Community News - Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group
Elizabeth Cord, President
(408) 365-8270
(408) 365-0931 fax

Neighborhood Group Supports Candidate's Stand on Power Plant
Over 6,000 Concerned San Jose Residents Oppose the Plant

October 13, 1999, San Jose, Calif. -- The Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group has adopted a resolution of support for the pro-neighborhood position announced today by San Jose City Council Candidate Kathy Chavez Napoli.

The Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group has taken a lead role in opposing the Calpine power plant project, representing the 6,000 concerned residents and many neighborhood groups across San Jose. "The Calpine power plant would be the #1 worst polluting business in the City of San Jose," said Elizabeth Cord, President, Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group.

"We applaud Kathy Chavez Napoli's decision concerning the proposed Calpine power plant," said Issa Ajlouny of the Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group. "We appreciate her willingness to listen and respond to the concerns of the people." The site being considered is in the North Coyote Valley, only one half-mile from the Santa Teresa Neighborhood. "There is no compelling reason for siting this highly polluting industrial business so close to an existing neighborhood," he continued.

Coyote Valley has been reserved for many years for the premier research campus type of use that is the future of Silicon Valley. Downgrading Coyote Valley to heavy industrial plants threatens any future responsible development for that area. The Coyote Valley Research Park, LLC, the development team involved in the proposed Cisco development, has expressed concerns over the "potential environmental, safety, visual, and compatibility issues associated with the project." The proposed Cisco campus location is less than 1/8 mile from the power plant site.

"With the planned modernization of the Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County, the source of about half of the power that comes to South San Jose, an additional 800 megawatts of power will be sent to our area, more than the total proposed for the Calpine plant. Building a power plant in pristine Coyote Valley would only divert the power we would receive from Moss Landing," stated Scott Scholz, founder of www.southsanjose.com, the neighborhood website.

"The only upgrade required at our local substation is a new transformer, a zero-pollution alternative," said Tim Alton, a member of the Group's Technical Research Team.

The modernization program at Moss Landing will benefit the Bay Area by providing highly efficient power to the region without new power lines or gas lines, stated Mark Seedall, Director of Electric Modernization for Duke Energy North America in a recent letter to Tim Alton. The Moss Landing modernization project enjoys tremendous neighborhood support, as it uses a site already zoned and used for heavy industrial, while reducing local emissions, lessening the visual impact of the existing plant, and providing a more efficient source of power.

The recent Community Meeting hosted by the Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group drew a standing-room-only crowd of over 1,000 concerned residents who oppose the proposed power plant.

"The strong leadership role taken by Napoli shows her concern for the people of San Jose, who would be subject to over four tons per day of pollution emissions from the Calpine power plant," said Phil Mitchell, a San Jose environmental manager who has researched the Calpine proposal.

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