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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of May 26, 2003 to May 30, 2003
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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 26, 2003 to May 30, 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 26, 2003 – Workshop Session on Monterey County GPU
Tomorrow at 5:30 p.m., the Monterey County Board of Supervisors
will hold a “workshop” on the latest draft of the General
Plan Update. The focus will be on policies related to housing, growth
areas, and clustered subdivision development in rural areas of Monterey
County.
The topics to be discussed tomorrow afternoon are among the most important land use policy issues facing Monterey County. As a recap, remember that the General Plan is the County’s most important policy document. The current General Plan is significantly out of date, and the Board of Supervisors has been working on an “update” to that General Plan for more than three years. More than three million dollars has been spent in the effort. Last November, the Board took a series of actions to direct a revision to the General Plan Update document recommended to it by the Planning Commission. Among other things, the Board approved the designation of hundreds of acres of rural subdivisions, contrary to the Planning Commission’s recommendation.
Now, the Board is revisiting its actions of last November, and many landowners are urging the Board to open up even more rural lands for development. Usually, this is urged in the name of “affordable housing,” and there’s no doubt that there’s a real affordable housing problem. The question is whether more rural subdivisions are the solution.
You can make your statement on the issues this afternoon, at the County Courthouse in Salinas.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
County General Plan Update Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/Schedule of County Workshops
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
countyplan/052103workshops.htmlMonterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/agenda.htm
Tuesday,
May 27, 2003 – An Interesting Item in Atascadero
The Atascadero City Council is meeting tonight, and the agenda description
for item B-1 says this: “The project would likely have a slight
negative impact on City revenues. As a general rule, single-family
dwellings require services that exceed the revenue generated by
the dwelling.”
Now this is absolutely accurate. It’s well known among planners that single-family residential development usually doesn’t pay for itself. What’s pretty unusual is for the City Council actually to let the public know that. Most members of the public probably believe that when agricultural land, or other open space land, is converted to residential use, there’s a lot of new tax revenue associated with all those new buildings, and that this winds up being good for the community.
In fact, as the City of Atascadero makes clear on its agenda, residential subdivisions usually make things worse for the current residents of the city—at least in terms of having the money necessary to meet community needs. In Atascadero, only one new residential unit is in question in this agenda item. In places like Salinas, Greenfield, and Gonzales thousands of acres of new subdivisions have been proposed. If the fiscal impacts are similar everywhere, as they are, cities that do a lot of residential subdivisions put service levels at risk.
Kudos to the Atascadero City Council for full disclosure.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
City of Atascadero Website
http://www.atascadero.orgCity of Atascadero Meeting Agenda
http://www.atascadero.org/media/council/
af840f6052703CCAgenda.htm
Wednesday,
May 28, 2003 – Around The County / Greenfield Redevelopment
Each month, somewhere in Monterey County, LandWatch holds an “Around
the County” meeting, to focus in on key land use topics. They’re
usually held at breakfast time. Today, the LandWatch “Around
the County” meeting will be a luncheon, not a breakfast, so
you can still attend. It’s at noontime, at Carrow’s Family
Restaurant, 300 David Avenue, in Monterey. You’re very much
invited. There’s more information at www.kusp.org.
You’re also invited to an important meeting this evening. At 6:00 o’clock, the City of Greenfield will hold a study session on a proposed amendment to its current Redevelopment Plan. Redevelopment is a state-sanctioned tool to help reinvigorate and rejuvenate “blighted” areas within local communities. Greenfield definitely has areas that qualify, and several years ago the City set up a Redevelopment Agency, designated a Redevelopment Area, and formulated a Redevelopment Plan to correct these problems of blight. Tax revenues from new construction within the Redevelopment Area will provide the necessary funds.
Now, the City of Greenfield wants to expand its Redevelopment Area, and to include commercially viable agricultural land in its definition of the “blighted” areas that need to be “redeveloped.” If that plan goes forward, there will be an economic incentive to pave that land over, to garner the new tax revenues.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
“Around The County”
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/
landwatchnews03/051103lunch.htmlLandWatch Calendar
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/calendar.htmCity of Greenfield
http://www.greenfield-ca.com/
Thursday,
May 29, 2003 – Santa Cruz PC / Upcoming Workshops on GPU
There’s a special meeting of the Santa Cruz City Planning Commission
tonight. The main agenda item will be a presentation on Accessory
Dwelling Unit Prototypes, and that presentation should be of considerable
interest. Affordable housing is hard to come by, and one way to
produce more affordable housing is to allow the owners of single
family residences to build a second dwelling unit on their property,
to provide an affordable rental. Properly carried out, a program
to encourage the construction of accessory dwelling units can have
a real impact on the affordable housing problem. Suffice it to say,
the City of Santa Cruz is taking this subject very seriously. If
you’re at all interested, I recommend the meeting tonight.
It’s at 7:00 o’clock at the City Council Chambers.
For Monterey County listeners, I continue to recommend the series of General Plan Update workshops scheduled by the Board of Supervisors. You can get more information by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. You can also mark down these upcoming dates:
Get involved, or take what you get!
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Santa Cruz City Website
www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/GPU Workshop Schedule
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
countyplan/052103workshops.html
Friday,
May 30, 2003 – The Valley Transportation Authority in Gilroy
KUSP covers the Central Coast. And that means inland areas, too.
Growth and development decisions in Santa Clara County, and in San
Benito County, profoundly affect most KUSP listeners. So, for those
who go over the hill, or who live over the hill, or who care about
what happens over the hill, here’s an important meeting announcement.
On Monday, June 2nd, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (or VTA) will hold an Agency and Stakeholder meeting to consider what they’re calling their “Southern Gateway Study.” The meeting will take place at the Eagle Ridge Country Club, in Gilroy. At issue is a set of six conceptual proposals for highway improvements in the area bounded by Highway 152, Highway 156, and Highway 101. That area includes Highway 25, which heads from Highway 101 to Hollister.
This is an area where existing highways are already clogged with traffic. The objective, says the VTA, is to make improvements that will provide an east-west connection with enough vehicle speed and capacity to capture and accommodate current and projected east-west traffic. The objective, in other words, is to provide bigger highways, to allow bigger residential developments, particularly in San Benito County. There’s more at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Valley Transportation Authority
http://www.vta.org/Southern Gateway
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=0001289d-
sp00000000&sp-q=southern+gateway
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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