REFLECTION, A LOOK BACK AND A LOOK FORWARD FOR ON SANTA CLARA NEIGHBORHOOD -- BY CHERYL A. MAGILL / 24 AUGUST 2007

Back in August of 2007 a SCPD Officer came to my house regarding the situation with alleged rodents (mice etc) at the Lake Terrace Apartments. This officer said the heavy rains of that winter caused rodents to escape the creek bed into adjacent territories; not duck feeding the ex-Mayor of Santa Clara gave me permission to do. This is a response from a former Lake Terrace apartment renter:

"When I moved to Lake Terrace Apartments in 1989, I did so because it was an animal-friendly place to be. I could have a cat. This was an apartment complex which allowed pets and there were lakes with ducks and swans.  The ducks were intermittent residents and the swans were always present.  Those two swans claimed and maintained possession of the entire complex.  We’d watch the swans chase the apartment manager, who at that time was Shirley Longo.  The swans would give her a nip if they caught her.  They didn’t seem to bother anyone else.

Here at Lake Terrace, we enjoyed the presence of opossums and raccoons; turtles, mice, squirrels, egrets and even a blue heron or two. We have large flocks of crows year-round. Pigeons were abundant at one point but their numbers diminished when wire was strong round the eaves and rafter tails by the management.  Thinking back, I can remember some months of the year when the lingering smell of a nearby skunk would hang in the air with unceasing pungency. Having just written that, I realize that it’s been a few years since there’ve been any skunks around. We still have morning doves, humming birds and red breasted house finches which I continue to feed. There are robins and even the occasional cedar wax wing. There used to be many more cedar wax wings and they’d get drunk on the California Privet seeds ripening on the trees and those birds would fly right into the apartment or slam into the glass of the windows.  There also used to be red tailed hawks which hovered overhead in hopes of nibbling on young ducklings in our ponds.  For several years, this environment was a feasting ground for a family of peregrine falcons.  We would listen and try to distinguish their calls.  In flight overhead, you could see the peregrine falcons tuck their wings tight and dive down towards some tasty duckling or possibly even a snake. Some say a bobcat would frequent Lake Terrace at night but I did not personally see a bobcat there.

I became aware of my animal neighbors on a daily basis...

I also became aware that theirs was a diminishing habitat.  During the development of the property of Mr. & Mrs. Marchese which was sold to Citation Homes of San Jose; ecologic consultants were asked to prepare a report about the environmental impact of transforming an old established orchard into a high density housing tract.   H.T. Harvey & Associates File Number 520-01 was prepared on July 21, 1989 and was filed with the City of Santa Clara on August 7, 1990.  I noticed that the project which had been approved relied on this report which failed to mention several of the bird species which routinely met me at my door living only a few blocks away.  So, on January 31, 1991 - I sent a letter to Mr. Joseph DiDonato asking specifically about the cedar wax wings and other migratory birds which were not mentioned in his report.  I asked if the omissions were intentional.  I received a reply that the instructions he’d received did not require him to analyze migrating species for the purposes of this report.  This news deeply saddened me because the community had relied on the information.  What’s more, home owners in the area who were heavily invested in the community were upset about the increased density and the impact it would have on property values, on traffic and on wildlife.

At that point, I studied the land development project further and discovered our close proximity to a Super Fund site created by Siemens and Intel.   I learned that Calabasas Creek was a contentious issue concerning the development of the Marchese lands because the Santa Clara Valley Water district was asking for a dedication of 6.75 acres in an effort to preserve riparian life.  Too, the City of Santa Clara Water District issued a brochure in 1985 for creek side development for enhanced access to the natural creek area.  Locals at the time were wooed with promises that the development would give them greater public access to these natural settings.  Curious as to what I would find if I went to the creek and the “riparian forest” I ventured to the place where proposals and disputes held differing views.  For my own personal view, I saw pipeline after pipeline leading run-off waters to the creek.  I photographed a few of them at the time.  I observed that the depiction of a watery flowing creek was unsupported.  I saw a dry drainage ditch with the illegal dumping of carpets, canisters and beer cans.  There were lost basketballs and an old catcher’s mitt apparently from nearby Laurelwood School.  The notes and reports I prepared at that time show that a gentleman named Olney Smith at a planning meeting of the City of Santa Clara had discussed a Benton Street Path which would enable local residents to enjoy access to the natural setting.  Just now it’s hard for me to recall in what context Mr. Smith referenced this planned Benton Street Path.

