Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: September, Volume 2

Thank you for a wonderful 2026 Guardians of Nature Benefit

Forest Protection Forum

"Insuring the California Dream"
Monday, September 28th
4:00 pm
Presented by California State Senator Ben Allen
Register to join.

When the fires ravaged the Palisades, Ben took on the insurance industry to make sure victims received what they were owed. He has written legislation that would enable the insurance industry to better support homeowners who hardened their homes against fires. Californians are being priced out of their homes by skyrocketing insurance premiums. Insurers are dropping homeowners, sometimes without cause. The Commissioner's office has too often worked for the industry rather than the policyholders it's supposed to protect.

Pacifica City Council Quarry Appeal Hearing, September 28th

The applicant has a Builders Remedy proposal for 1,225 housing units in the quarry. Builder’s Remedy is a provision in California's Housing Accountability Act that stops local governments who do not have a state-certified Housing Element, from denying qualifying housing projects due to local zoning or general plan inconsistencies. The quarry proposal for 1,225 units was submitted just before Pacifica’s Housing Element was certified. The City said this quarry plan is inconsistent with the Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) and also that the 1983 voter-adopted ordinance that requires a public vote to approve housing in the quarry still applies. The applicant appealed, saying Builders Remedy means it does not have to conform to the LCLUP and the 1983 ordinance. The Pacifica Planning Commission denied the appeal, so now it goes to the City Council. The Council is expected to deny the appeal; the developer may then go to court to rule on this. If you have concerns about this project, you can email comments to publiccomment@pacifica.gov. Comments received before noon on the day of the meeting will be provided to Council members at the meeting, but all comments, even ones received after noon, will become part of the legal record. Comments will also be allowed in the public hearing at City Council Chambers, 2212 Beach Blvd. or via Zoom link to the meeting.

Gilroy Data Center Moratorium

On September 14th, we mobilized with residents from Gilroy Community Action in order to support a moratorium on new data center facilities. The Council listened and unanimously approved a temporary moratorium. Now, as Gilroy develops new data center standards, we will stay actively engaged, advocating for strong environmental protections and for a permanent prohibition on massive AI data centers that threaten the air we breathe, the water we drink, the electricity we use, and the open space we cherish.

Bay Alive was pleased to join community and regional partners in celebrating completion of Palo Alto’s new Horizontal Levee Pilot Project, an exciting example of what sea level rise adaptation can be with nature, rather than simply building bigger walls.

This is exactly the kind of forward-looking approach which Bay Alive is working to advance in shoreline communities throughout our region: solutions that protect people while preserving the Bay’s ecosystems and keeping future adaptation options open.

As the first project of its kind on the San Francisco Bay shoreline, the horizontal levee uses a broad, gently sloping landscape planted with native vegetation to help protect the shoreline while restoring habitat and creating space for marshes to adapt as seas rise. It will also serve as a living laboratory, helping to inform future nature-based shoreline projects around the Bay.

Would you like to help shape the future of our shoreline? Join the Bay Alive campaign and help us advocate for nature-based, adaptable solutions in communities across the Bay.

On October 6 at 6pm, the City of San Mateo will hold their first community meeting about their local sea level rise plan! State law requires all shoreline communities to submit approved sea level rise adaptation plans by 2034, in accordance with the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). The Bay Alive Campaign has been actively engaged in the implementation of the RSAP around the Bay, and looks forward to the opportunity to advocate for the prioritization of nature-based and equitable solutions to sea level rise. If you are interested in sharing your concerns regarding sea level rise in San Mateo, the meeting will be held in person at the San Mateo Public Library. Learn more about the event, and register.

Our advocacy on the Brisbane Baylands Specific Plan continues to gain traction. Building on the the City’s Open Space and Ecology Committee's July endorsement of our recommendations, the Brisbane Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council consider requiring Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories to obtain a conditional use permit rather than allowing them by right. This would provide greater public review and oversight before these higher-risk facilities could be approved.

The Commission also specifically asked the Council to review our June 10 coalition comment letter and consider conservation easements to provide stronger, long-term protection for designated open space.

While the City Council will make the final decisions, these recommendations represent significant progress toward two key Bay Alive objectives: greater public oversight of potentially hazardous uses and durable protections for habitat and open space as this large, complex shoreline development progresses.

Comment letter to Redwood City Mayor and City Council

"This large, complex project requires a decision that looks beyond the 60% design and upfront costs. The alternative selected now will establish the framework for future refinement. Council should consider which design preserves the greatest range of options as sea levels rise, including long-term adaptability, utilizing nature-based resilience, and foreseeable future adaptation costs, not simply near-term price.

We recommend adopting Alternative 1 as the primary approach, which also provides flexibility to incorporate Alternative 2 walls where appropriate. This approach maximizes future adaptability and aligns more effectively with BCDC’s Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) requirements."

Learn how nature can help fight sea level rise with cost-effective and sustainable solutions. Watch recordings of our webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.

Remembering Byron Sher, Our 2020 Guardians of Nature Honoree

Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Byron Sher, a remarkable environmental champion and a longtime public servant. 

Byron’s legacy lives in many of the California environmental protections that safeguard our state’s people and nature. During his decades of public service, he authored numerous landmark environmental laws, including the California Clean Air Act, Integrated Waste Management Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act, and pioneered legislation promoting electronic waste recycling and preventing toxic contamination from leaking underground. He also championed stronger protections for forests, rivers, and lands affected by mining. Read more about Byron.

