RELEASE: VIBRANT SAN DIEGO TAKES TO CITY STREETS ON MARCH 16

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2013

Contact: Sara Kent, sara@cerf.org, 760-942-8505 x111

VIBRANT SAN DIEGO TAKES TO CITY STREETS ON MARCH 16
Participants will walk, bike and then rally for better roadway designs

***UPDATE***  Mayor Bob Filner will only be available for interviews at the Vibrant San Diego event between 10 and 10:30 am in the parking lot at University Avenue and 32nd Street, where the one-mile community walk will begin. All other speakers will be available in the parking lot at University Avenue and Mississippi Street where the rally will be held shortly after 11 am.

WHAT: Vibrant San Diego is a community walk and rally on March 16 to support designing roadways and rail systems for everyone.

WHO: Mayor Bob Filner, transportation and environmental justice advocates, climate activists and health organizations and the general public will participate.

WHEN: The one-mile walk starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 16
The rally is expected to begin around 11:15 a.m.

WHERE: Walk begins at University Avenue and 32nd Street.
The rally will be at University Avenue and Mississippi Street in the Albertsons parking lot.

WHY: Participants recognize that a “complete streets” approach to planning San Diego’s infrastructure will boost the local economy, provide mobility options for all residents and ensure safe and reliable access for walkers, bicyclists, wheelchair users and public transportation users.

The event will send a united message to our regional transportation agency, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), to design our roadways and rail systems to improve access for all users.

The Cleveland National Forest Foundation (CNFF) has engaged with SANDAG staff and representatives for more than a decade advocating for a prioritization of a regional transit system as vital to environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic progress.

“Even if you do not use bicycle or rail, the community benefits to having integrated infrastructure are broad,” explains Jack Shu, President of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation. “Walkable, vibrant city-centers help businesses thrive, and help families safely and conveniently move between schools, workplaces, and shopping resources. Transit is a major component to protecting our natural resources as our population increases.”

CNFF and other groups are asking for public support of the 50-10 Plan, to prioritize build-out of fifty years’ worth of SANDAG’s light rail and active transportation in the first ten years of implementation. For more information on this plan, please visit transitsandiego.org.

Mike Bullock, Transportation Committee Chair of the San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club, supports CNFF’s vision. “The Chapter recognizes that the 50-10 Plan’s transit-first approach is the key ingredient of climate stabilization support. We salute the CNFF’s leadership.”

Georgette Gomez of Environmental Health Coalition agrees. “Families with fewer economic means, including aging members of our society and children, often suffer the greatest health impacts from the emissions near roads-dense areas of San Diego. Offloading our roads and providing clean means of moving people and our economy is optimal.”

In addition, this is an opportunity for city planners to reduce our carbon footprint. Active in
SanDiego350.org, Angela Deegan advocates for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. “More active transportation and public transit means fewer GHG emissions and less vulnerability to wildfires and coastal flooding for your average San Diegan.”

Also represented at the community walk is Bike San Diego. It is actively engaged with local San Diego governments to implement better bicycle infrastructure, and Sam Ollinger, executive director and board president, said San Diego needs to design better roadways with bicyclists in mind. “Our environment is largely human-engineered. It has been designed around the automobile to the exclusion of other transportation mode choices. San Diegans – and future generations of San Diegans – deserve better.”

Vibrant San Diego is also endorsed by Sierra Club Conservation Committee, ATU Local 1309 (Bus Drivers Union), and Citizens Coordinate for Century 3.

