Attachment 1
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CITY OF MOUNTAIN VIEW
RESOLUTION NO.
SERIES 2023
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOUNTAIN VIEW
IN SUPPORT OF THE EFFORTS OF THE AMAH MUTSUN TRIBAL BAND
TO PRESERVE SARGENT RANCH/JURISTAC AS OPEN SPACE
WHEREAS, the City of Mountain View is located on the ancestral lands of Tamyen-speaking Ohlone peoples, whose descendants today belong to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, and other tribal nations; and
WHEREAS, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, Muwekma Ohlone Tri be, and other Ohlone people survived two centuries of violent persecution and displacement during the Spanish, Mexican and American periods and today are working diligently to restore their Indigenous practices, regain stewardship of their lands, and heal from historical trauma; and
WHEREAS, the area known as Juristac to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is the location of numerous historic ceremonial and sacred sites, comprising a landscape of paramount cultural and spiritual importance to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band; and
WHEREAS, the Debt Acquisition Company of America, doing business as Sargent Ranch Management Company, has applied to the County of Santa Clara for a Conditional Use Permit for a proposed sand and gravel mining operation with aggregate processing facilities on 403 acres within the landscape of Juristac, called Sargent Ranch by the Debt Acquisition Company of America; and
WHEREAS, the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) prepared by Santa Clara County found that the Sargen t Ranch Quarry would cause 14 separate significant and unavoidable impacts, including “permanent and irreversible alterations” to the Juristac Tribal Cultural Landscape that no reclamation activities could ever restore, and could also result in potential disturbance of archeological sites and human burials; and
WHEREAS, the DEIR further found that the Sargent Ranch Quarry, due to its location directly across a major wildlife corridor in and out of the Santa Cruz Mountains, would interfere substantially wi th wildlife movement, which could reduce genetic variability and make populations of animals such as mountain lions more vulnerable to local extinction; and
WHEREAS, the Tribal Council of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has taken a unanimous stand in opposition to the Sargent Ranch Quarry Project and is requesting the support of surrounding communities in efforts to protect their sacred grounds; and
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WHEREAS, every environmental organization in Santa Clara County, as well as several Statewide and national en vironmental organizations, has announced public opposition to the Sargent Ranch Quarry; and
WHEREAS, resolutions supporting the efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to preserve the entirety of Juristac as open space have been unanimously adopted by the city councils of the City of Gilroy, City of Morgan Hill, City of Santa Cruz, City of Santa Clara, and City of Sunnyvale, as well as the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, the California Democratic Party, and the Santa Clara County Democratic Party; and
WHEREAS, the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission has voted unanimously to recognize the desecration of the Amah Mutsun sacred site of Juristac as a significant human rights issue and to recommend that the County of Santa Clara deny approval of permits for the proposed mine; and
WHEREAS, Sargent Ranch/Juristac is an open space area of exceptional regional significance and habitat value as recognized by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, and regional conservation organizations; and
WHEREAS, the Sargent Ranch area is identified in the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan and other regional habitat connectivity studies as a critically important wildlife corridor linking the Santa Cruz Mountains, Gabilan Mountains, and Diablo Range; and
WHEREAS, the Mountain View Strategic Roadmap for Fiscal Years 2021-22 and 2022 -23 includes Sustainability and Climate Resiliency among its strategic priorities and recognizes the need to protect and enhance local ecosystems and biodiversity; and
WHEREAS, the Mountain View 2030 General Plan recognizes the importance of protecting and preserving historical and cultural resources (Goal LUD-11); now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: that the City Council of th e City of Mountain View supports the efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to preserve Sargent Ranch/Juristac as open space in perpetuity and to regain access to their cultural and spiritual sites at Juristac; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: that the City of Mountain View urges the County of Santa Clara to deny approval of permits for the proposed Sargent Ranch Quarry Project.
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CG/2/RESO
608-04-25-23r