These are all the RBDA letters sent by the Board in 2000
The Rural Bonny Doon Association
Keeping Bonny Doon rural and natural  -  since 1957
102 Sunlit Lane                 Bonny Doon, California 95060

28 December 2000

Jan Tepper, Chief
Police Department, H Barn
University of California-Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz CA 95064

Mardi Wormhoudt
Supervisor, 3rd District
Santa Cruz County
701 Ocean Street, Room 500
Santa Cruz CA 95060

Dave Stuflick, Captain
California Highway Patrol
State of California
10395 Soquel Drive
Aptos CA 95003

Mark Tracy, Sheriff
Santa Cruz County
701 Ocean Street, Third Floor
Santa Cruz CA 95060
 

Dear Chief Tepper, Supervisor Wormhoudt, Captain Stuflick, and Sheriff Tracy:

Last March, we wrote to you about a serious parking situation on Empire
Grade, at the West Entrance to the University of California at Santa Cruz.
We were delighted then with your response, relieved that the matter was
receiving the attention it warranted, and happy to see the 'No Parking'
signs soon thereafter.

Now, some of the people who used the West Entrance roadside as a parking
lot have moved up Empire Grade to the Cave Gulch area, joining many others
who apparently find parking there preferable to paying fees to park on
campus.   Here the road - much traveled by heavy trucks and vulnerable
bicyclists -- is narrower, the curves and vegetation cause limited
visibility, and the parkers practice their sudden entrances to the roadway
and carefree U-turns across Empire, either to park or to return to town. 
In fact, ending a highly dangerous situation lower down the road has created 
potential for a gruesome catastrophe higher up. 

Stefan Fish, the Sheriff's Deputy assigned to Bonny Doon and the North
Coast, has helpfully informed us that 'No Parking' signs are coming soon to
Cave Gulch.  We are grateful to Deputy Fish for his attention to our needs
and to you for collaborating to resolve this potentially lethal problem
before someone is injured or killed.

As before, we thank you for working to make the road safe for us all.  If
we can offer support or help in other ways, please do let us know.
 

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames
Corresponding Secretary
 
 

cc:     M. R. C. Greenwood, Chancellor, University of California-Santa Cruz
        Stefan Fish, Deputy, Sheriff/Coroner's Office


8 December 2000

California Coastal Commission
Central Coast Office
725 Front Street, Suite 300
Santa Cruz, California  95060

Agenda No:      Th 7p
Appl No:        A-3-SCO-98-101
Name:           Rural Bonny Doon Assn
Position:       Opposed

Dear Commissioners: 

We, the Rural Bonny Doon Association, representing the citizens of the
coast north of Santa Cruz and the community surrounding Davenport for close
to half a century, are strongly opposed to development of the former
Odwalla site.

We believe that several disastrous precedents could be set if this project
is allowed, including:

· Permitting commercial development on the West side of Highway 1

· Overturning zoning as established in the County's General Plan

· Desecrating a glorious coastal bluff

We applaud your earlier decision to reject this project and ask you to uphold it.

With thanks for your consideration,
 

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames, Corresponding Secretary

cc:     Supervisors, County of Santa Cruz



 
 
5 November 2000
Tom Bolich, Director
Department of Public Works
County of Santa Cruz
701 Ocean Street
Santa Cruz CA  95060

        Re:  Road Repairs in Bonny Doon
 

Dear Mr. Bolich:

We were cheered by your kind and helpful September visit: we are reassured
by your concern for our road problems and encouraged by your assurances
that you are interested to hear of them.   Now we - the Rural Bonny Doon
Association, on behalf of our mountain community -- ask you to give special
consideration to two areas.

Felton-Empire Road:  We agree with your assessment that this throughway is
in such dire condition that it requires rebuilding.  In fact, your crews'
marks at places where the road surface is slipping over the edge and down
the mountainside have heightened our appreciation of the situation.  We
also understand your principle that, with limited funds and crews, the
easier fixes should be approached first.  We consider, however, that this
situation is sufficiently alarming and the road a sufficiently important
commuting artery that its maintenance cannot be postponed.

