For decades, Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration have pursued a bypass on Highway 101 around Willits to ease traffic congestion. The agencies insist on a four-lane freeway and refuse to consider or analyze equally effective two-lane alternatives or in-town solutions. The current project is a six-mile, four-lane freeway bypass, including several bridges over creeks and local roads, a viaduct spanning the regulatory floodway and two interchanges. Construction would damage wildlife habitat and biological resources in Little Lake Valley, including nearly 100 acres of wetlands, and would require the largest wetlands fill permit in Northern California in the past 50 years. It would also affect stream and riparian habitat for chinook and coho salmon and steelhead trout in three streams converging into Outlet Creek, harm state-protected endangered plants (Baker’s meadowfoam) and destroy oak woodlands.

“In a time of devastating budget cuts to health, education, social services and the state park system, Caltrans proposes to spend nearly $200 million on an unnecessary project that will seriously degrade the headwaters of the Eel River,” said Gary Graham Hughes, executive director at EPIC. “This project is completely out of touch with the needs of the natural and human communities on the North Coast.”

“For three decades the Sierra Cub has promoted responsible transportation planning in Mendocino County, but requests to consider a two-lane alternative have been ignored by Caltrans,” said Mary Walsh with the Redwood Chapter of the Sierra Club. “We’re proud to challenge this wasteful and destructive highway project.”

The lawsuit is against Caltrans, the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Water Act. It seeks a court order requiring the agencies to prepare a supplemental “environmental impact statement” that considers two-lane alternatives and addresses substantial design changes and new information about traffic volumes and environmental impacts.

Background

For more than half a century, Caltrans has promoted turning Highway 101 into a four-lane freeway from San Diego to the Oregon border, with a four-lane freeway bypass around Willits. Caltrans first discussed potential bypass designs and routes through Willits in 1988, but by 1995 had unilaterally discarded all non-freeway or two-lane alternatives. An environmental review for a four-lane freeway was finalized in 2006.

The California Transportation Commission, the state funding authority, has repeatedly refused to fund a four-lane freeway, so Caltrans proposes to proceed in “phases,” grading for four lanes and constructing two lanes with available funds, then allegedly constructing two additional lanes when additional funding becomes available, a dubious prospect. Yet Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration did not draft a supplemental “environmental impact statement” to look at impacts of this changed design or consider two-lane alternatives.

A 1998 Caltrans study found that 70 percent to 80 percent of traffic causing congestion in downtown Willits was local, and Caltrans internally conceded that the volume of traffic projected to use the bypass was not enough to warrant a four-lane freeway. Agency data showed the volume of traffic that would use the bypass did not increase from 1992 to 2005. New information shows actual traffic volumes are below what the agencies projected when they determined only a four-lane freeway will provide the desired level of service, and that a two-lane bypass will provide a better level of service than projected.

Phase I of the project will discharge fill into more than 86 acres of wetlands and federal jurisdiction waters. Caltrans purchased approximately 2,000 acres of ranchland in Little Lake Valley to “mitigate” for loss of wetlands, but the properties already had established existing wetlands, with no ability for Caltrans to “create” new wetlands. To obtain the required wetlands fill permit under the Clean Water Act, the state and federal agencies submitted a significantly deficient “mitigation and monitoring plan” to the Army Corps to “enhance” wetlands. This plan itself alters existing wetlands and causes significant new impacts to wetlands, endangered species and grazing lands, and makes design changes that were not analyzed or disclosed in the 2006 environmental review. The Corps improperly issued the permit in February 2012.

The Willits Bypass is the latest in a series of controversial, environmentally damaging, expensive and unnecessary highway projects Caltrans is pursuing while refusing to consider alternatives and ignoring public opposition. Last month, a federal court ordered Caltrans to redo critical aspects of its environmental analysis for a project to widen and realign Highway 101 to promote large-truck travel through the ancient redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park. Caltrans is also proposing a project on Highway 197/199 in Del Norte County that would fell protected ancient redwoods and threaten the pristine Smith River. In January, Caltrans was forced by a lawsuit to rescind project approval and cancel construction of the first phase of an $80 million highway widening “safety” project in Niles Canyon, Alameda County, that Caltrans now admits is not needed.