Forests on the Brink: How Climate Change Is Rewriting the World’s Oldest Story

Forests have been shape-shifters since they first appeared on Earth around 385 – 390 million years ago during the Devonian period.  Since then, they have expanded, contracted, and adapted to whatever the planet has thrown at them, molding themselves to its rhythms. Now, however, they are struggling mightily with what humans have and continue to throw at them: anthropogenic climate change.  It isn’t just another chapter in their long ecological story. Natural climate shifts happen extremely slowly, over thousands of years.  Not so with anthropogenic climate change, which has occurred over just a few hundred years and is accelerating faster than even climate scientists predicted. It’s a plot twist so abrupt and sweeping that forests across the globe are being forced into roles they never evolved to play, with little time to adapt. Read more about forests on the brink.

Citizens of Daly City Convince Private Group to Drop Plastic Fields, Leaving Grass at Westlake Park

Daly City’s Save Westlake Park citizens’ group keeps their grass fields as the Olympic Club decided not to go forward with an attempt to reach a public private agreement with the City to cover park fields with plastic for athletic rentals. Daly City has considerably less than the state prescribed percentage of park-acres per 1000 residents, and should not be giving away a rare, valued grassy field to make a plastic field fenced off from ordinary use. Open grassy areas foster imaginative play, well-being and biodiversity. Public-private partnerships often favor the private "partner," shorten periods of use by residents and tend to inadequately compensate public localities. See Our Letter to Daly City on the Proposed Public-Private Contract for Westlake Park, delivered to Councilmembers just days before the Olympic Club decision. 

Join our Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee as we educate ourselves and others on how to identify and address the growing list of harms inflicted on the environment and public health by prolific and unnecessary plastic production.

Three Ways to Protect Yosemite

More than 5,000 of you have called your Members of Congress to stop Trump's threats to carve Yosemite National Park for private interests.

That's a record-breaking amount of calls in 48 hours, showing that our community understands that once our public lands are lost, they may be lost forever.

We must continue the drumbeat to protect Yosemite National Park and other public lands. Here are three ways that you can help if you haven't already.

1. Write a personal note to demand your Members of Congress oppose any land exchange or sale that allows for private development through Yosemite.
2. Call their offices at 202-730-9006 to urge them to protect Yosemite's irreplaceable landscapes.
3. Share these actions on social media, messenger, or email and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Learn more about Sierra Club's work to protect Yosemite.

Florence LaRiviere Presented with Lifetime Refuge Friend Award

We are delighted to learn and share that Florence LaRiviere, our 2023 Guardians of Nature Honoree, has been presented The National Wildlife Refuge Association’s inaugural Lifetime Refuge Friend Award.

“Florence LaRiviere embodies what it means to be a Refuge Friend,” said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, President & CEO of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “She saw the value of the Bay’s wetlands when others saw empty land waiting to be developed, and then she did something about it. For more than 60 years, Florence has shown us that persistence, vision, and community action can transform the future of an entire ecosystem. We are honored to present her with the very first Lifetime Refuge Friend Award.” - National Wildlife Refuge Association press release

We were delighted to honor Florence LaRiviere and her remarkable environmental legacy at the 2023 Guardians of Nature Benefit. 

Please enjoy the tribute video and photos from the 2023 Guardians of Nature Benefit and relive some of the wonderful memories from that event showcasing Florence's inspiring work.

A Gift That Lives On

We are deeply grateful for a generous bequest from a local donor whose thoughtful gift to the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter will help protect the environment in San Benito, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. 

Though her name will remain private, we are honored to advance her legacy through our local work to protect our region's natural resources, wildlife, lands, and communities.

You too can leave a lasting legacy for the region we lovingly call home. Include the Loma Prieta Chapter in your estate plans as a powerful way to ensure local conservation continues. Please learn more about leaving a legacy gift to the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter and protecting our local environment for generations to come. 

“Boom-doggle” Alert: Supersonic Flights Would Soon Be Allowed to Fly Over Us

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposal to reopen U.S. skies to overland supersonic flight would expose communities to more noise, sonic booms, and emissions while primarily serving luxury travelers. 

Sierra Club filed comments urging the FAA not to repeal its long-held ban on commercial supersonic flight over land. Noise from sonic booms can cause chronic stress, hyper-vigilance, distraction, and induced aggression in wildlife. Join the Loma Prieta Chapter Conservation efforts to protect wildlife and, if you are interested in steering this effort we would like to hear from you.

In 2026, Polluters' Lobbyists Try to Halt California Plastic Regulation

According to the L.A. Times, SB 54, signed into law in 2022 and disrupted multiple times during its progress, is again undergoing attempted disruption by industry lobbyists who are becoming more vocal. 

In 2022 Governor Newsom said, as he signed the legislation, “We’re holding polluters responsible and cutting plastics at the source,” but three years later as the law was to go into effect, he halted implementation and insisted its provisions needed a rewrite. Specifically food and agricultural packaging rules were eased to lower cost to those industries, facility emission standards and environmental permitting were loosened, and businesses with less that $1 million in sales acquired exemptions.  

Despite this easing, plastic product producers continue lobbying, with the recent result that "22 Democratic Assembly members and one state senator wrote to legislative leaders asking them to pause the law.” Thankfully leaders of the California Senate and Assembly disregarded this request. Meanwhile, this year conflicting Federal lawsuits, pro and con, have been filed regarding implementation of SB 54. It seems that “holding polluters responsible” is more difficult than it should be.

Your connection: Join our Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee as we educate ourselves and others on how to identify and address the growing list of harms inflicted on the environment and public health by prolific and unnecessary plastic production.

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Photographers, see the great images in our Chapter Annual Summaries and help protect local nature with your images! Share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, to inspire local residents to support Loma Prieta Chapter work. Please contact Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman.