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Mariposans for the Environment and Responsible Government
Has Served Mariposa for Over Two Decades
MERG seeks to seriously study the pros and cons of important county issues and present them to county officials and residents so that they can make informed decisions about the future of Mariposa County.
Purpose: Our purpose is to inform the public and decision makers about responsible government, land use and environmental issues so that the best choices can be made for a sustainable high quality of life for present and future Mariposans as change comes to our community. Along with many other Sierra counties, our environment and our economy are intimately linked.
Principles: The underlying principles of MERG are to inform, educate and engage the community as to issues that affect our environment, to conduct scientific and legal research within our capabilities in furtherance of our education and information mission, and to observe and report on local government issues, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Values: Sparking debate and community action through respectful and honest presentation of fact; educating the public with integrity and respect for all opinions; and, seeking commonality and coalitions with other groups to solve community issues.
Focus for 2011
- General Plan Implementation and Area Planning
- Public Input on Land Use and Environmental Issues
- Yosemite National Park Settlement Agreement/Merced River Plan
- Water, Watershed and Forest Health
- Encouraging Responsible Government and Leadership
National Park Service Lawsuit and Merced River Plan
We are pleased to inform you that very good progress is being made in this area. As you are aware, MERG has disagreed with the National Park Service (NPS) over planning in Yosemite National Park (YNP) for much of the past twelve years. This resulted in lawsuits being filed against the NPS in which MERG prevailed. Last year’s newsletter covered the Settlement Agreement which was signed in September 2009.
During 2010, we have worked closely with Yosemite NP staff to implement the Settlement Agreement. This has been very positive in that Park staff has been very competent, professional and cordial. New staff has been added and they have been aggressive in tackling issues that have been unresolved for years. Where specialized expertise is lacking, NPS has contracted for that. We are meeting with Park staff on a regular basis, including with the Park Superintendent who has been most cooperative. The original deadline for completion of the new Merced River Plan was December 2012. We have recently agreed to extend that deadline date to July 2013 in the interests of doing the best possible job.
Meanwhile the NPS has scheduled many workshops in which to participate and provide input, science days for learning, and we expect, of course, more meetings. NPS is actively posting related documents to its website (http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mrp_documents.htm) for review and comment. It is very good to have the conflict with YNP in the past. We are pleased to have, now, a pleasant and productive working relationship.
It should be noted also that MERG did recover 88% of the $2,000 we paid as partial attorneys’ fees for the original lawsuit. We do still retain the original attorneys for this matter as their advice may be required for routine matters as time progresses. The funds recovered have been budgeted for this purpose.
Historical Parcels and Certificates of Compliance
This has been a particularly challenging and difficult area for us. It deals with laws that go back to the mid-nineteenth century and all years in between then and now; this includes land use, zoning, subdivision, real estate, and a multitude of related issues.
For definition purposes, historical parcels are pieces of land that were created at some point in the past, including by federal patent in the nineteenth century. A certificate of compliance, requested by the land owner, may be issued by the County to “certify” that a particular piece of real estate is legally created. The law looks to the subdivision laws at the time the parcel was created. In the case of old patented parcels, the County’s responsibility is to assure that the parcel has not been altered or extinguished over time, and that it is essentially the same now as it was when the original patent was created. If this is indeed the case, then that land is not subject to minimum parcel size requirements of current zoning laws and can be used as the owner wishes, such as development.
This clearly subverts general plans throughout the state, efforts at enforcing zoning laws, managing land development, etc. State law in this area is both deficient and lacking. Case law is becoming more definitive, but is still limited. The battles are usually fought at County level and this is one more aspect of the front line in defending Mariposa County’s General Plan. MERG has been at the forefront of this issue in Mariposa County since 2006 insisting that the County apply proper legal standards. MERG has offered legal opinion and assistance with and through our land use attorneys to protect our County from individuals who would use old federal patents as a backdoor for development. We have communicated with the County Planning Department, at times supporting them and at other times disagreeing with them. We have also worked with other citizen organizations in
the State to exchange information and offer support as we may be able to do.