Lower Bonny Doon Road:  The steep, narrow, winding lower part, where the
road approaches Liddell Creek (and was twice washed out in the past three
years), has many potholes and bumpy surfaces, some hastily patched in ways
that contribute to the overall hazard.  This road is another heavily
traveled commuting route, and the buses which traverse it three times daily
doubtless accelerate its deterioration.  And so, we ask that repairing its
treacherous pavement be made another immediate priority.

We write with knowledge that you share our interest in public safety.   We
hope that your attention to these two severe cases may bring a swift solution.

With thanks for your attention,
 

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames, Corresponding Secretary
 

cc:  Mardi Wormhoudt, Supervisor, Third District, County of Santa Cruz
        Susan Mauriello, Administrator, County of Santa Cruz
        William Dunlap, Roads Superintendent, County of Santa Cruz


26 July 2000
 

Planning Commission
Santa Cruz County
County Government Center
701 Ocean Street, Room 400
Santa Cruz CA 95060

        Re:  Redwood Meadows Ranch Winery, Application #97-0787
 

Dear Commissioners:

The Rural Bonny Doon Association has several very serious concerns
regarding William and Robin Cunningham's proposal for a winery that would
be rented out for numerous large events which have little to do with
manufacturing or selling wine, setting a precedent for uses far beyond what
agricultural parcels are supposed to be used for.

First, we do not oppose the establishment of a vineyard as an appropriate
use of the Redwood Meadows Ranch's Open Space Easement.  And we recognize
that, by tradition, wineries have been permitted adjacent to vineyards as a
convenience to the grower, who does not have to truck his grapes to a
distant destination.  In this case, however, the overwhelming bulk of the
grapes will be grown elsewhere and trucked to the vineyard/winery over the
highways and up narrow, twisting and steep Bonny Doon Road.  Why should
such a manufacturing facility be located in Bonny Doon? 

Although wineries have been placed traditionally on agricultural parcels,
these lands have not been restricted, as here, by an Open Space Easement.
Buildings of any size, let alone accompanying commercial enterprises, are
incompatible with an OSE.  If, despite these considerations, a winery is
permitted on this OSE land, we suggest that it be limited to a capacity of
50,000 gallons:  the smaller size would diminish traffic disruption and be
more in keeping with the spirit of the OSE.

A second, related question is how far from the original agricultural use
another allowed use should be allowed to go.   Is it true that wineries
must go with vineyards and parties must go with wineries?   The implication
is that the county should approve these additional uses because without
them, the agricultural use would fail.   Perhaps the agricultural use
should not be started if it cannot succeed by itself.

We wonder whether, should the vineyard succumb to disease (a high
probability, at present), the immediate neighbors and Bonny Doon would be
left with a large commercial plant and events venue, and no agricultural
use whatsoever.

A third concern is land use:  the residential parcels surrounding the
proposed vineyard, and winery and events facility, still require the same
compensating open space that they required in 1983 when the original permit
was granted.  The Rural Density Matrix at the time identified 54 acres as
over 50% slope and unbuildable, 142 acres as in the Mountain Residential
category, and 73 acres as Rural Residential.   Because of various physical
constraints on the land, the matrix determined that the average parcel size
should be 10 acres in the Rural Residential areas and 25 acres in the
Mountain Residential areas, resulting in a total of twelve parcels as we
have today.    But instead of parcels of 10 and 25 acres, a Planned Unit
Development was created, the only PUD in Bonny Doon, with parcels of only 5
acres.

This is not an underdeveloped subdivision because it has a 68 acre Open
Space Easement and 140 acres of steep timberland.    Rather the clear
conclusion is that the OSE is a compensation for the undersized lots, and
that any use on that OSE should be as compatible with the residences as if
it were on their own property.

We do fear these precedents:  1) that in the guise of an agricultural
adjunct, a substantial and disruptive commercial activity can be located in
an area where it would otherwise be unpermitted, 2) that an events venue
can be created out of all proportion to any related agricultural use, 3)
that the County's zoning regulations can be set aside, and 4) that the
neighbors' just refusal to let their land be used without their permission
can be ignored.

