Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Roberts, Lennie |
Notes |
As legislative advocate, Roberts' mission is to watch carefully over the skyline, coastline and rural areas of San Mateo County. Much of her work is proactive, attempting to get good policies in place, making sure permits are consistent with those policies, going to court if necessary, and when all else fails, putting an initiative before the voters. Measure A, a 1986 bill to limit coastal development, was the first initiative that qualified for the ballot in San Mateo County. Roberts points to the 63 percent approval with pride. "Measure A was the most significant because it stopped a constant process of weakening our coastal plan (which was adopted in 1980)," she says. The initiative gave about 38 policies the force of law, and enacted them so they could not be changed without voter approval. While pointing to major achievements -- defeating Measure D, and thereby blocking coastside development (1992); saving Apanolio Canyon from landfill (1990); establishing Edgewood Park as a natural preserve (1992); preventing overpumping of Pillar Point Marsh (1993); enacting a Timber Harvest Buffer Zone (1994); winning the Devil's Slide Tunnel Initiative (1996) -- she admits that there have disappointments along the way. We lost Cascade Ranch".... In the quest to preserve land for agriculture and open space, progress is often measured in three steps forward, then a couple back. But Roberts takes tremendous heart from a recent acquisition by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), which will preserve the Johnston Ranch and Purissima Farms. Much of this property was saved from hotel and golf course development by Measure D six years ago. "Lennie knows everything about land use. She's steeped in it. She's very unpretentious, hard working, tough, but she gets on with everybody. She doesn't burn bridges," says (Pauline Lord). Roberts developed an interest in the environment early on. As a seventh-grader, Lenore Lamb wrote to then-Governor Earl Warren, imploring him to save the Hendy Woods in Mendocino County from logging. Young Lenore received a personal reply-- and her first environmental success when she heard that Hendy Woods had become a state park. [excerpt from "People: Lennie Roberts: a natural advocate" Palo Alto Weekly, May 13, 1998] |
Role |
Political |
Othernames |
Lenore Roberts |
Occupation |
Advocate, Committee for Green Foothills |
Titles & honors |
2003 San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame Inductee |
Education |
Stanford University |
Places of residence |
Ladera San Mateo County |
Spouse |
Michael Roberts |
Children |
Two daughters |
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History Makers Night 2019 - Video, Digital
History Makers Night 2019. Digital video of the San Mateo County 2019 History Makers Night celebrating environmentalist Lennie Roberts. The event was held on September 17, 2019 at the Burlingame Hyatt Regency Hotel. Master of Ceremonies was former California State Assemblyman Gene Mullin. The video shows a live auction, a special film created by the Historical Association as a salute to Roberts (2020.010.002), and comments by Roberts herself. ...
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