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CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: Founded in 1994, CNFF has engaged in preserving continuity within the Cleveland National Forest, and has been involved in San Diego County transportation and land use planning. CNFF activists believe that to protect precious natural resources in the Cleveland National Forest and similar pristine areas, the creation of livable, thriving urban areas is necessary. www.cnff.org; www.transitsandiego.org

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COALITION: Founded in 1980, Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) builds grassroots campaigns to confront the unjust consequences of toxic pollution, discriminatory land use, and unsustainable energy policies. Visit us online at www.environmentalhealth.org

SANDIEGO350.ORG: An all-volunteer San Diego County organization, SanDiego350.org is concerned about climate change and its very real effects on our livelihoods, well-being, and the future for our children. Volunteers work to increase awareness of climate change and advocate for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. www.sandiego350.org

BIKE SAN DIEGO: Bike San Diego seeks to establish San Diego as a world-class bicycling city by promoting everyday riding. Advocates promote world-class bicycling infrastructure that contributes toward an aesthetic, livable urban environment. www.bikesd.org

SAN DIEGO CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB: The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization founded by John Muir in 1892. The San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club was founded in 1948, covering San Diego and Imperial counties, and strives to preserve the special nature of San Diego through education, activism, and advocacy. www.sandiego.sierraclub.org

Holiday Greetings from Cleveland National Forest Foundation!

Season’s Greetings, CNFF supporter!

Cleveland National Forest Foundation has been in the trenches protecting the back country against sprawl development, advocating for responsible land use planning and transit development since 1994. Our small but effective organization has had an eventful year, and we have donors, volunteers and friends like you to thank for our successes!

Regarding our landmark lawsuit against SANDAG, on December 3^rd, San Diego Superior Court Judge Taylor ruled in favor of CNFF, fellow plaintiffs and Attorney General Kamala Harris. This ruling states that SANDAG did not follow the law when it approved its $257 billion dollar regional transportation plan last year. SANDAG will most likely appeal Judge Taylor’s decision and we will continue our legal battle while the entire State waits for the ultimate outcome of this case.

Our efforts will ideally result in greater investment in transit infrastructure, better air quality, more livable neighborhoods and stronger economies in our cities. We want to make improvements rather than add to the negative impacts “traditional” planning has on our urban communities.  With your help we have the opportunity to make San Diego a national example in moving away from an auto-centric culture.

We are extremely optimistic that San Diego’s new Mayor, Bob Filner, will take the lead in promoting transit investments. However, chances are he will meet strong opposition from those who have controlled SANDAG for so long. Our advocacy work must expand if we are to make a significant shift towards implementing transit. CNFF has the history and credibility to influence responsible people, organizations and leaders. With your financial support, we will continue to serve as a strong and tireless advocate for sustainable transit and the protection of our forest.

Tax-deductible donations can be submitted via our PayPal account, and via the “Donate” button at CNFF.org or transitsandiego.org. You can also mail it to CNFF, P.O. Box 779, Descanso, CA 91719.

Thank you for your support, and may you have a very joyful holiday season!

Sincerely,

Jack Shu
President
Cleveland National Forest Foundation

Stay up to date with us! cnff.org, transitsandiego.org
Facebook: facebook.com/transitsd, and Twitter: twitter.com/transitsd

RELEASE: Judge Rules SANDAG’s Transportation Plan Violated California Law

For Immediate Release   
December 4, 2012

                                                                                                     Contact:

Severn Williams, (510) 336-9566
sev@publicgoodpr.com

Kathryn Phillips, (916) 893-8494
Sierra Club California

Kevin Bundy, (415) 436-9682 x 313
Center for Biological Diversity

Jack Shu, (619) 708-2050
Cleveland National Forest Foundation

Cory J. Briggs, (619) 221-9280
CREED-21, Affordable Housing Coalition of San Diego County

Rachel Hooper, (415) 552-7272
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP

Judge Rules SANDAG’s Transportation Plan Violated California Law

Ruling Emphasizes SANDAG’s Failure to Adequately Address Climate Pollution in 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy

SAN DIEGO – Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor ruled yesterday that the San Diego Association of Governments violated state law by failing to fully account for, and take steps to reduce, climate pollution in its environmental review of the region’s long-term transportation plan.

SANDAG’s 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy will increase climate-disrupting greenhouse gas emissions from development and transportation through mid-century, at precisely the time the best science — reflected in a landmark executive order signed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger — shows dramatic reductions are necessary to avoid dangerous climate disruption. The Associated Press reported yesterday that greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise rapidly around the world and that such increases will likely lead to an even greater increase of global temperatures than previously predicted.

