Democratic consensus on creek

I am the hillbilly council member of the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council, here to dissect the repetitive mistruths publicly espoused by Lennie Roberts and her Committee for Green Foothills (My Word, Feb. 15) regarding our democratically determined plan of action to alleviate the chronic flooding and enhance the environment of Butano Creek in the vicinity of the bridge on Pescadero Road.

The allegations that we do not have a consensus as to the solution and that the process for arriving at this consensus has been exclusionary are utterly false. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has a copy of a letter from the PMAC with 800 signatures that acknowledges and endorses the concepts of our official plan.

The alleged exclusionary meetings, which Supervisor Rich Gordon chaired with members of the PMAC and its flood subcommittee, our state and federal representatives and the array of governmental agencies that have jurisdiction in the creek, were not a forum for making public policy decisions. We were simply educating and informing these people as to our intent and asking for their input and/or advice.

The details and scientific studies upon which the PMAC's plan are based can be found in "The Story of the Flooding of Pescadero Road," by Bill Cook, which is also on the desks of our state and federal representatives and officially endorsed by the PMAC.

The creek's aggravated condition is the problem and the flooding of the roadway and private property is the result. The creek's poor condition from lack of action by government agencies and private property owners is due, in part, to fear of lawsuits by groups like the Committee for Green Foothills.

Two aspects of our plan call for the removal of excessive sediment -- which the Environmental Protection Agency labels a pollutant -- and invasive vegetation in the bed of the channel. Our goal is to recreate a reasonably sized channel and relocate portions of existing manmade levees for two primary purposes: To increase the size of its tidal prism area that more reflects its historical proportions; and to enhance the creek's natural tendency to access its primary flood plain to the west, which is 2 feet to 4 feet lower in elevation, prior to flooding the private property on the east side when it leaves its banks.

We are not interested in "quick fix" solutions that do nothing about the real problem, a creek choked with excessive sediment and invasive vegetation. Furthermore, we do not like having these "over the hill" environmental groups label our property-damaging and life-threatening flooding problem an inconvenience.

Our plan is the culmination of 12 to 15 years of discussion and debate in the public arena after careful review of the associated scientific studies and successful similar projects. I challenge foes and friends alike to find a more democratically arrived at and unanimous conclusion to a problem in one's community.

For those of you who want to participate in this sometimes acrimonious democratic process, the doors of the flood subcommittee of the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council are open to everyone. Come on down.

John Donovan lives in Loma Mar and is an elected official of the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council.