REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Recreational Hunting and Safe Access to Open Space (Study Issue)
BACKGROUND
Recently, a member of the community reported safety concerns associated with recreational duck hunting that is occurring in the Moffett Channel. The Channel is a waterway that runs from approximately the back of the SMaRT Station, along the east side of the City's wastewater treatment pond, and into San Francisco Bay, where it joins the Guadalupe Slough (see map, Attachment 1). The levees adjoining the channel are frequently used for recreation by walkers, joggers, and bicyclists. Concerns involve discharge of weapons and safety of the other recreational users who frequent the area. As a result of the safety concerns raised before Council, it was ranked as a Council Study Issue (DPS 14-01). The Study Issue paper is presented as Attachment 4.
Jurisdictional boundaries and land ownership are complicated in this part of the Bay. The Moffett Channel was constructed many years ago by the Leslie Salt Company as part of its salt works in the area. During the 1950s, the City of Sunnyvale purchased the salt pond on the west side of the Channel for use as a sewage treatment pond. The Leslie Salt Company (Cargill) continued to own the Moffett Channel and the adjoining salt pond on the east side of the channel (Pond A4) until the early 2000s, when the Santa Clara Valley Water District acquired the property for habitat restoration.
The southern portion of the Moffett Channel is located within the Sunnyvale city limits. The northern part of the channel crosses into the jurisdiction of the City of San Jose. The Guadalupe Slough, which is owned by the State of California, is entirely within San Jose. Sunnyvale's Treatment Pond 1 is mostly located in Sunnyvale but a large part of Treatment Pond 2 is actually located within the San Jose city limits.
The Don Edwards-San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is located on federally-owned land west of Sunnyval...
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