legal victories
Through their fights, the Save San Francisco Bay Association achieved landmark legal protections for the Bay, resulting in a cleaner, healthier environment.
In the 1961 the city of Berkeley had plans for filling their portion of the Bay and expanding the city two miles out to make room for an airport, shopping center, and housing. When Esther Gulick, Kay Kerr, and Sylvia McLaughlin heard of this they were outraged, and this became their first fight. Because established environmental organizations were not going to help them, they founded their own organization, Save San Francisco Bay Association.
They protested the filling of the Bay, first in Berkeley and then throughout the Bay. In 1965 their work with California State Senator Eugene McAteer achieved landmark legal protections in the form of the McAteer-Petris Act, which created the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, BCDC. The BCDC put restrictions on all filling, dredging, and development of the Bay and greatly increased public access to the shoreline. The BCDC was the first coastal protection agency in the world.
They protested the filling of the Bay, first in Berkeley and then throughout the Bay. In 1965 their work with California State Senator Eugene McAteer achieved landmark legal protections in the form of the McAteer-Petris Act, which created the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, BCDC. The BCDC put restrictions on all filling, dredging, and development of the Bay and greatly increased public access to the shoreline. The BCDC was the first coastal protection agency in the world.
"In 1965 Senator McAteer and Assemblyman Nicholas Petris co-sponsored a successful bill – the McAteer-Petris Act – which established The Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC).
BCDC had two major responsibilities: to prepare a master plan for the Bay and grant or deny permits for Bay filling.
We had to keep fighting to assure that BCDC became a permanent agency."
-Sylvia McLaughlin, Save the Bay Association
(Save the Bay, 1969)
|
"After eight years of hard work, the bill passed by just one vote. Governor Reagan signed it and created the agency that is still the main regulatory agency over the Bay today comprised of citizens and public representatives from around the Bay." |
Ian McKernan: "Do you think Urban Conservation was a new issue for the state of California when the McAteer-Petris Act was passed in 1965?
Dr. McAteer: I think that it was so far ahead of its time that you would actually get something that would stop growth, that would focus on water resources. The idea of conservation and ecology and a green movement...this lead the nation and it actually spawned many other legislative acts. The Coastal Commission actually came out of BCDC legislation, so that you could protect the California coast, similar to what my dad helped do in San Francisco Bay."
- Dr. Terry McAteer, Son of Senator J. Eugene McAteer
Personal Interview
mcateer-petris act Making news
In this cartoon, the bulldozer/wolf represents those who want to develop the Bay, which is shown as Little Red Riding Hood. Because of weak legislation, the wolf will be able to eat Little Red Riding Hood and destroy the Bay.
The Legislature should be protecting the Bay, not the developers.
(Robert Bastian, 1969)
|
|
(Soundings: On the Future of San Francisco Bay; A Report on the Findings of
the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, 1969)
the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, 1969)