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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 January 27, 2003 to January 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,
January 27, 2003 – City-County Housing Meetings
The Draft General Plan Update that Monterey County released at the
end of 2001, proposed the conversion to urban uses of 3,000 acres
of Salinas Valley farmland, over the next 20 years.(1)
A set of conservation and development principles, jointly endorsed by Common Ground Monterey County and LandWatch Monterey County, said that “no more than” 3,000 acres of farmland should be converted to urban uses.(2) An in-depth study by LandWatch later concluded that the conversion of only 300 acres of farmland were actually necessary to meet growth needs.(3)
In the meantime, the Salinas Valley cities have made their own projections. The City of Salinas proposes to convert about 4,000 acres of farmland all by itself.(4) When you add up what the other cities are saying, the number comes to around 10,000 acres of farmland.
All this goes to say that there are different perspectives on where growth should go. Monterey County and the Salinas Valley cities have been holding discussions about this topic. On Tuesday, at 2:30 p.m., the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will get a report on the city-county discussions.(5) Then on Wednesday, January 29th, the Salinas Valley cities will meet again with County representatives, at 6:00 p.m., at the Salinas City Hall, to continue these important conversations. For more information, check the KUSP website.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
1. See the Draft GPU
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/Reports/
Draft%20General%20Plan.htm2. See
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/landwatchnews02/
021502commonground.html3. “Room Enough”
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/publications02/
roomenough/091602roomcover.html4. Salinas GPU
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CommDev/GenPlan/GPDraft.html5. County Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/Agenda.htm
Tuesday,
January 28, 2003 – Water Quality in Santa Cruz County
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors meets this morning. A
reference to the Board’s Agenda can be found on the KUSP website.
Click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
The Board’s website provides excellent access to what the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is doing. The website allows you to send the Board an email, specifically commenting on any Agenda item. In addition, complete agenda materials are available in advance of the Board meeting. An audio recording is often available for past meetings. As frequent listeners know, I like to promote involvement in local government. Santa Cruz County is trying to make it easy.
Agenda Item #66 on today’s agenda proposes some new regulations to protect water quality. In Santa Cruz County, approximately 570 locations have been found to have significant soil or water contamination. The County’s Health Department is suggesting changes in the county’s land use regulations to address this critical issue. When groundwater quality is impaired, water supply is threatened, as well. Santa Cruz County residents and businesses largely depend on groundwater resources to meet their water needs. Water overdraft problems pose a long-term danger, and preventing the contamination of scarce groundwater supplies is clearly a priority.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Agenda for the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors:
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/ASP/Display/
SCCB_AgendaDisplayWeb.asp?MeetingDate=1/28/2003
Wednesday,
January 29, 2003 – Study Sessions in Monterey
By clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org, KUSP listeners
can get access to transcripts of these broadcasts. Usually, I provide
Internet references where more information is available. There’s
an email link, too, so you can send me your comments, criticisms,
and suggestions. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
This afternoon, the City of Monterey has scheduled a study session on Code Enforcement. Having great land use regulations, of course, is very important. But even the best rules and regulations mean nothing, unless they’re enforced. Particularly if you live in Monterey, this study session should be worth attending. It begins at 4:00 o’clock this afternoon, at the Monterey City Hall.
At 7:00 this evening, also at the Monterey City Hall, the City of Monterey is sponsoring a public presentation on how the City proposes to provide additional housing opportunities in the next twenty years. Monterey is proposing to focus residential development in the City’s commercial areas. The promotion of so-called “mixed use” development in downtown areas provides housing opportunities where workers can walk, bike, or ride transit to their jobs. This is innovative thinking, and almost anyone interested in land use and development should enjoy attending. The presenter is a nationally known urban planner, Nore Winter. I hope to see you there.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
City of Monterey
http://www.monterey.org/cityhall.htmlDraft Monterey City General Plan
http://ci.monterey-park.ca.us/cdd/planning/generalplan/index.html
Thursday,
January 30, 2003 – The Water Supply Project EIR
On the Monterey Peninsula, in Monterey County generally, and throughout
the Central Coast, water is a critical factor in land use planning.
This evening, from 5:30 to 6:30, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management
District will host a public meeting, to give interested members
of the public an update on a Water Supply Project Environmental
Impact Report, or EIR. Following this update session, the Water
Management District Board of Directors will meet, and will of course
be discussing the EIR during their meeting, as well.
If you’d like to attend either of these meetings, here are the particulars. The afternoon update presentation will take place at the District’s Conference Room, located at 5 Harris Court, Building G, in the Ryan Ranch Industrial Park in the City of Monterey. The actual Board meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Seaside City Council Chambers, 440 Harcourt Avenue, in Seaside.
The Water Management District is looking for the best way to augment water supplies to the Monterey Peninsula. The District is not, actually, hoping to stimulate a lot of new growth and development. Instead, they’re trying to comply with an Order from the State Water Resources Control Board that demands that about 10,000 acre feet less water be taken out of the Carmel River. Finding the way to do that is not an easy task, and the EIR is evaluating the options.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey
Peninsula Water Management District
http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/mpwmd.htm
Friday,
January 31, 2003 – Marina Small Business Incubator
In November of last year, the Salinas Californian ran an interesting
article in its “Ag Monday” section. The headline proclaimed,
“Engineers Set Out To Build A Better Lettuce Harvester.”
The inventors claim that a crew of 26 or 27 field workers could
be reduced to just three.
The lettuce harvester is not just an idea and some drawings. There is a working prototype, which has received extensive field trials. According to the inventors, who have received two patents, the technology is about 80% ready.
The lettuce harvester was discussed at a meeting held at the Marina Small Business Incubator Project. The Incubator is located in a facility owned by the University of California, next to the Marina Airport, and is a project of the City of Marina. The basic idea is to bring new technology companies (and new jobs) into the city. A Menlo Park firm, called “Business Cluster Development,” has recently been selected to manage the Incubator Project.
Land use is influenced by technology. Not to mention the shape, and character, and demographics of our communities. As the lettuce harvester example shows, bringing new manufacturing jobs to an urban community might mean the loss of agricultural jobs throughout the Salinas Valley. Since government funds are being used to subsidize the process, there’s a good reason for the public to pay attention and get involved.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Marina Small Business Incubator
http://www.msbi.org/Business Cluster Development
http://www.clusterdevelopment.com/refs.htmlMBEST Center (UCSC)
http://www.ucmbest.org/
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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