Saving Clover Valley - Letters 2
| Placer Herald Every once in a while, the “powers that be” look like they are using some common sense in making the decision to approve or not approve a new real estate development. For the past many years, getting an approval from the developer supported politicians has seemed like a rubber stamp procedure. "You want to build how many houses? Approved!!!" I know that the population in the Sacramento area is expanding at a tremendous rate. This is causing loss of farm/range/forest land, traffic congestion, water, energy, pollution problems, and loss wildlife, habitat, and Native American historic and sacred sites. What about the loss of nature’s beauty and solitude that many of us as children loved to visit, play in, learn from, and enjoy? How will the next generations learn about nature if they can’t experience it? The current situation reminds me of an old Cree Indian prophecy. When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters have been poisoned, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money The people of Rocklin, Placer County , and California must start to make wiser decisions before we find out that the above prophecy is coming true. Don Perera, Clover Valley Coalition - Rocklin |
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| Reader makes plea to save scenic Clover Valley Placer Herald - Wednesday, November 1, 2006 "Life really is a short adventure" could be a typical senior citizen's realization on attaining the age of 60 or 70! Yet there are living and lasting things which we humans alone can elect to save for generation after generation to admire and enjoy and study. As the population of Placer County continues to increase, there is recognition of a chance to save a treasure amidst shopping malls habitat and is a primal area which is recognized as a rare opportunity for saving as a public preserve. habitat and is a primal area which is recognized as a rare opportunity for saving as a public preserve. Students and faculty at Sierra College, citizens of Rocklin and the area and others are working in the tradition of patriots like John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt to save this woodland from the chain saw and the road grader. Why can't the Rocklin City Council heed the voices of the future? C. L. Peterson, Lincoln |
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| Placer growth knows no bounds Placer Country growth, in my opinion, is unplanned and out of control. Look at the Interstate 80-Highway 65 intersection, for example. I-80 necks down from five lanes to three when approaching Placer County. Yet, we have tens of thousands of new homes emerging in Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville. No effort is given toward increasing traffic flow and road capacity. I read The Bee's police reports for Placer County weekly. The crime is rapidly increasing in the same towns. So many drug-related arrests and petty thefts, we're starting to look like Sacramento and L.A. I can't wait until they build Bickford Ranch and add another 1,200 homes down the road from my Newcastle home. Perhaps we'll get to enjoy gridlock and residential thefts like I see in our "progressive" South Placer towns. This isn't a "not in my backyard" problem but a problem caused by our county supervisors permitting high-density growth in what was previously small town and agriculturally zoned areas. - Barry Fowler, Newcastle |
| Publication Date 2/26/2006 - Section SOUTH PLACER ROSEVILLE Clover Valley loss is too great Clover Valley, a beautiful, pristine valley in Rocklin, offers the people of Rocklin and the surrounding area a unique piece of real estate. Not only does it offer the beauty of an untouched valley full of oak trees, a year-round stream that once had steelhead in it, wetlands, beaver, otter, coyotes, several species of raptors, deer and wild turkeys, it is an archeological treasure containing a 6,000- to 8,000-year history of early American Indian habitation. If the City Council puts its final OK on this development, proposed by Clover Valley Partners, all this will be lost to current and future residents of this area. The natural beauty will be replaced by 558 homes, miles of paving, a commercial area, loss of wildlife habitat, the destruction of thousands of oak trees, increased air and water pollution and a tremendous traffic increase on Park Drive through Springfield at Whitney Oaks, an active adult community, and on down to Rocklin middle and high schools. On top of this, and maybe the most important loss, will be the loss of many valuable historical treasures relating to early American Indian life. The beauty and history that this valley provides must not be lost. If the developers win, the epitaph of this valley may be, quoting from the draft environmental impact report in many areas, "The impact of the anticipated development and the proposed project is significant and unavoidable." - Don Perera, Rocklin |
| Publication Date 2/19/2006 - Section SOUTH PLACER ROSEVILLE Lost open space is problem This is in response to the letter from Ed Hessel of Roseville ("Use money to widen roads, not preserve land," Feb. 12). He suggests that Placer County use funds earmarked for acquiring open space (or in his words, "worthless land for preservation") for widening Interstate 80, so commuters will have an easier time. Doesn't he realize that a major reason for overcrowded freeways, particularly in Placer County, is that we've covered most of our open space with houses, particularly in cities like Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln, and that it's attitudes like this that have allowed it to happen? The county Board of Supervisors has finally realized what the Loomis Town Council has known all along: Open space is one of the main reasons people moved here in the first place, and it's too bad those overdeveloped cities didn't realize this sooner. Mr. Hessel would like cities like Loomis to sacrifice their open spaces now so he can get to work faster. But perhaps we can satisfy this desire for wider freeways: We can trade all of the "worthless land" in Rocklin, Roseville and Lincoln for freeway expansion. ... Oh wait, there isn't any left. - Michael B. Neal, Loomis |
| Concern over Clover Valley I am writing as a concerned citizen about the public hearing for the proposed Clover Valley development in Rocklin, set for 7 p.m. Thursday. One of the topics that is raised again and again concerning this project is traffic. How much traffic will the development bring to Rocklin? Will the traffic create an adverse impact? Is there any solution other than a possible four-lane road across the valley from Park Drive to Sierra College? It is widely known that there could be 16,000 more cars a day on Park Drive. What I find alarming is the developers' admission of increased traffic and their apparent disregard for how this will affect the masses, while at the same time they explain how they will protect a small enclave of homeowners at the end of Rawhide Drive. Both the developers' Web page and a recent direct-mail piece picture a gate at the end of Rawhide Drive and include a caption emphasizing that the gate will remain closed - forever. Can they do this? Only if no one speaks up against such planning inequity. Rocklin citizens need to attend the public hearing Thursday and let the City Council hear the words: No fair! - Allison Miller, Rocklin |