“The court is setting an important example here for regional planning agencies throughout California,” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. “We cannot wait another 40 years to adopt sensible transportation and land-use policies. Thanks to California laws requiring public agencies to be open about their plans, we were able to hold SANDAG accountable for its faulty planning practices.”

“Climate change is here, it’s dangerous, and we can’t keep ignoring the warning signs,” said Kevin Bundy, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We also need our elected leaders to be honest with us about choices that affect our future. This ruling means that SANDAG can no longer just hide the ball and pass the buck when it comes to climate pollution.”

Judge Taylor ruled that SANDAG broke the law by ignoring Gov. Schwarzenegger’s executive order and failing to use its considerable authority to reduce the region’s contribution to dangerous climate disruption through the transportation plan. He noted that much of San Diego County is in a low-lying area that is likely to be affected by sea-level rise. He also said SANDAG’s approach of “kick[ing] the can down the road” and leaving compliance with state law to local jurisdictions charged with approving specific projects is not permissible.

“Today’s ruling will create a brighter future for San Diego,” said Jack Shu, president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation.

Background

The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit brought by Cleveland National Forest Foundation, the Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club under the California Environmental Quality Act. California Attorney General Kamala Harris intervened in support of the lawsuit on behalf of the people of the state of California. A companion case challenging the transportation plan was filed by CREED-21 and Affordable Housing Coalition of San Diego County. The lawsuit centered on a number of serious concerns about the SANDAG Plan, which invests heavily in freeways at the expense of public transit. Rather than promoting “smart” growth, the plan will lead to sprawl development, increasing climate disrupting pollution and other significant air pollution throughout the region.

SANDAG approved its $200 billion plan in October 2011. The Regional Transportation Plan was a planning update that is required every four years. The Sustainable Communities Strategy, on the other hand, was the first SCS in the state to be adopted since the passage of S.B. 375, a new state law intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — and combat climate disruption — through smarter land-use and transportation planning. As Judge Taylor’s ruling indicates, SANDAG’s failure to address the severe impacts of its long-term transportation plan on global climate change subverted the overarching purpose of S.B. 375.

The adopted transportation plan front-loads the expansion and extension of freeways, thus inducing sprawl and reinforcing the region’s dependence on expensive, car-oriented transportation. Petitioners demonstrated that the SANDAG Plan’s heavy reliance on automobile transportation will lead to a regional per capita increase in greenhouse gas emissions that directly conflicts with state guidelines.

SANDAG must now conduct new environmental review for its 2050 plan to ensure it adequately addresses the risk of climate change. It is likely that the more rigorous environmental review will lead to a revised plan that does a better job of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as required by state law.

About the Petitioners

The Cleveland National Forest Foundation is made up of private citizens who believe that action must be taken to protect the remaining undeveloped lands in the forest and that sound regional planning to build sustainable, quality urban communities is fundamental to saving the integrity of our wilderness areas.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 450,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Sierra Club California represents the Club’s 13 local chapters and 160,000 statewide members and advocates to protect California’s natural resources and to improve the health and safety of Californians.

CREED-21 works to ensure open, accountable, responsive government in order to protect the San Diego region’s environment.

Affordable Housing Coalition of San Diego County advocates on behalf of the public to preserve the supply of affordable housing in San Diego County, ensure that residents have access to affordable public transportation and other services, and to ensure informed government decision-making on policies and activities that increase the demand for affordable housing in the region.

Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP, whose attorneys are lead petitioners’ counsel in the case, specializes in government, land use, natural resource and environmental law. Since 1980, the firm has provided representation to public agencies and community groups throughout California.

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The Problem with BRT

The Cleveland National Forest Foundation, which (together with the Center for Biological Diversity) sued SANDAG over its 2050 Regional Transportation Plan in November 2011 and has since been joined in the litigation by Sierra Club and the Attorney General Harris, agrees that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in downtown San Diego is a poor use of resources.