One of the responsibilities absorbed by Citation Homes of San Jose upon gaining its negotiated variance, was the covering or capping of an old contaminated well on the property.  Other toxics included years of spraying pesticides onto the cherry orchard and storage of the chemicals related thereto.  Inquiry about these points allowed me to discover further chemical hazards in the creek.  I also observed the practices of area gardeners who spray these ingredients liberally and at every opportunity.

What had begun as a casual inquiry as to the plights and plans of my neighbors had developed into an ecologic comprehension of compromised resources.  By ignoring migrating species in their report, the consultants had invited residents in the area to underestimate the impact of this high density development.  Furthermore, it was apparent that invitations to grant public access to the creek were a last “ditch” effort to gain approval for the higher density development project.

Years later, other high density projects are being considered.  There’s no access to “riparian forests” as such.  No creek trails where humans and nature can commune with one another such as we were told at the time was the development plan. Years later, quite the opposite has occurred.

Years later, the ponds at Lake Terrace are drained of their water.  This is no longer a place where the swans maintain their domain.  The ducks do not visit us here any more and neither do the red tailed hawks, nor the peregrine falcons.  Only a decade ago I saw them in daily accord with the season.  

What has happened?  And what can be done?

I’ve learned that an illegal process allowed one corporate complex to obliterate a duck pond on the other side of Lawrence Expressway.  So ducks have lost their ability to find their necessary wet lands here.  Without the ducks, the other animals are at risk of losing a food source.  It seems that the duck habitat is essential to maintain a critical balance within the animal community.  

Too, it’s possible that the determination will be made to continue the ponds at Lake Terrace and not to allow their destruction.  We’ve been waiting for a decision now for over a year. I truly would love to see the ponds restored.

Someone asked me about rodents in the area.  Were there more rodents now?  Absolutely, I think there are.  Since the ducks have left, there are more rodents.  Squirrels and mice seem to be more abundant.  I attribute this to the absence of predators.  When we had ducks here, we also had water in the ponds and thereby attracted species which nibbled on the ducklings.  Now that their preferred food source is gone, the number of rodents has increased, in my opinion.  Residents have always fed the ducks but rodents were never quite so common here.  The new gates which now enclose Lake Terrace may restrict larger animals movements, effectively protecting the smaller rodents.

"Each day, the dry water beds remind us of our vanishing community resources.  Each day, people push the animals further back and fail to acknowledge their important residency..."

I understand that some people in this city assume that their future destiny is one of urban blight.  But that’s not the way I see us as necessarily having to go.  I see a community which is about to have a rebirth of aquatic habitats.  And it’s our job to keep the populations which are indigenous now alive until that shift occurs.

Here’s what I envision. I see the reclamation of San Francisco Bay salt evaporation ponds as an enormous bonus to our area.  These wetlands will be a valuable gift which will, in turn; place a mighty burden on the Santa Clara City Officials to demonstrate compliance with the EPA’s National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) program.  The city should be eager early-on to demonstrate their adherence to these protections.  (No more tolerating the illegal destruction of migratory habitat.)  Interaction with the Department of Fish and Wildlife will gain new importance in our community.  We’ll be holding a higher standard of accountability for these city leaders who will be obliged to protect the renewed salt evaporation ponds and the surrounding valued habitat.  That’s a tremendous resource which will add value. Santa Clara will be pressured to treat the restored habitat with care and not to squander the resource.

Instead of seeing creeks filled with old tires and run-off pipes, we should begin to see Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems and greater enforcement of issues related to environmental quality.  Instead of seeing farmers and gardeners polluting ponds and streams with chemicals, we should see community protections for wildlife and adherence to interagency development of our area.  Local officials will be finding greater means to create opportunities towards shared objectives in the governance of water fowl care methods and the re-establishment of quality standards.  I see a future where it will not be possible to instruct an environmental consultant to ignore migrating species as was done here in the past.

Because this community will no longer self-obsess with ways in which to ignore environmental goals; the new approach will be one which involves the public and is a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the environmental design arts in planning and in decision-making which may have an impact on all the residents of Santa Clara.  (Not just the human non-migrating residents.)

I anticipate that individuals will step forward who will donate their time to identify and develop methods and procedures, in consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality to insure that unquantified environmental amenities and values may be given appropriate consideration in decision-making along with economic and technical considerations.  Toward that end, I would encourage volunteers to see this as their time to develop plans and care methods for the replenishment of wet lands of Santa Clara.  We anticipate now the former salt ponds will hold all sorts of critters for us to find seeking a niche in our community.  They will migrate and fly and slither and we will all be one community without discord because proper planning and respect for all life will be taught to all. (Ok. That’s a little over the top on the idealism scale…but cut me some slack for at least trying to be up-beat in the wake of our city’s current destructive pattern.)