| Publication Date 8/25/2005 - Section SOUTH PLACER ROSEVILLE Text - Stolen placards are a bad sign Apparently, the goals of Rocklin's Save Clover Valley folks are upsetting to someone. Enough so that under darkness, more than 200 "Save or Pave" signs were stolen from Rocklin yards. Ordinary folks are trying to make their voices heard - democracy in its most gentle form - and someone has tried to deny them those rights. The citizens uniting to save Clover Valley represent the true definition of a grass-roots effort. They are ordinary folks who do not run in politically influential circles but are concerned about the destruction of a pristine valley in the heart of their community. They question replacing wetlands, woodlands, wildlife habitat and ancient cultural resources with hundreds more homes, as well as turning a main road into a thoroughfare with 16,000 more cars a day. It is incomprehensible why anyone would oppose preserving a gem of a valley, let alone steal in the middle of the night, but all possibilities must be considered. Signs are often stolen in heated political campaigns, but this effort does not have the trappings of an election. Stealing more than 200 signs is a big effort. A vehicle capable of holding that many signs is needed, exact locations must be known, and it would take a while to do the job. This theft was not random. It was a job planned and executed by someone with motivation. Rocklin's effort to save Clover Valley is too noble to be stopped by this little glitch. If anything, it further galvanizes the commitment of all who care about Rocklin and want it to remain a nice place to live and raise children. Join Rocklin's community effort to Save Clover Valley. Visit the Web site: www.saveclovervalley.org. - Marilyn Jasper president, Clover Valley Foundation |
| Why I'm passionate about Clover Valley Five and a half years ago, I started my journey to help save Clover Valley. Reflecting back, it's easy to remember my motivation. I was a new resident of Rocklin, recently settled in a home with a stunning view and deeply in love - with a valley full of both nature and an alluring, spiritual sense. By night, with a full, glowing moon hovering over the valley, I heard coyotes calling. By day, I witnessed raptors, deer and, one evening, the arrival of a California golden eagle, perched in a nearby tree, basking in the fading sunlight. Increasingly, I realized this valley would be more valuable to the citizens of Rocklin in its natural state than it would as another housing project. Please understand, the evolution of my passion for saving Clover Valley is about helping others experience a landscape that is rapidly vanishing from our communities. The loss of pristine and rare lands is happening all over America - especially in densely populated regions like Placer County. I remember the spring day I journeyed into Clover Valley, invited by a friend who lived there. Down the steep slopes, through the dense oaks, into the valley floor, over to the gurgling creek - remarkably flanked by an expanse of grinding rocks with their deep, rounded and smooth bowls - I walked. A magical feeling took hold as I sat down on the largest rock and felt my senses welling with emotion. No sounds of civilization interrupted this reverie, I heard only Clover Valley's running stream and the song birds in the marshy wetlands. The picture was total, a 360 degree visual feast of oak canopy, an active beaver dam, California poppies, gently swaying cat tails, and even a doe and small fawn peering out at me from the woods. My hands caressed the deep, grinding rock imprints left by pestles over thousands of years. How many Native Americans had sat on this very rock and ground the acorns that would sustain their kin through the winter? Will others ever have the opportunity to experience this, I wondered? Wouldn't the valley be a wonderful outdoor destination for children? A few weeks later, I read a January 2002 cultural report identifying 33 sites that qualify for the National Register of Historic Places and four Native American burial grounds; I learned the valley's history reflects continuous human habitation dating to 5,000 B.C. Further, the artifacts uncovered show the valley was a major trading center for Native American people from throughout California. Rocklin is blessed to have such a treasure within its borders! Weeks later, in my yard on a suburban street, I couldn't stop thinking about this incredible valley. Imagine my delight when one day, as my family landscaped our backyard, we uncovered an ancient hammer stone tool. Measuring five by four inches, with an unmistakable grip and rounded bottom, I was spellbound thinking of the many hands who had worked with this stone. Later, I would find a sketch of a hammer stone in the archeological report. Imagine the history which must lie just below the surface. The growing discussion and promotion of community awareness is an exciting life experience for me. Sometimes I encounter opponents who insist the only issue to consider is the issue of private property. I disagree, not because I don't believe in property rights, but because I believe the possibilities of what Clover Valley could become - other than a sea of rooftops and asphalt - have not been wisely considered. There are questions that demand answers, such as: What about the rights of Rocklin citizens and our regional neighbors to have a voice in the fate of this valley? What about the Native Americans, descendants from tribes throughout the state; shouldn't they be considered in the debate? Today, I would describe my passion as a struggle for the soul of Rocklin. The issues surrounding the fate of Clover Valley lead logically to the question: Why not make Clover Valley a regional park or preserve? And, why not? Since the original developer agreement was signed, a paradigm shift has taken place in the Rocklin community - namely a tremendous population growth. Community governance is a continuum; a developer agreement signed years ago, like all developments, must undergo the rigorous scrutiny of environmental and social parameters. There is a growing concern regarding environmental issues: air and water quality, traffic, loss of wildlife, as well as vanishing natural landscapes. I have a vision. I believe we should all consider the compelling discussion concerning the future of Rocklin's Clover Valley as something exciting, the beginning of a community revolution that would make our city one of America's best and brightest. If this valley were purchased and developed into a park or preserve, Rocklin could become a tourist destination which would enhance the quality of life and improve the local economy. There is urgency to my passion and to my vision. The Save Clover Valley Coalition has raised the community's consciousness; it is now time for the community to begin to take steps insuring this precious valley is saved. - Allison Miller volunteers for both the Save Clover Valley Coalition and the non-profit, Clover Valley Foundation. She is a semi-retired teacher with a background in journalism. |