CNFF previously submitted this comment letter to CCDC regarding the Downtown San Diego Mobility Strategy, discussing the then-effective 2007 version of SANDAG’s Regional Transportation Plan.

Specific to BRT in the downtown corridor, CNFF states:

“These types of BRT-related investments and improvements are completely inappropriate within downtown San Diego, especially when considering that there are almost no examples of cities where BRT was able to provide an intensive transit service in a large town. On the contrary, there are many examples of downtown transit systems that have attempted to use high-capacity BRT, and moved to rail (specifically light rail transit or LRT). One example is in Ottawa, Canada, which at one point was the poster child for busways, and is now switching to LRT. In Edinburgh, Scotland, the government is building their new LRT system on a failed and abandoned guided busway grade. Most staggering of all is the city of Portland, which created a long range plan in the 1970’s that called for a complete bus system. Portland now has one of the most famous and utilized LRT systems, within which buses play a supporting role to the rail lines.

The major significance of the Mobility Strategy is that it definitively states that business-as-usual (i.e. our current auto-based system) will not be able to provide adequate mobility needs for Downtown San Diego. The BRT system planned within the current RTP (the 2030 RTP) calls for extensive freeway expansion projects to create all purpose lanes, and also to add Managed Lanes for BRT. Adding capacity to freeways would constitute a complete business-as-usual scenario, and will only further support the auto-based transportation system that has been a proven failure for San Diego. In order to make a holistic change from sprawl to infill development, and to make urban areas like Downtown San Diego function, we must move away from highway infrastructure and immediately invest in rail transit. Furthermore, the BRT system called for within the 2030 RTP would cost the San Diego region billions of dollars. Given our region’s current economic shortfalls, we simply cannot afford to make infrastructure investment mistakes that will need to be corrected in the future.”

Read the letter for further discussion of transportation planning downtown San Diego.

RELEASE: Sierra Club Joins Lawsuit to Challenge San Diego Governments’ Flawed Transportation Plan

For Immediate Release
January 23, 2012

Contact:
Severn Williams, (510) 336-9566
sev@publicgoodpr.com

Kathryn Phillips (916) 893-8494
Sierra Club California

Kevin Bundy, (415) 436-9682 x 313
Center for Biological Diversity

Jack Shu, (619) 708-2050
Cleveland National Forest Foundation

Sierra Club Joins Lawsuit to Challenge San Diego Governments’ Flawed Transportation Plan

Club leaders cite concerns about plan’s contributions to pollution, climate change

San Diego, Calif. – The Sierra Club announced today that it has joined the Cleveland National Forest Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity as a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit against the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). The lawsuit challenges SANDAG’s 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and was filed in the San Diego Superior Court in November 2011.

According to the plaintiffs, SANDAG used a deficient process to develop a flawed plan that will invest heavily in freeways at the expense of public transit. The plan will unnecessarily increase pollution and exacerbate global climate change. San Diego is the first region in the state charged with updating its long-range transportation plan under SB 375, a new State law intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and climate change – through smarter land-use and transportation planning.

“SANDAG’s plan is disappointing. The agency missed an opportunity to be a leader. It could have set an example of how to plan for future transportation needs without putting public health and the environment at risk, but didn’t,” said Kathryn Phillips, Director of Sierra Club California. “SANDAG’s plan will lead to more sprawl and traffic. What the region needs—and what the law calls for— is a visionary future that accommodates growth while protecting our air and natural resources. We need a plan that recognizes that the world has changed and that people want a transportation system that includes more and better transit.”

SANDAG approved its $200 billion transportation plan in October 2011. The agency is required to update its vision for regional transportation developments every four years. The recently approved plan front-loads the expansion and extension of regional freeways, which will promote sprawl and reinforce the region’s dependence on expensive, car-oriented transportation.

Most of the transit improvements identified in SANDAG’s 2050 plan would be delayed by decades and fall far short of creating a robust transit network comprised of efficient rail systems supported by bus, bicycle and pedestrian options. Instead, the plan would encourage more driving, leading to more air pollution in a region that already suffers from very poor air quality.

