It was the best of times…and well, you know.

So this week the beavers offically “lawyered up” with a little help from Worth A Dam. A sharp environmental attorney recommended by our friends at the sierra club and the estuary project wrote a letter to the city stating, among other things, that removal of the beavers presented a significant impact on the environment and may be a violation of the standards of CEQA. He reviewed the Friends of Lake Skinner case we talked about before, emphasized the limits of city privacy outlined in the Brown Act and encouraged the city to do the right thing.

At the end of the day there was a 6:00pm release of the agenda for wednesday’s meeting. It contained a plan for implementing the recommendations from the subcommittee report, including a proposal to begin work on an “emergency bank stabilization project” effective immediately. Encouraging aspects include the plan to adopt the subcommittee’s recommendation for a water quality testing, a creek walk, volunteer work, and educational opportunities. Less encouraging is the promise to work with alot of nice agencies EXCEPT Worth A Dam.

We anticipate developing partnerships with the Alhambra Watershed Council, Friends of Alhambra Creek, Alhambra Unified School District and other community organizations as part of the grant application

Gee I wonder why we were overlooked? How would you know the best way to take the beavers needs into account without including the people who know them best? Let’s look a little closer at this agenda. Check out item 5.

CITY MANAGER

5.	Consider resolutions authorizing emergency work to stabilize the Alhambra Creek bank.

A)	Resolution Making findings and authorize the Assistant City Manger Community and Economic Development to file a Notice of Exemption in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA);

B)	Resolution declaring the Emergency Creek Bank Stabilization, Alhambra Creek, Escobar to Marina Vista Project, an emergency project in accordance with California Public Contract Code section 22050; and

C)	Approving the Emergency Creek Bank Stabilization, Alhambra Creek, Escobar to Marina Vista Project and allocating up to $500,000 of General Fund reserves to C3007 to complete the project and authorizing the City Manager to execute a construction contract for same.

6.	Comment(s)/Update(s)/Report(s).

Ahh there’s the bee in the rose. The work to be done on the bank should be done with an exemption for CEQA meaning without any regard to the environmental impact (or the beavers) whatsoever. Emergency Creek Bank Stabilization. What exactly is the emergency? I’m hard pressed to decide if its the election or the rainy season. Hmm, which one is more easy to anticipate and plan for? The standard is that they are not supposed to work in the creek after October 15th execpt for emergencies, hence the emergency status and the bogus report in the gazette that city staff “fell into a beaver hole” reviewing the dredging site.

Last night I was encouraged by Julian and Linda’s enthusiasm about this development. Today I’m not so sure. From where I sit it looks like the city has plans to “use” the beavers as a grant writing tool. The property owners have successfully “used” the beavers to get what they’ve wanted all along. And the beavers (and the people who care about them) will pay the price.

The beavers need your support. Come to the meeting wednesday.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=u_Gasq6qfzU]