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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of May 5, 2003 to May 9, 2003
"Listen Live"
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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 May 5, 2003 to May 9, 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,
May 5, 2003 – The Monterey County General Plan Update
Tomorrow
is an important day for Monterey County residents interested in
land use policy. The County Board of Supervisors will make some
key decisions about the Monterey County General Plan Update.
The General Plan Update has been underway for more than three years, and the Board has spent more than $3 million dollars so far. Last November, after months of deliberation, the Board directed a set of changes to what might be called the “first draft” GPU. A “second draft” was released last week.
Normally, this “second draft” would go back to the public for environmental review and further comment. The Board, however, is considering a number of other alternatives, including simply terminating the General Plan Update at this time. Also proposed was an extended set of “committee” meetings, in which Board members would meet with the people they think are significant, to make further changes. Finally, it was suggested that a special interest planning consultant, on the payroll of a group that has strenuously objected to the General Plan Update at every opportunity, should be allowed to give the Board special guidance on what the redrafted GPU ought to say.
If you’d like to be involved in what happens to the most important policy document defining the future of Monterey County, attend the Board meeting tomorrow, at 10:00 o’clock in Salinas. There’s more information at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Board Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/agenda.htm“Second Draft” Text
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/Reports/
Draft%20General%20Plan.htmLandWatch Letter
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
countyplan/050203nextstep.html
Tuesday,
May 6, 2003 – The Marina Housing Element
Let me give you a “heads up” on an important meeting.
This evening, at 6:30, the Marina City Council will take action
on a proposed Housing Element. The Housing Element is a required
part of every local General Plan. It establishes policies governing
the future development of housing within the community, and nowadays,
one of the key questions is whether the Housing Element will require
the local community to set aside a specific percentage of new housing
for average and below average income persons.
That is just the question being presented to the Marina City Council this evening. If you’ve got either a “public” or “personal” interest, you might want to attend, and speak up. The Marina City Planning Commission has recommended that approximately 21% of all future housing should be specifically designated for persons with average or below average incomes. Approximately eighty percent of the new housing would be for persons with incomes above average.
While this does not seem like an “overbalance” in favor of so-called “affordable housing,” there is a strong effort in Marina to reduce the commitment that the Planning Commission is recommending. Attend the meeting tonight, if you’d like your opinion considered.
Also, don’t forget that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will make some important decisions about the future of the Monterey County General Plan Update at their meeting this morning. The Board meets at 10:00 o’clock in Salinas.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
For information on the County GPU, see yesterday’s transcript.
Marina Website
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/Marina Housing Element Draft
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/digital%20version%20for%20email.doc
Wednesday,
May 7, 2003 – Room Enough
The Housing Element of a local General Plan must meet some rather
detailed requirements, all spelled out in state law. Among other
things, each city and county is directed to adopt a plan that will
accommodate that community’s “fair share” of expected
new growth.
What is that “fair share” amount? State law outlines a complicated process for making the decision, and as you might expect, that process is controversial. Santa Cruz County and all of the cities in Santa Cruz County have recently sued the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (or AMBAG), complaining that AMBAG didn’t treat them fairly in making the most recent “fair share” allocations.
On the other side of the Bay, in Monterey County, no one’s fighting AMBAG, but a number of local governments are saying that their need to accommodate their “fair share” allocation means that they need to plan for lots of growth, and specifically to expand onto commercially productive agricultural land in the Salinas Valley. That’s a different kind of controversy.
If you’d like to learn more about these issues, please visit the Land Use Report link, at www.kusp.org. I’ve highlighted a recent LandWatch report showing that there is “room enough” in the Salinas Valley for all the growth the state requires, without the need to convert any significant amount of agricultural land.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
The state law governing Housing Element preparation is found in the Government Code at:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/
waisgate?WAISdocID=97918514222+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieveThe LandWatch “Room Enough” Report is found at: http://www.landwatch.org/pages/publications02/
roomenough/091602roomcover.html
Thursday,
May 8, 2003 – The Zoning Administrator
Frequent listeners would undoubtedly be able to provide the correct
“Jeopardy” style question, to respond to this “Jeopardy”
style answer: “An important statement of community land use
policy that will have a big effect on the future of your community.”
You’ve got it. “What is a General Plan?”
It’s hard to overstate its importance, but there is life beyond the General Plan, in terms of land use policy making. Advanced students know that the policies of the General Plan must be administered through a sometimes complicated system involving a Planning Commission, a Planning Department, and a local Planning Staff. Translating the policy statements of the General Plan into decisions about whether or not you can covert your farmland, or put a vineyard on your property, or build a “granny unit” in your backyard, often involves some serious bureaucracy.
Well formulated and specific General Plan policies, of course, do minimize bureaucratic decision making, since well-crafted policies push the tough decisions to the “policy level.” This makes “administrative” decisions easier.
If you’d like to see the administrative process in action, you’ve got an hour or so to get to the Salinas County Courthouse, where the Monterey County Zoning Administrator will consider eight different planning items, starting at 9:30 this morning. There’s more information at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Zoning Commissioner Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/CCA/ZA/
05-08-03/za05-08-03a.htm
Friday,
May 9, 2003 – The Fort Ord Reuse Authority
The Fort Ord Reuse Authority meets this afternoon, at 3:45. Take
the 12th Street exit off Highway One, and wind yourself up the hill,
past the barracks-style buildings of the past, to learn what the
future may hold for this former Army Base.
As its name suggests, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority is all about the “reuse” of a national asset. Fort Ord is roughly the same size as San Francisco. It commands stunning views of Monterey Bay, and has truly significant and impressive natural areas. Much of that natural resource land is now being managed by the Federal Bureau of Land Management, and it’s becoming ever more popular as a recreational resource.
Thousands of acres of the former Fort Ord have already been given, or will be given, to the local governments of the communities in which the former Fort Ord is located. This means that the County of Monterey, and the cities of Monterey, Del Rey Oaks, Seaside, and Marina, are all receiving real estate of incomparable value. The question is, what will they do with this real estate, and who will benefit? Will, for instance, the ordinary residents and workers in the local communities actually get some “piece of the action?” That’s one approach. Another is to sell off the land to private developers, and to let the developers make the profits.
These FORA meetings are worth attending. Check the KUSP website for more information.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Fort Ord Reuse Authority
http://www.fora.org/FORA Agenda
http://www.fora.org/LandWatch on Fort Ord
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/
issuesactions/fortord.htmlAffordable Housing Report
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
fortord/clarkreport/index.html
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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