“Having an environmental powerhouse like the Sierra Club join us as plaintiffs further supports our belief that SANDAG violated the law” said Jack Shu, president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation. “SANDAG failed in its obligation to serve all of our communities and plan for a better future.”

SANDAG’s plan relies so heavily on freeways and sprawl that regional per capita greenhouse gas emissions will actually increase over the coming decades, interfering with California’s landmark efforts to curb climate change.

“As drafted, SANDAG’s plan will be increasing greenhouse pollution at a time when the rest of the world will need to be making dramatic reductions in order to avoid the worst of climate change,” said Kevin Bundy, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re very pleased to have Sierra Club on board with this lawsuit, and we hope SANDAG takes this as a sign of just how wrong they got it.”

Throughout the planning process, opponents of the plan have urged SANDAG to prioritize transit investments in the urban core and reject extending freeways into the far reaches of the county.

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About the Center for Biological Diversity (www.biologicaldiversity.org)
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

About the Cleveland National Forest Foundation (www.cnff.org)
The Cleveland National Forest Foundation is made up of private citizens who believe that action must be taken to protect the remaining undeveloped lands in the forest and that sound regional planning to build sustainable, quality urban communities is fundamental to saving the integrity of our wilderness areas.

About Sierra Club California (www.sierraclubcalifornia.org)
Sierra Club California represents the Club’s 13 local chapters and 160,000 statewide members and advocates to protect California’s natural resources and to improve the health and safety of Californians.

About Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP (www.smwlaw.com)
Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP, whose attorneys are lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the case, specializes in government, land use, natural resource and environmental law. Since 1980, the firm has provided representation to public agencies and community groups throughout California.

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Holiday Message from the Cleveland National Forest Foundation

Cleveland National Forest Foundation

P.O. BOX 779,

DESCANSO, CA 91916

Transit Activists and Friends of Cleveland National Forest Foundation:

 

This has been one of our most active and effective years since we formed in 1994. Always aware that the forest is being threatened by forces that are  distant from the forest itself, our Executive Director, Duncan McFetridge, has remained on the front lines of regional planning issues. Whether it is addressing county general plans or regional transportation issues, Duncan is known by public officials as the one who will speak up and hold them accountable. More than a phrase, he has embodied “speak the truth to power.”

 
Our nonprofit Foundation has funded planning studies and legal assistance from some of the best experts in the country. This has placed us as a leader in promoting a more sustainable environment in our region and for the long term survival of wilderness in San Diego.

As many of you may know, CNFF, along with the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a lawsuit on Nov. 28th against the San Diego Association of Government (SANDAG) for failing to meet California’s environmental legal requirements in their 2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. This plan does not adequately reduce greenhouse gasses in the future, promotes urban sprawl into the back country and neglects the present need to develop effective transit in our cities. From public health to economic perspectives, SANDAG’s plan is a major environmental justice calamity.

CNFF will be bearing much of the cost for this lawsuit. However, we have expended what we had in our budget on critical items necessary to comment on the plan and offering alternatives. Our attorneys have been with CNFF for many years and are the best; they have already provided countless hours of pro bono work. And those of you who appreciate Duncan know that he will, like in the past, give up all he owns except feeding his orphaned animals to fund the lawsuit. We don’t want that to happen again. So I’m asking you to give what you can to help CNFF keep up the fight.

The easiest way to donate is to go to our website, CNFF.org, and use the online system.  Of course you can always also send contributions directly to CNFF, P.O. Box 779, Descanso, CA 91719.

On behalf of our Board, seasons greetings and may this coming year bring you good health and happiness.

Peace,

Jack Shu
President

Connect with us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transitsd or Twitter: http://twitter.com/transitsd

CNFF, CBD v SANDAG ~ Litigation Petition

Copy of the filed Petition and Complaint, filed Monday, November 28.

The Cleveland National Forest and Center for Biological Diversity seek lower emissions and greater transit alternatives via this litigation.

To support this litigation via donation to the 501(c)(3) Foundation, visit: www.cnff.org or www.transitsandiego.org.