At the present time we are prepared to take the steps necessary on one particular historical parcel issue on which we have been working for well over a year. This may present an opportunity to create new case law that could prove vital not only to our own interests, but also to many other proponents of limiting backdoor development throughout California. This may be expensive but we cannot afford to sacrifice the General Plan in this area.
General Plan Implementation
Catheys Valley Community Plan
Although the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors (BoS) adoption of the Catheys Valley Community Plan (CVCP) in May 2009 after many starts and stops over a 15-year period, in June 2009 the Board of Supervisors opted for a supplemental EIR. At that time, the development community demanded a greenhouse gas EIR for the CVCP. The Draft supplemental EIR found that the only alternative with less environmental impact than the CVCP would be if County policy converted all the land in Catheys Valley to Agriculture Exclusive. In July 2010 a majority of the Board, none of whom represent Catheys Valley, decided to take an entirely new direction. Gathering 37 issues of concern from development interests opposed to the CVCP, the Board conducted six all-day workshops between August and December 2010 to allow anyone who wished to do so to speak on the 37 issues. Issues included whether the plan (mandated by the General Plan) was necessary. MERG submitted a letter to the BoS questioning what it considered unnecessary cost to taxpayers and the potential cost of CEQA obligations/outcomes should the county deviate significantly from the GP’s intent. Of critical importance, the General Plan is incomplete without the area plans, as it depends upon each local planning area advisory committee to recommend its area policy for Board adoption. On March 14, 2010, the Board of Supervisors completed its many revisions to the CVCP, which had previously been recommended by the Catheys Valley Community Planning Advisory Committee in 2008 and, further, by the Planning Commission in 2009. The Board has now directed staff to complete another draft supplemental EIR and re-circulate the CVCP to local and state agencies for review. MERG estimates the cost of this change in direction at a few hundred thousand dollars, with tens of thousands of dollars diverted from other county business since August 2010.
With all of this expenditure of effort, in 2011 Title 17, County Zoning Ordinance, remains out of compliance with the General Plan adopted in December 2006.
Community Education
In early 2010, MERG received grant funding from the Tides Foundation Grassroots Fund to educate county-wide on the potential outcome of the county’s limited implementation of the General Plan. Unfortunately, within months of the start of this project, MERG had to advise Tides that use of the funds was constrained by local political interests and attorneys opposed to both MERG work and its use of Tides Foundation funding. We were unable to use any of the grant funding. Tides Foundation advised that MERG could repurpose the funds for technical/legal support to continue its work with the Board of Supervisors and county staff on General Plan implementation. In spite of the interruption in the project, MERG’s message was able to reach approximately 200 people in ten presentations.
Grant Funding Update
The grant funding obtained by MERG in late 2009 and early 2010 has enabled us to obtain the best technical/legal support possible. And, MERG Board members make the most of our money by working directly on issues with
attorneys, Richard S. Taylor and Osa Wolff, of Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger in San Francisco. This technical/legal support has strengthened the legal foundation of our positions and improved effectiveness of our communications with the county. In October MERG applied for additional grant funding from the Rose Foundation Northern California Grassroots Fund and was awarded an additional $3,000 for this work.
Watershed Economic Indicators Valuation Project
In late 2008 MERG joined with the Upper Merced River Watershed Council to work on the Watershed Economic Indicators Valuation Project with Sierra Nevada Alliance contractor Sierra Institute. This project was funded through Prop. 84. Mariposa was the only county in California chosen to do an Economic Indicators evaluation. The project had hardly started when state funding was suspended. The project was refunded in 2010; MERG was engaged contractually directly by Sierra Institute, while the Watershed Council was contracted directly through SNA. Work groups met during the early months of 2010 with Sierra Institute facilitators.
The final report was completed in the fall. The report collected and reports important demographic, financial, and capacity information for Mariposa’s watersheds. This work paid $2,800 into our treasury from 2008-2010. A copy can be obtained through: http://www.sierrainstitute.us/documents/COMPLETED_November_Final.pdf
Adopt-a-Highway Program
California’s Adopt-A-Highway program began in 1989, and has been one of the truly successful government-public partnerships of our time. More than 120,000 Californians have cleaned and enhanced over 15,000 shoulder-miles of roadside. Keeping in line with our focus on environment, in 1992 MERG joined this effort and adopted a two mile stretch of Highway 49 North which includes the historic town of Bear Valley. 2011 will be our 20th year of a five year contract with CalTrans which we intend to renew. This brief task of litter pickup takes a little more than an hour and is good exercise for Board Members and we appreciate the help of volunteers.