This is a future we can construct and it’s right down the street around the corner.  Food sources & habitat will not be destroyed in favor of corporate interests exclusive to the human concerns without thought or consideration for the needs of animals.  Density issues and habitat expectations will not function to the exclusion of one another in such planning.  Rather, our community planning goals will become more far-reaching.

In the future, the Santa Clara planning department will strive to form a relationship between local short-term uses of man’s environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity for the region.  And that will be the new legacy. The old method of convenient expediency is going to disappear... 

How do we get there from here? It’s simple.  We save what we’ve got.  Density increases aren’t necessarily a bonus for our city.  Who wants them?  And why?  Ask important questions.  Insist on more than one analysis.  Work with neighbors instead of against them… no matter how many legs or paws those neighbors have got. And…as Mary Poppins would say, “Feed the birds!”

Until such time as natural habitats can be re-engineered to support our friends of fur and fowl, we have to offer a little something.  There’s a great deal of life here which bad planning and poor enforcement have failed to destroy.

The goal of preserving populations is possible.  Let’s do it!  And let’s keep this a short-term goal with the idea that alert, awake and responsible leadership will help to re-establish replenishing food sources for migratory species.  I understand there are a few people who feel that the practice of feeding wild-life should not be allowed to occur.  And yet it does occur.  Aisle after aisle at pet food stores and in super markets is increasingly devoted to these products because people are discovering that they can be part of the balance.  As we nudge ourselves towards a day when planning for migratory species is done in a more comprehensive fashion…there’s a way to keep our feathered friends among us and not lose these species altogether!

For every bag of bird food purchased locally, the city gains some tax revenue.  Until cities turn away those tax dollars, there’s an implied consent.  So purchase locally.

Because we live near San Francisco Bay, most of us are aware that the bay was named after St. Francis.  He is known as the patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment, and it is customary for Catholic churches to hold ceremonies honoring animals around his feast day of October 4.

St. Francis and St. Clare formed the Catholic tag team which created the whole Franciscan order and that served as a foundation for the protection of animals.   Perhaps you don’t have to be Catholic to recognize there’s a day of the year dedicated to honoring the intervention & divine powers which protect animals.  If you’re willing to consider the notion that there may be some major mojo protecting the animals…then we may certainly be inclined to honor those who work in service thereto.

So I suggest a day of honoring those who work in our community towards the betterment of environmental quality and thanking them for helping the animals.  Veterinarians, wildlife experts, researchers, dog walkers… anyone who works in service to the animals should be honored on that day.  This would be an excellent choice for the City of Santa Clara in my opinion.

Finally, I want to mention the California Coastal Commission and its unique enforcement position for the CZMA or Coastal Zone Management Act and the Coastal Zone Management Program which seeks to replenish coastal habitats.  Cooperation with the CZMP is voluntary.  Do I see any volunteers out there?

One interagency bridge we need to help our community to construct is with the CCC. And here’s why: 1)    Santa Clara is in a Coastal Zone / 2) One of the species which dwells in this coastal habitat is us.  We humans need these protections as much as the animals do.

One of the goals of the CZMA which the CCC seeks to achieve is economic.  We stand to gain a great deal by meeting such environmental goals.  Property values tend to be bolstered by such programs.  Health is improved.  Another goal is social.

It’s this social heritage which we share with one another and with the animals.  Not all of our citizens are rich or privileged.  Not all are healthy or given opportunities to take weekends at the coast.  We need a place where we can practice the art of being a human being right in our own/ their own back yard.  This home we share with animals is also our own retreat or shelter.  This is our naturalist setting… or it once was.  And it can be again.  The protections afforded humans in the CZMA assure us that we don’t have to be threatened by encroaching environmental change that’s of such a magnitude that it causes us to feel at risk ourselves.  When something like increasing density issues are at stake, the protections afforded to us by our customs and way of life can be weighed-in as a factor and concern.  Illegal paving over of a vital migratory watershed should be and is grossly disallowed and the restorative means available should be explored with the California Coastal Commission working with community planners so as to compensate for this error in judgment.  There was no permit application for the conversion of the habitat on Lawrence Expressway.  And yet… the illegally altered property remains unrestored.   Building additional resources does not have to equate with the destruction of vital habitats.

We can work together to make our home and shared habitat a thriving diverse place for ourselves and all our neighbors..."