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BCDC Acting Executive Director Steve Goldbeck
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As one of the Bay Area's regional government agencies, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) plays a vital role in protecting the natural resource that defines our region - San Francisco Bay. BCDC also is an important partner in the Plan Bay Area effort to create our region's next long-range transportation, housing and land-use plan.
In late December we interviewed BCDC Acting Executive Director Steve Goldbeck at Pier 14 in San Francisco to talk about BCDC's role in helping to create a more livable Bay Area. Here's what he told us.
Q: This is a new role for you, being the acting executive director. What are you up to?
A: It's a great adventure and a great challenge. I've been acting director for a couple of weeks now. Our previous executive director, Will Travis, is going to be officially retired as of January 1st, and I'll be acting director while the Commission goes through the process of determining who will be permanent executive director. I am doing a lot of on-the-job training. It's a job that I know very, very well, having worked as the deputy at BCDC for over a year. We have a really good team at BCDC and a wonderful Commission, so it's a challenge I look forward to.
Q: Plan Bay Area is about transportation, land-use and housing, so what does that have to do with San Francisco Bay?
A: San Francisco Bay is at the heart of our region in so many ways. We live, work and play just as close to San Francisco Bay as we can get. Sea-level rise will be bringing the bay even closer. And we have a lot of transportation infrastructure that is right next to the shoreline, above and even below the bay. So necessarily our planning is going to have to be interconnected. Just look at the San Francisco waterfront where bringing down the Embarcadero Freeway and reconnecting to the bay transformed and enlivened the waterfront. Truly, the bay is knit very tightly into our urban fabric.
Q: What does our region's projected population growth from 7 million to nearly 9 million people in the coming decades mean for the health of San Francisco Bay?
A: We have spent a lot of hard work and energy to bring the bay back from the damage that was done from historic bay fill and water pollution. But the bay is still very vulnerable, and as we add millions more people, we're going to have to be very careful that we not only protect the bay from increasing pollution and human impacts but that we also continue to restore it and open up more access to the bay.
Q: What are the most serious threats facing the bay?
A: San Francisco Bay still has species that are in danger because of historic filling and water pollution. We also have a reduced fresh water inflow from damming and water diversions. And plastic bags and trash still litter our waterways. So we still have a lot of threats that affect the bay and region.
Q: Why should we care? What are the benefits of a healthy bay?
A: The bay is very good to us. We eat her fish, Dungeness crabs. We swim in the bay, sail on the bay. We enjoy the abundant wildlife and beautiful views. So the bay is a real important part of who we are as a region. And I think we all take great pride and ownership in a healthy and vibrant bay.
Q: How does sea-level rise caused by climate change threaten our region's transportation and land-use infrastructure?
A: Since we have lived and built so close to the bay, there are a lot of threats from an expanding bay. The vulnerability assessment we did shows that over a hundred miles of roadways, including the Bayshore Freeway and other important arterials are vulnerable by the end of the century to flooding from sea-level rise, as well as housing for over a quarter-million of the present Bay Area population. The Bay Bridge is high enough to be above sea-level rise, but the eastern approach is low lying and subject to potential inundation as well. So there are many threats that we face today. That's why we believe we need a regional strategy together with the regional agencies to plan and respond to this threat.
Q: Can you summarize the San Francisco Bay Plan that BCDC has been working on? The Commission recently amended it, right?
A: We are a state agency operating under a state law with permitting authority over San Francisco Bay, including all the work in the bay and along the shoreline. The Legislature directed the Commission to prepare a Bay Plan to provide policies for the Commission, as it considers whether to issue or deny permits and plans for the future. It's a living document that we keep current. The most recent amendments are the climate change amendments to address the threats of climate change on the region.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: Yes. The state law that established BCDC over 40 years ago directed the Commission to plan for San Francisco Bay as a single unit where the impacts on one part of the bay could affect the whole bay. So as we go forward, I think that we should use that wise approach in Plan Bay Area, to plan for the entire Bay Area, including the impacts of sea-level rise and for the millions of residents that will be joining us.
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