Blog note: this opinion piece references a grand jury report.
After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake there was grave concern about when the next “big one” would hit. Structural engineers realized that building codes had to be upgraded.
The rush was on to toughen seismic rules, as Mill Valley’s respected city manager Doug Dawson warned, “If we don’t do it within six months or a year at the latest, enough time will have passed so that the public’s memory fades and nothing will be done.”
Fast-forward 30 years. In October 2017 the Santa Rosa-Napa fire destroyed 3,000 homes, took 22 lives and caused $10 billion in damages. Last November’s Camp Fire incinerated the city of Paradise, snuffing out 85 lives. As the Marin County Civil Grand Jury predicted, “it’s not if, it’s when” a wildfire will occur.
Dawson’s words are now being proven true in his own Mill Valley. The issue involves one of the city’s historic resources, its network of steps, lanes and paths linking neighborhoods to downtown. Since the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley fire it’s been acknowledged the steps and paths network provides redundant escape routes if roadways are cut off by fast-advancing flames.
In a prime example of forgetting past lessons, some residents are objecting to eliminating a hazard that makes a key public stairway useless as an escape route. Path No. 49 climbs from the top of Madrona at Lovell up to Bayview and Summit avenues. It’s lined with non-native and invasive bamboo. Like the plant in the film “Little Shop of Horrors,” the bamboo is beautiful and deadly.
Larkspur’s city website defines the hazard: “Although bamboo is green and appears lush, it’s actually a plant that easily ignites and burns. On windy days, burning bamboo generates dangerous ember brands that can travel significant distances starting additional fires. Simply put, bamboo is a fire hazard.”
Residents along the steps will undoubtedly miss the tropical bamboo. If it’s not quickly eliminated and the fire comes, they will also miss the people who could lose their lives as they attempt to flee what should have been a route of safe passage.
Mill Valley isn’t unique. Similar discussions are taking place all over Marin. People know that world-class efforts are needed to mitigate our ever-present threat from wind-generated wildland fire. When someone says, “Can’t you make an exception for me?” the answer must be “no.”
City officials need to ask firefighters and urban foresters if the task needs to be done. If they say “yes,” then do it — now. Imagine the public’s post-fire furor and the ensuing litigation if they learn every precaution had not been taken.
Wikipedia defines gerrymandering as “a practice to establish political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries.” Novato citizens will soon be living with five City Council districts gerrymandered to virtually assure re-election of all incumbents.
California is a pioneer when it comes to ending corrupt gerrymandering. Thanks to 2008’s Proposition 11 — The Voter First Act — boundaries of congressional, state Senate and Assembly seats are crafted by a bi-partisan commission of citizen volunteers without regard to the locations of incumbents’ homes. Unfortunately, cities, counties and special-purpose districts are not bound by the reform.
While all five of Novato’s council members are fine people and most are quite competent, approving this incumbent protection plan wasn’t their finest hour. The concept of limiting council terms to three, four-year terms isn’t perfect, but it’s the only practical remedy to bring in new blood and eliminate the occasional incompetent.
Only 2,460 valid signatures are required to put retroactive term limits on Novato’s ballot. I expect that if a term-limit measure ever qualifies, it’ll achieve the needed simple majority.
June 1, 2019
Marin Independent Journal
By Dick Spotswood
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