Contact: Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 669-7357

Ellen Drell, Willits Environmental Center, (707) 459-4110

Mary Walsh, Redwood Chapter of the Sierra Club, (707) 937-0572

Gary Hughes, Environmental Protection Information Center, (707) 822-7711

Andy Schexnaydre is on the board of GoLocal Sonoma County and a socially-responsible financial planner. His prior experience included work for the Pacific Stock Exchange, UBS, and Financial West, “all of which,” he noted, “have their decision-making headquarters far away from local communities.” To illustrate the contrast, he showed an excerpt of “It’s a Wonderful Life” in which George Bailey, the local banker, pleads with his patrons to have faith in the interactions that benefit both borrowers and lenders – and the community – at the local level.

Schexnaydre pointed out the traditional banking formula (that George Bailey operated under), where investors get 3% return, borrowers pay 6%, and the bank makes a 3% profit. “In the 1970s,” he noted, “Wall Street’s profit margin climbed to 15%. In 2007, it was 40%. That leaves investors with nearly 0% return, and borrowers paying exorbitant rates.”

“In February 2012,” Schexnaydre continued, “five business giants agreed to a $25 billion settlement, with no criminal charges, for mortgage fraud – after that fraud had contributed to an estimated $700 billion in real estate losses.” He rattled off some alphabet soup of the kinds of financial transactions that continue to run rampant on Wall Street, virtually none of which benefit local businesses or jobs.

“Some of the new ideas for local economies include ‘crowd-funding,’
time-banking, and cooperatives,” said Schexnaydre. “You have to be careful, but don’t be intimidated. Lending institutions are highly regulated, but individuals or small groups of private investors have lots of leeway.”

John Sakowicz, host of KZYX’s All About Money show, a past dealer on Wall Street, and recently appointed to the County Employees Retirement Board, was the third presenter. The MCERA manages investments of $352 million to secure retirement benefits for the County’s employees.

“When I was interviewed for appointment to the board, Supervisor Dan Hamburg asked what I thought of investing 1% of these funds locally,” recounted Sakowicz. “My first reaction was that might conflict with my responsibility to protect the employees investment. But then I realized that local micro-loans, in partnership with EDFC and other banks, could be both safe and beneficial – to the fund as well as the community.”

“When I brought up this idea to the MCERA,” he continued, “I got blank stares.” Sakowicz urges citizens to lobby their Board of Supervisors and Shari Shapmire, County Treasurer, if they would like to see $3.5 million directed from this fund to invest in local job-creating businesses. He cited several precedents of pension funds successfully doing this type of alternative investment, including British Columbia, Ontario, and the States of Texas and Maryland. The California State retirement board, CalPers, has been making a 22% return on its alternative investment program of inner-city loans, for another example.

During the audience discussion, John Kuhry (of EDFC, noted earlier) mentioned that Yokayo Bio-fuels is considering a public offering to expand its business. He said that investors could choose what is coined “patient capital” (or “slow money”) – keeping interest rates low and not expecting any immediate returns while a new business gets started.

Kuhry highly recommended that people attend a workshop “Local Dollars, Local Sense,” which will be held in Hopland April 27th led by Michael Shuman, author of the same-titled book. Contact gro.cfdenull@nhoj to reg

Facilitator Holly Madrigal noted that the Willits Chamber of Commerce was the first Chamber to join BALLE, the nation-wide Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. “BALLE sponsors very useful webinars and conferences to promote the kind of business-investor cooperation being explored in this forum,” said Madrigal.

Another Willits City Councilmember, Ron Orenstein, commented that his primary concern is local jobs, yielding a healthy local economy, rather than a cash yield on investments. Quite a few enterprises are interested in the “business incubator” he is establishing at the Railroad Center. Orenstein, along with entrepreneur Ron Cole, feel there is great potential for synergy, using the wastes or bi-products of one business as the resource for another.

Keith Rutledge of REDI (Renewable Energy Development Institute in Willits) said they’re considering a program similar to Sonoma County’s PACE (Property-Assessed Clean Energy) which allows qualifying homes and businesses to finance energy improvements paid back through the property tax rolls.

Some of the other ideas brought up in the discussion session were stressing energy and food independence, choosing a “pilot project” to invest in, or “bundling” several businesses to encourage cooperation and minimize risk, producers and consumers co-operatives, buying local, and direct marketing.

About 3/4th of the audience members indicated interest in becoming local investors. Several WELL coordinating committee members indicated this topic will be high on WELL’s agenda this year.