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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
October 7, 2005 Solar-powered homes not green enough to sway Pardee's critics Residential Report Katherine ConradPardee Homes' promise to build the largest solar home community in the country on Livermore's long-contested north flank would seem to put opponents - especially environmentalists - in a tough spot as the Nov. 8 vote on the project nears. Not a bit, says David Reid of the Greenbelt Alliance. Outfitting 2,450 homes with solar panels does not convince environmental groups that this housing project deserves their votes. "No solar panels can blind people to the fact that this project is bad for the environment. It promotes destruction of habitat and means the addition of thousands of cars on the road," Reid said. Pardee's "solar parade," as he described the developer's Sept. 30 press conference, is simply a smokescreen to hide its campaign spending, Reid says. This week, Pardee filed a campaign disclosure statement showing it has spent $2.4 million on Measure D. "Don't get distracted from the big story - $2.4 million is huge," Reid said. Pardee has worked overtime trying to appease everyone from soccer moms to the strapped Livermore Joint Unified School District. But the East Bay environmental community has not budged. Apparently tired of the carrot approach, Pardee's Carlene Matchniff tried the stick on Oct. 3 when she sent an e-mail to the media accusing Reid of "talking out of both sides of his mouth." Citing a memo Reid wrote in January to the Greenbelt Alliance program committee in which he recommended against the project, Matchniff concludes that Reid really supports Livermore Trails. In a list of project benefits, Reid wrote: "There is logic in developing the North Livermore area, in that it is close to the freeway and to downtown Livermore; this might represent the best opportunity to do so." Reid said he was trying to address the project's good and bad sides. "It's appalling to me that Pardee would use the fact that we were objective in our process against us. I think people can see through that," he said. Home builders feel endangered While Pardee is trying to protect bird's beak in Livermore, U.S. Representative Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, is busy trying to rewrite - some would say dismantle - the 32-year-old Endangered Species Act. John Ochsner, president of Centex Homes Northern California, is right behind him. "This is long overdue. All that Congressman Pombo is saying is let's go back to the Endangered Species Act as originally written. We're all for protecting sensitive environment," Ochsner said. Ochsner said home builders will "do whatever we can" to help Pombo. That includes writing checks, lots of them. kconrad@bizjournals.com | 925-598-1427
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