Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
333 Acre Chaparral Spring Parcel Purchased WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PAY OFF THE LOANS
Clayton : I
Chaparral Spring parcel 333 acres purchased by Save Mt. Diablo 1 Mile
Save Mount Diablo has once again acted to preserve lands from development on Mount Diablo. In July 1994, SMD entered into an agreement to purchase Chaparral Spring, an incredibly beautiful and strategically located 333-acre property on the North Side of the Mountain just east of the town of Clayton. Chaparral Spring, named for an unusual south slope spring in what is normally a dry chaparral community, stretches west from Morgan Territory Road along the north side of Marsh Creek Road, immediately across from the northeast corner of the State Park. The purchase price for the entire parcel is $625,000. In order to hold the parcel, we've taken out $150,000 in loans. We need your immediate help in repaying the loans so that the property can eventually be added to public park lands.
Development Would Have Been Visible from Throughout Central County
Chaparral Spring is visible for many miles. It climbs from 1000 feet near Morgan Territory Road, four miles from downtown Clayton, to more than 1600 feet at the ridge line. It is the highest and most eastern part of the bowl rising east from the City of Clayton. It is literally the 'pass' between Clayton and Morgan Territory. Keller Ridge stretches east from Clayton to bury itself in the property. Chaparral Spring's slopes are south facing, and its unusual views include the Mt. Diablo itself, as well as Clayton and on to Suisun Bay, Highland Ridge and Morgan Territory to the south, and in the east, the Sierra range. SMD first attempted to buy the property four years ago, but was outbid several times by private buyers who wanted to subdivide the property. SMD alternately attempted work within the development planning process to preserve as much of the site as possible. After each development proposal faltered, SMD again made known its interest to acquire the property. This summer, SMD's Board authorized another offer on the parcel, which was finally accepted. According to SMD president Sue Watson, "The Board appreciates the efforts of Bob Doyle, who assisted in the acquisition." continued on page 5
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Fall
1994, No.15
Marsh Creek Road Specific Plan Falters Clayton Goes Back to the Drawing Board
In the last issue of Diablo Watch, Save Mount Diablo reported on a potential battle over Clayton's proposed Marsh Creek Road Specific Plan. That Plan, generally, is a disaster. It would allow development as high east of the city as the quarries above Mitchell Canyon to the west of the City. SMD considers it the single most important development issue on Mount Diablo in the last decade. The City was poised recently to approve the Plan, after spending more than $250,000 in developer fees. SMD hired an environmental attorney to consider whether the City's procedural and environmental actions were in order and discovered a major flaw in their process. In a nutshell, the City's General Plan does not include the area east of the City, continued on page 3
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SMD Hires Director ,,
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CalPAW falls
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Lyme Disease
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Park News
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SF Foundation
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Volunteers
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Restoration of Native Bunchgrass
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