Therefore, we do, as noted above, respectfully disagree with Planning staff
about the size of a winery.  In all other matters, however, we support the
staff conditions and monitoring plans and the staff recommendation that no
special events or parties be held at Redwood Meadows Ranch.

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames, Corresponding Secretary

cc:     Mardi Wormhoudt, Supervisor, 3rd District, Santa Cruz County



 

26 June 2000
 

California Coastal Commission
Central Coast Office
725 Front Street, Suite 300
Santa Cruz, California  95060

        Re: Santa Cruz Biotechnology 

Dear Commissioners:

As you are well aware, for three winters polluted runoff from Santa Cruz
Biotechnology's unpermitted goat operation has endangered the health of
neighbors below the facility, and fouled streams and ocean.  (The highest
fecal coliform reading, submitted by Santa Cruz Biotechnology itself, was
160,000 cfu's; at 400 cfu's beaches are posted.)

We, the Rural Bonny Doon Association, representing citizens on Santa Cruz's
north coast for close to half a century, and many other organizations and
residents of the area, have protested in vain throughout these years.  We
are appalled, not only at this unpardonable situation but also at the
precedent it sets:  that well-heeled entrepreneurs can flout the law, that
agricultural land can be converted through political influence into a
feedlot operation, that flagrant, repeated, well-documented pollution of
residents' yards and waterways leading to the Pacific can be ignored.

Although we are dismayed at our Board of Supervisors' votes to grant Santa
Cruz Biotechnology's wishes, as the facility has continued blithely to
expand its illegal operations, we would not have you think that these
irresponsible decisions have been unanimous.  We have great respect and
admiration for Supervisors Mardi Wormhoudt and Jan Beautz, who have voted
steadfastly to uphold the law.

And so we are delighted that you have chosen to take jurisdiction to
rectify this most deplorable situation.  We wish you well as you reach the
right conclusion --  the removal of the manure piles and the goats which
are the source of the coliform-laden runoff until the legal permitting
process has reached its conclusion -- so that we and other California
citizens can remain confident that our coastal neighborhoods and ocean are
protected.

Sincerely,

Ted Benhari, Chair

cc:     Gray Davis, Governor, State of California
Supervisors, County of Santa Cruz



 

24 April 2000
 
 

Planning Commission
County Government Center
701 Ocean Street, Room 400
Santa Cruz CA 95060

        Re:  Waidhofer Application, permit #99-0528, APN 062-211-32
 

Dear Commissioners:

The Rural Bonny Doon Association supports the ordinances enforced by Santa
Cruz County's Planning Department.  Yes, at times they can seem onerous or
trivial, but we believe they were enacted with the intent of mutual
fairness, and for our mutual protection.

And so we applaud the Zoning Administrator for upholding these ordinances
in the face of multiple violations on the Waidhofer property.  The various
illegalities -- including buildings, a well, propane tanks -- demonstrate
disregard for the County's statutes.   We feel that rules should be applied
equally to everyone, and that people shouldn't be rewarded for violating them.

Also, we strongly support the zoning densities which protect Bonny Doon
from over-development, and don't want to see exceptions made.

We thank you for considering our position and trust that you will agree
with us.
 

Sincerely,
 
 
 

Miriam Beames
Corresponding Secretary



 

2 March 2000
 
 

Jan Tepper, Chief
Police Department, H Barn
University of California-Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz CA 95064

Mardi Wormhoudt
Supervisor, 3rd District
Santa Cruz County
701 Ocean Street, Room 500
Santa Cruz CA 95060

Dave Stuflick, Captain
California Highway Patrol
State of California
10395 Soquel Drive
Aptos CA 95003

Mark Tracy, Sheriff
Santa Cruz County
701 Ocean Street, third floor
Santa Cruz CA 95060
 

Dear Chief Tepper, Supervisor Wormhoudt, Captain Stuflick, and Sheriff Tracy:

For most of Bonny Doon's residents, Empire Grade is the one route into town
and they travel it daily.  The Rural Bonny Doon Association has received
comments from them, indicative of a frightening situation with cars parked
along Empire Grade at the West Entrance to UCSC.   We pass on to you a
couple of these neighbors' concerns:

"I had two 'close encounters' this week, one with a bus that couldn't get
out of the southbound lane to off-load passengers because cars were parked
at the bus stop, and the other, a student who made an unsafe U-turn right
in front of me after pulling over and stopping on the shoulder to my right."

