From: Save Our Sunol Bulletin
August 2000
By: Pat Stillman

Quarry Fight Continues ~ Water Temple Restored ~ Sunol on Film

...It seemed to serve the pressing public needs of the region better than they could be served in any other way, and yet did not impair the usefulness or materially detract from the beauty of the public domain.

~ President Woodrow Wilson's
comment on the Racker Act


Save Our Sunol believes that San Francisco might be in violation of the spirit of the Racker Act passed by Congress and signed into law in 1913 if they quarry the land next to the Water Temple on Paloma Way. The beauty of the public domain (the field in Sunol) would be extremely impaired by a huge gravel pit with conveyor belts at the entrance to town and across from our school.

The public domain and public trust are essential parts of a relationship that Sunol has historically had with San Francisco. That public trust can only be preserved if the 200 acres on Paloma Way are used in ways that are not destructive to our community, our school and our residents.

The final EIR has been prepared by San Francisco's Planning Department. Most of the report has included the 1992 Alameda County EIR that Save Our Sunol rejected as inadequate. Many recent environmental restrictions, including threatened and endangered species, and new EPA laws, have not been sufficiently addressed.

At our August SOS meeting, we voted to explore a legal challenge to the EIR in conjunction with the Alameda Creek Alliance. We have contacted an environmental attorney in San Francisco to represent our interests and we’ll keep you posted.

We have also hired Gregg Schiffner, an artist and film maker, to do a documentary on the beauty and uniqueness of Sunol and our struggle with the quarry issue. We plan to present this film to the SF PUC and the SF Board of Supervisors before their vote on the EIR.

We will also make our film available to the media, environmental organizations and other interested groups. We thank our SOS Documentary Steering Committee and benefactors: Finlay Boag, Ted Buttner, Rosemary Chang, Neil Davies, Stephan Doyle, Cindy Frillman, Bree James, Derek Johnson and Lynn Kozma for all the tremendous support. Thanks also to all of you who agreed to be interviewed, lent historical photos, or provided a perfect Sunol location for the film.

On a joyful note, we are very excited about the restoration of the Water Temple. Lena Ch'en has made this a "labor of love." We are most grateful to the SFPUC under the leadership of Dennis Normandy, for this wonderful restoration. We have worked for restoration of the Temple for six years. We consider this a victory!

Don't forget the celebration on 9/9/2000 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. All Sunolians, (adults only please) are invited to enjoy hors d'oeuvres, wine tasting, commemorative cakes and lovely flowers. Music will be performed by a string quartet. Mayor Willie Brown is expected to attend. Let us give him a warm Sunol welcome at our beautifully restored Willis Polk Water Temple.