We agree with the effort to restrict building on the bluff overlooking the Parkway as it is a visual intrusion to the natural sanctuary.
The deeper problem is that it is private property and the solution, for this parcel and others that will continue to change hands and have owners want to build on them, is to have funds available to purchase them for inclusion in the Parkway.
The original purpose of the American River Parkway Foundation was exactly that, but as the county continually ran short of money for basic maintenance it converted to a river clean-up organization.
A major aspect of our plan to have a nonprofit organization manage the Parkway is the ability it would also have to build a financial endowment for land acquisition. As private land goes up for sale the nonprofit could purchase it and deed it to the Parkway.
It is the only long range solution that works to preserve the natural sanctuary of the Parkway and keep it from becoming Malibuized.
Foes rip plan to build on bluff
Parkway advocates say 2 homes would ruin view of river.
By Chelsea Phua - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, June 7, 2007
For nearly five years, developer Tim Lien has been trying to build two houses in Carmichael -- one for his parents and another for his brother's family -- on a bluff overlooking the American River Parkway.
The project, in the gated Riverwood community, has been met with intense opposition from activists fighting to preserve the natural environment of the river.
The Save the American River Association, a grass-roots organization established in 1961, has primarily objected to Lien seeking to build as close as 35 feet from the edge of the bluff. Zoning for the area requires a minimum 70-foot setback.
The section is also one of the areas most vulnerable to erosion, association advocates say. More importantly, the plans will ruin the aesthetics of the parkway view.
"It's important to protect a resource of national, state and regional importance," said Betsy Weiland, the association's volunteer coordinator. "We need to use the tools that we have to protect it."
