Environment

By Stephanie Schaaf

The greatest environmental issue facing both our city and the Bay Area as a whole is the need for sustainable land use decisions. Our current patterns of sprawl development lead to destruction of habitat and open space. Sprawl also increases traffic and air pollution due to longer commutes and the fact that sprawl developments are rarely served by public transit.

As a city and as a region we must focus on smart growth and transit-oriented development solutions. This includes infill development on available land within the urban core, building higher density housing developments where appropriate, and targetting development to corridors served by public transit. We must also ensure that the public transit solutions are in place to serve the communities that are located near transit hubs.

Mountain View has already made great strides in this arena, winning awards for its transit-oriented developments and making affordable housing a priority. Many opportunities remain. I am particularly excited about the Mayfield Mall site, which is one of our few remaining large parcels available for a diverse array of housing products including mixed-use residential/retail and a variety of housing types. This site is along the CalTrain corridor, making it a perfect location for transit-oriented development. The city also has other opportunities for smart development, particularly in and near the downtown and our multi-modal transit hub. The current economic climate makes this a great time to look into rezoning some areas from commercial to residential.

The theme of my campaign is making Mountain View a sustainable city, and environmental sustainability is the cornerstone of that plan. Eventually, I would like to see the city develop a real sustainability policy and plan, complete with indicators that are measured annually, goals for improving our sustainability picture, and strategies and tactics to achieve those goals.

First, I plan to prove how sustainability makes sense for the city by showing how sustainable environmental policies can save the city money in the long term. The city is moving forward with a recycled water pipeline, and I would encourage increased use of recycled water in appropriate areas to conserve water and save on water bills.

Similarly, the Los Altos High School district has recently done an energy retrofit of their buildings, with new energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems. By showing the financial benefits of such a program, I plan to encourage the city to do the same and also move towards a policy of Green Building for new construction.

I am interested in making Mountain View a more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city, with a more robust network of bike boulevards and pedestrian-friendly designs for both sidewalks and buildings. One part of that picture is Stevens Creek Trail. I was pleased that the most recent EIR for Reach 4 Segment 2 addressed the concerns that the Sierra Club and other environmental groups had expressed regarding habitat. I will continue to ensure that trail development protects species and habitat, while also serving the recreation and transportations needs of the community.

Finally, I will continue to monitor the situation with Mountain View's toxic Superfund sites. And I would support a stronger Integrated Pest Management policy than the city currently implements.