Melodie Ruse
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
133 Peachtree Street NE (30303)
PO Box 105605
Atlanta, GA 30348-5605

Dear Melodie:

I am a part of the North Coast Action team and am moved to write to you on a number of things since our meeting September 7 where we reviewed the GP meeting August 2. First, I want to thank you and your company again for your efforts to involve the community and for paying attention to the Community Compatibility of your huge project. We have an unparalleled opportunity to create a model development in social, environmental, and economic terms. We have the opportunity to employ the highest of environmental ethics and create a considerably more vibrant town thanks to the efforts of GP, the Town of Fort Bragg, and the caring of the people.

We reviewed the plans and ideas which were presented to us by your team August 2 alongside the citizen priorities which were brought out at our July 13 meeting – and they are indeed compatible. Thank you for listening in, and for your expertise in knowing how to approach this kind of situation. Clearly the people here care a great deal about their community and restoring the natural beauty of their coastline. We appreciate the time you took to hear the people’s ideas and visions to put alongside yours. We look forward to the next meeting late October to continue the two-way communication.

There are a few ideas and requests people made in our meeting and in yours that are basic concepts and infrastructure things that I thought would be well laid out more clearly:
-Environmental protection and sustainability are top priority
-Model development with high environmental and social ethics to benefit current and future generations
-Development plan for the parcel as a harmonious whole which is also in harmony with the existing town, not in bits and pieces, which serves the people’s needs for jobs, homes, recreation, etc.
-Water is a basic issue given some people’s concerns for insufficiency for the current needs let alone the new demands from the development
-Utilities should go underground with development for telecommunications done appropriately
-Tree/protective windbreaks on the coast to the W-NW need to be
-Handicap accessibility on the coastal trails, plus room enough for walkers, bikers, horses, etc.
-Access over or under Hwy One so the town is integrated, not divided
-Encourage pedestrian traffic in the new development with minimal roads, adequate parking, and easy internal circulation in old and new parts
-Keep the existing natural habitats for riparian, encourage the bird life (including a marsh for the migrations and sewage polishing), plant only native species (no invasives), increase the forest area as a park, leave a gracious amount of open space for scenic enjoyment, and generally honor the beauty of the coast
-Consider a gift to the Town of some of the park land that is not developable, and/or a Conservation Easement, to encourage the bio-remediation efforts
-Include the spiritual element with some quiet places for communion with nature, and/or a labyrinth
-Recycling/trash collection system for the development that is as close to zero waste as we can reasonably get
-Require new green energy ideas like solar roofing and panels on all buildings and even consider a community corporation to do this like Rancho Seco has
-Leave Community Commons areas where people can meet and enjoy the coast
-Support the existing entrepreneurial nature of the town with compatible businesses

We sincerely hope that we can form an even stronger cooperation bond between GP, the Town and the People to continue to work closely on this project from the very start so that the process is as harmonious as possible with the best possible outcome for all parties. This project greatly affects the future of the whole North Coast.

Sincerely,


Shirley Freriks
NCA Advisory Board
PO Box 755, Albion, CA 95410 sfreriks@mcn.org