Merced River Cleanup Day September 17, 2011
MERG will again join with other volunteers and local agencies for the third annual Great Sierra River Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 17. The statewide event is orchestrated by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and is an offshoot of the California Coastal Cleanup Day which is now in its twenty-third year. Last year, combined efforts succeeded in removing over 141 tons of garbage and recyclables from the rivers and streams of the Sierra Nevada Region during the second Annual Great Sierra River Cleanup. Over 4,000 volunteers from more than 100 different community groups pulled everything from tires to appliances to baby diapers from our favorite watersheds. These efforts were so successful that we can’t wait to do it again in 2011!
Specific plans are not announced but previous efforts have focused on the Briceburg area with separate groups covering parts of several miles up and down river. This takes three hours and is over by noon. The range of cleanup tasks can involve every level of ability and age and we hope to have a good volunteer turnout this year to represent MERG.
Integrated Regional Water Management Plan
Beginning with the 2008 newsletter, MERG began reporting on the need for the county to compete for Prop. 84 funding for integrated regional water management planning. Interested individuals in the county convened a workshop on the topic in late 2007. The CA State Department of Water Resources (DWR) informed the group that “A successful
IRWMP grant proposal can help attract state and other funding to fund regional projects.” In 2009 and 2010 MERG committed organizational energy to support the Mariposa County Resource Conservation District, the fiscal sponsor of a launch grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to develop a planning grant application to DWR, as participants in a work group to produce a Regional Acceptance Process (RAP) application in coordination with nearby IRWMP RAP work groups. In 2009 DWR conditionally approved the Mariposa-Yosemite IRWMP RAP. Ultimately, in late summer 2010 the MCRCD submitted a planning grant application to DWR requesting just under $1 million to develop the Mariposa-Yosemite IRWMP.
In December 2010 DWR advised Mariposa-Yosemite, Madera and the Southern Sierra IRWMP groups that their grant proposals would not be funded in this round of applications. DWR has just announced the second round of the RAP, with applications due in April 2011. Mariposa-Yosemite will participate. The second round of planning grant applications will be due later in the summer. Assuming DWR approves our RAP application, Mariposa-Yosemite IRWMP will update its planning grant application. The Mariposa-Yosemite IRWMP team has drafted planning goals and has organized water-related issues into tiers of relative importance. Once we are closer to starting the planning process, this work will undergo public review and comment.
Ferguson Slide Draft EIR
CALTRANS in December 2010 released the draft EIR for the repair of the damage caused by the Ferguson Rock Slide. This is the same organization that in late 2007 proposed a negative declaration for environmental impact relative to the repair of Highway 140. MERG immediately protested this and was successful in moving CALTRANS to do an EIR. We are disappointed with the EIR in that while it goes into much detail of the impacts, it does not offer what we consider to be a viable alternative for repair of the highway that does not impact the outstandingly remarkable values of the River. In our reply to the draft EIR, the MERG Board recommended further examination and suggested that the best alternative was to keep the repair on the south side of the River near the existing, but now buried road. This is an expensive proposition, but we have only one Merced Wild and Scenic River and it must be protected. We will continue to closely monitor this and will advise you should your input to legislators and/or agencies be necessary.
Water, Watersheds and Forest Health
MERG has not changed its opinion that the issue of groundwater in Mariposa County deserves serious study, and it will continue to pursue a means to accomplish such. In the meantime, consistent with MERG’s commitment to improve water quantity and quality, we are expanding our focus to include forests and watersheds. The links between healthy forests and meadowlands and the quality and quantity of available water are well established.
For that reason, MERG is collaborating with a number of organizations to support initiatives designed to protect and restore forests and meadowlands in the Sierra Foothills. In addition, as forests are restored, MERG is working with other organizations to explore the potential for renewable energy through biomass utilization. We’ve established relationships with organizations such as the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and its affiliate, the Sustainable Forests and Communities Collaborative; the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Coalition; Our Forests Our Future; and the Sierra Nevada Alliance.