"I've had some hairy experiences at the West entrance with students 
darting across the road in a rush to get to classes in the early morning."

We should mention that a steady trash accumulation accompanies the parking
in the Cave Gulch and West Entrance parking areas.

Since we are not sure whether UCSC authorities, the County's Public Works
Department, the California Highway Patrol, or the Sheriff's office is the
appropriate agency to resolve this dangerous eyesore, in effect a new
student parking lot on Empire Grade's shoulder, we address you all.

We are pleased to see progress with ticketing in the past couple of days,
but believe more work is needed.  We trust that, individually or together,
you will be able quickly to end the parking problem, before a serious
accident occurs.

We thank you for sharing our concern.
 

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames
Corresponding Secretary
 
 

cc:  M. R. C. Greenwood, Chancellor, University of California-Santa Cruz



 

10 January 2000

Mardi Wormhoudt
Supervisor, 3rd District
Santa Cruz County
701 Ocean Street, Room 500
Santa Cruz CA 95060
 

Dear Ms. Wormhoudt:

Members of the Rural Bonny Doon Association have noted, with distress, the
mounting accumulation of trash along our roads.  We realize that the County
has no funds to send out routine garbage patrols.   We also accept that
part of the price we pay for living in a somewhat remote area is taking
responsibility for the surroundings we love, and many residents do in fact
clean up.  But there are long stretches of road with no habitation, and
others where lack of shoulders and sharp blind curves make walking, let
alone collecting garbage, dangerous.

And so we wonder whether the County has any resources to help us?  Could,
for instance, the Community Action Board offer us an occasional visit?  Are
there other entities to which we can appeal?  We are ready to talk about
this problem with you and to offer whatever help we can in coordinating or
assisting others' efforts.

As always, we applaud your continuing good work and look forward to seeing
you at our January meeting.
 

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames
Corresponding Secretary
 

cc:  Ted Benhari, Chair



 

10 January 2000
 

Jim Pfluger, Park Maintenance Supervisor
Administration, Santa Cruz District
California State Parks
600 Ocean Street
Santa Cruz CA 95062
 

Dear Mr. Pfluger:

Members of the Rural Bonny Doon Association are dismayed at the large
amount of garbage strewn about the areas where people are parking on Empire 
Grade to access the Twin Gates entrance to Gray Whale/Wilder Ranch State 
Park since that area has been opened to the public. 

We understand that the Park Service is underfunded and that staff are
stretched beyond their capacity.  But is it within possibility to ask for a
couple of generous trash barrels and a weekly stop to empty them and tidy
up?  Or, perhaps, should the area be closed until the Gray Whale Advisory
Committee has completed its work, so that trash collection can be
incorporated into the use plan?

We will be happy to talk further with you about this unhealthy and 
unsightly situation and, hopefully, to work together toward a solution.
 

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames
Corresponding Secretary
 

cc:    Ted Benhari, Chair
        Ed Grumbine, RBDA Representative, Gray Whale Advisory Committee



 

Agenda No:      Th 7p
Appl No:        A-3-SCO-98-101
Name:           Rural Bonny Doon Assn
Position:       Opposed
 

8 December 2000

California Coastal Commission
Central Coast Office
725 Front Street, Suite 300
Santa Cruz, California  95060
 

Dear Commissioners: 

We, the Rural Bonny Doon Association, representing the citizens of the
coast north of Santa Cruz and the community surrounding Davenport for close
to half a century, are strongly opposed to development of the former
Odwalla site.

We believe that several disastrous precedents could be set if this project
is allowed, including:

· Permitting commercial development on the West side of Highway 1

· Overturning zoning as established in the County's General Plan

· Desecrating a glorious coastal bluff

We applaud your earlier decision to reject this project and ask you to uphold it.

With thanks for your consideration,
 

Sincerely,
 
 

Miriam Beames, Corresponding Secretary

cc:     Supervisors, County of Santa Cruz



 

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