| | Dear Friends.
Hope your summer is going well and that you all have been able to getaway for a while! Here's an update on where we are now.
The Environmental Impact Report
As we all expected, the Architectural Commission approved the EIR onJuly 28. They believe it contains a full and accurate discussion of the impacts and of the possible mitigation measures for the North Campus Master Plan, and therefore can be the basis for deciding in late fall whether or not to approve the project.
The city and the AC have embraced the offer to preserve the golf coursefor 25 years and accepted with very little discussion CUC's reasons why building on the quarry is not a feasible option. Therefore, if the project is approved, it will be approved on the BFS. The Next Steps
By the time you receive this letter, the Friends will have filed anappeal. We have been told that no City Council meetings will take place in August so the appeal will be heard in September.
The Friends are of course exploring further options should the appealbe unsuccessful. Negotiations
You may have heard that the Friends are negotiating with CUC todetermine if a compromise can be reached that would give all parties most of what they want. No agreement has so far been reached but talks are continuing. In the meantime, the Friends will continue to take all appropriate action. We plan to stick around!
The Friends have long-term plans to be of benefit to the city as awhole and so we are presently incorporating as a non-profit. Money:
We finally have an account! Contributions of all sizes will be verygratefully accepted. Make checks payable to the "Friends of the Bernard Biological Field Station" and send them to: | | FBBFS
P.O. Box 1101
Claremont, CA 91711
We aren't non-profit yet, of course, but we'll send you an acknowledgement and notify you if our tax-exempt status is approved before the end of the tax year.
How you can help - Send us suggestions for attention-getting activities or volunteer to organize one.
- Write and talk to the City Council, our elected representatives -- P.O. Box 880, Claremont, CA, 91711 (399-5460). Their names are: KarenRosenthal (mayor), Sandy Baldonado, Paul Held, Al Leiga and Suzan Smith.
- Continue to talk to your friends and neighbors so that the rest of the community is informed about the issues
We have a web site!
www.fbbfs.org
It has lots of info and looks great
Take a look! | Interesting notes: - The consultants who prepared the economic analysis of the possible effects of the KGI on the city suggest that it might attract a dozenbiotech firms to the city if the city makes land available. The consultant who spoke viewed this as the purpose of the project.
- One speaker for the KGI stated he expected it to catalyze an explosion of growth in the city.
- The EIR rejects the need to consider possible long-term effects of the project.
- The AC decided that building on the BFS would have no impact on the city's character and therefore deleted this previously Class I impact from the land use section of the EIR.
7/30/99 | |