July 7, 2003 .