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KUSP LandWatch
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ogo.gif" width="108" height="109" border="0"> "Listen Live" |
KUSP provided a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio from January 2003 to May 2016. Archives of past transcripts are available here.
Week of October 27, 2003 to October 31, 2003
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP Radio by Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
Monday,
October 27, 2003 – Pine Forest Watch
At a recent meeting in Salinas, I had an opportunity to hear from
one of the Monterey County staff persons working on the General
Plan Update. The GPU process is now heading into its fourth year,
and the County has spent something like $4 million dollars so far.
Tomorrow, it’s anticipated that there will be more discussion
about the GPU at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Check the KUSP
website for a reference to the Board Agenda. That will tell you
when, exactly, any General Plan Update item is scheduled.
What I thought most interesting about the Salinas meeting was the fact that a representative was in attendance from the Monterey County Pine Forest Watch. This is an organization that you may not have heard about. If you haven’t, let me tell you just a bit about the group.
The Pine Forest Watch is a very “single purpose” organization. It is dedicated to preserving the Monterey Pine Forest located on the Monterey Peninsula, which has been decimated by developments, and that now faces pitch canker disease. I doubt that the group is an official nonprofit, and they don’t have a website or a local office. But this group, like so many others in the Central Coast, is making a big difference. You don’t have to have a big budget, staff, or expensive accoutrements to be extremely effective. You just need to show up, and speak out. At a fairly obscure, evening meeting in Salinas, the Monterey Pine Forest had an advocate!
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/For information on the Pine Forest Watch contact Joyce Stevens - (831) 624-3149
Tuesday,
October 28, 2003 – California Native Plant Society
The Monterey Pine Forest Watch is working to protect what’s
left of the beautiful and biologically unique Monterey Pine Forest.
Precisely because the Pine Forest Watch cares so deeply about this
specific natural resource, they’re following the Monterey County
General Plan Update process with great concern. The new GPU could
either help, or undermine, efforts to protect and preserve the Monterey
Pine Forest.
Another group working on natural resource issues is the California Native Plant Society. CNPS is a statewide group, but with many local chapters. If you’re interested in natural resource protection, I encourage you to link up with the CNPS chapter nearest you. In Santa Cruz County, CNPS is engaged directly in habitat restoration work, and they’ll put you to work, if you let them. The Santa Cruz County Chapter has also gotten engaged on the policy level, particularly with respect to the stewardship of state owned lands. In Monterey County, CNPS has a full menu of policy involvements, including involvement in the Monterey County GPU. Check out both Chapters at www.kusp.org.
Those who are most serious about the natural environment, who are out in it, and who are taking care of it personally, often find that they end up not only out in the wilderness, but also appearing before the agencies that deal with land use policy.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
California Native Plant Society
http://www.cnps.org/CNPS Monterey Bay Chapter
http://www.mbay.net/~cnps/CNPS Santa Cruz County Chapter
http://www.cruzcnps.org/
Wednesday,
October 29, 2003 – Carmel Valley Incorporation
Most listeners probably know that “incorporated” means
“city,” at least in the local government context. Lands
within a city are called “incorporated.” Lands outside
the limits of a city are called “unincorporated.” In Santa
Cruz County, Live Oak and Aptos are “unincorporated,”
and the County Board of Supervisors, not a city council, is in charge.
In Monterey County, Pajaro, Castroville, Prunedale, San Ardo, Pebble
Beach, and Carmel Valley are all unincorporated. That means that
the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is in charge of land use,
and all other governmental services.
Over 2,500 registered voters living in Carmel Valley have officially petitioned to start the process to make Carmel Valley into a city. I think they might want to call it a “town,” but that’s just a “doing business as” identifier. In California, you’re either a city or unincorporated. That’s the choice, even if you call your city a “town.”
There are certainly pros and cons in turning Carmel Valley into a city. Environmental and fiscal issues, in particular, need to be examined closely, and they will be, under the supervision of the Local Agency Formation Commission. To find out more about what’s happening, I suggest you get in contact with the Carmel Valley Forum. You can find their contact information by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
The Carmel Valley Forum
http://www.townofcarmelvalley.org/Monterey County LAFCO Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/lafco/LAFCO Commissioners
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/lafco/Updates/
LAFCO%20COMMISSIONERS%202003%20Listing.doc
Thursday,
October 30, 2003 – Land Use Advisory Committees
In terms of land area, Monterey County is one of the largest in
the state. This “geopolitical reality,” if you will, has
resulted in a different kind of planning process in Monterey County.
In most counties, significant planning and land use items go to
the Planning Commission, and then to the Board of Supervisors. In
Monterey County, land use items generally don’t get to the
Planning Commission till they’ve first been reviewed by one
of thirteen different “Land Use Advisory Committees.”
That’s right, there are thirteen different Land Use Advisory Committees in Monterey County, so that each significant area in the County has a truly “local voice” on planning issues. For more information, check the KUSP website at www.kusp.org. You can get information there about the Advisory Committees representing Big Sur, the South Coast, Bradley-Parkfield, Cachagua, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Chualar, the Del Monte Forest, the Greater Monterey Peninsula, the coastal portion of North Monterey County, the inland portion of North Monterey County, Spreckels, and Toro.
There are some real disadvantages to this decentralized approach to planning. But there are certainly some advantages, too. If you’re a Monterey County resident, interested in making sure that good planning comes to your community, you could do worse than getting involved with the Land Use Advisory Committee that represents your area. Check the website and proceed from there.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Directory of Land Use Advisory Committees
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/cca/luac/luac_agenda.htm
Friday,
October 31, 2003 – CLCV
The premise of this Land Use Report is that land use policy is important,
and that informed and active citizen participation can make a real
difference. I try to point out opportunities to get involved, and
to highlight organizations that are working on the most important
land use policy issues.
By and large, land use policy is established at the local level. City Councils and Boards of Supervisors are charged by state government with the responsibility for adopting and implementing a comprehensive General Plan that sets land use standards. Local government is usually the easiest level of government to influence, and community groups do have a real opportunity to make major changes in land use policy at the local level. After more than thirty years working on these issues, I can speak from experience.
While the local level of government impacts land use policy the most, state government is ultimately in charge. If you’d like to become truly serious about land use policy, you need to keep abreast of what the state government is doing. To this end, you might like to follow the work of the California League of Conservation Voters. They publish a legislative scorecard, each year, documenting the best (and the worst) of what the State Legislature did. You can get more information about CLCV at the KUSP website. Click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
California League of Conservation Voters
http://www.ecovote.org/CLCV 2002 Scorecard
http://www.ecovote.org/scorecards/scorecard-top.html
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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