Changes at MERG
Board Meeting Schedule
In an effort to make better use of members’ time, the MERG Board now meets the first Monday of each month rather than almost every Monday as had been the practice in the past. This change was necessitated as MERG Board members were collectively devoting considerable time to meetings, workshops and hearings on area planning, GP implementation, historical parcels/certificates of compliance and the YNP Settlement Agreement. Regarding the implementation of the Settlement Agreement with the NPS, there has been much analysis of proposals, attendance at workshops and open houses, and meetings with Park staff. MERG meetings are formatted to focus on action related activities. While there has been a certain loss of personal coordination as a result of the decreased meetings, email and telephonic coordination have very adequately compensated for that. And, we have been getting a lot done.
MERG Board Changes
The past year brought changes again to the MERG Board. Mike McCreary and Ruth Shane departed due to other commitments and we miss them. We are delighted that our Chairman Emeritus, Bart Brown, is once again able to join us on a regular basis. His wisdom and counsel are invaluable. We were joined by Jim Spotts who brings expertise in construction management to us and has been gracious enough to assume the duties of Treasurer. We have also been pleased to welcome Steve and Rosemarie Smallcombe. Rosemarie is a former regulatory compliance manager and Steve is a retired scientist and engineer. Their research capabilities are a very significant addition to our expertise. Overall we are fortunate to have an extraordinarily competent board with expertise, years of experience in diverse fields, and a love for Mariposa County.
MERG Library under Construction
MERG has begun the process of reviewing and organizing materials collected by Dr. Bart Brown, former Chairman of MERG’s Board, in support of many of the activities undertaken since the organization’s inception in 1989. These materials range from meeting minutes to many iterations of the Mariposa General Plan to documents published by United States Government agencies and the Sierra Nevada Alliance. In keeping with MERG’s commitment to seriously study the pros and cons of important issues confronting the County, the materials collected since 1989 are voluminous. Where appropriate, links to documents obtained in connection with MERG’s efforts will be added to the History section of the MERG website.
Postscript: New Threat to Merced Wild and Scenic River
This falls under the heading of “breaking news.” We have just discovered that our local Congressman has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to raise the level of Lake McClure to 877’ in elevation. This would inundate portions of the Merced River above Bagby that are protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. We are presently researching this matter to determine what is behind this, what the time frame is, who is involved and the exact impacts. The MERG Board is adamantly opposed to any action that would adversely affect this magnificent and protected river. There is potential need for widespread citizen action to contact our legislators and oppose this. We will keep you informed.
Board Members
Bart Brown, Chair Emeritus
John Brady, Chair
Len McKenzie, Vice-Chair
Rita Kidd, Secretary
Jim Spotts, Treasurer
Tony Kidd
Shirley Schmelzer
Rosemarie Smallcombe
Stephen Smallcombe
P.O. Box 2121
Mariposa, CA 95338
March 2011
Dear Friends, twenty-two years and counting!!
MERG’s role is to provide objective information about challenges faced in maintaining our “rural character” while continuing to research, educate, inform and encourage responsible smart growth.
This year’s newsletter reflects the many changes that MERG witnessed and experienced during 2010. As you see in the newsletter there are a number of issues important to Mariposa County, which will take our time, money and energy in the coming year.
We invite you to renew or initiate a new Associate Membership in MERG with a contribution. We appreciate your support this year, again, as MERG continues its community education/information work related to General Plan implementation, area planning, providing public input on land use and environmental issues, and participating in forest and watershed health programs. At the same time, we provide ongoing input for good County governance, transparency and responsible financial management.
We have heard the message that the broader community continues to expect a high quality of life in Mariposa County. We will continue to champion the land use and governance issues that our membership and supporters believe in.
Thank you for your continuing support of MERG.
The MERG Board
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All 2010 contributions are tax deductible and can be made by snail mail using this form.
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Our mailing lists are confidential.
For further information about MERG, visit:
http://www.merg-mariposa.org
P.O. Box 2121
Mariposa, CA 95338
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