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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of October 6, 2003 to October 10, 2003
"Listen Live"
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KUSP LandWatch
News |
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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 6, 2003 to October 10, 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 6, 2003 – Monterey County Second Unit Ordinance
Tomorrow morning, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is taking
up an issue that has faced virtually every community in the State.
A recent state law says that every city and county must now permit
the construction of “second units,” and must not impose
any public hearing requirements on the approval of “second
units.”
The State Legislature is trying to address the state’s affordable housing crisis by making it easier for homeowners to build another house on their property. The intentions, here, are obviously good, but the neighborhood and environmental impacts of the policy could be dramatic. Potentially, everywhere you see one house, there could be two houses, and the local government is actually prohibited from holding a public hearing that would allow neighbors and others to raise objections.
Faced with the new state law, most local governments have done what they can, legally, to make sure that the “good intentions” of the State Legislature don’t result in mini-disasters in the local neighborhoods. In Monterey County, though, there’s a unique twist. Rural land owners have sent their attorneys to the Board, and they’re arguing that the new state law should permit more building in rural areas than the current zoning designations would seem to allow. It’s a very complex and tangled issue, particularly because of the grim report that the Board of Supervisors will get tomorrow afternoon, saying that new growth in Monterey County is likely to lead to full out traffic gridlock within the next twenty years.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/agenda.htmlState Law on Second Units
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html
[Govt. Code Sec. 65852.2]
Tuesday,
October 7, 2003 – Monterey County GPU Process
Is full out traffic gridlock coming soon to Monterey County? It
might be. If you’re interested in finding out more, you should
plan to attend a special session of the Monterey County Board of
Supervisors, in which they’ll meet with the County Planning
Commission to consider the results of recent traffic modeling. The
meeting will be held at the County’s “Leadership Institute,”
located at 2345 Garden Road in the City of Monterey. The joint session
begins at 2:00 o’clock this afternoon.
If you can’t make the meeting, but would still like more information, then consider using the “World Wide Web.” If you’ll click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org, and then track down the transcript of today’s Report, you’ll find a link to the staff materials that the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission will be reviewing. It’s a pretty grim story. Incidentally, while you’re clicking around, send me an email with your comments and suggestions, as well.
The report today is part of the County’s General Plan Update process. So far, the County has spent about four years, and four million dollars, to prepare a new plan for growth and development. The traffic studies just completed show that unless the County takes a definite “growth management” approach, and starts charging developers higher impact fees, there will likely be Level of Service “F” on many local roads and State highways within the next twenty years.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/agenda.html
Text of Staff Report - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/news/Brd.%20Rpt.%2010.7.pdf
Maps and Other Materials - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/news/index.html
LandWatch comments on the traffic report are at the LandWatch website – www.landwatch.org
Wednesday,
October 8, 2003 – Seaside Planning Commission Hearing on GPU
The City of Seaside is doing a complete update of the existing General
Plan. Nothing is more important, by way of land use policy, than
the provisions included in a community’s General Plan. If you’re
interested in the future of Seaside, and are looking for some leverage
really to make a difference, now’s the time to get involved.
Most people, if they get involved in land use issues at all, tend to get motivated at what might be called the “project” stage. This is when your next door neighbor decides to put a second story on his or her home, or the nice field in back of your house is proposed for a new Wal-Mart. Getting involved with the project approval process, of course, is absolutely vital. Local governments recognize this, and send out special notices, and post signs and the like, just to alert residents that a project proposal will be considered.
Getting involved at the project stage, however, is often a case of “too little, too late.” By the time the public finds out about a proposed project, the applicant and staff have been working on it for a year or two (and the elected officials have often been involved, as well). Since it’s a legal requirement that all projects must be consistent with the “policies” in the General Plan, getting the right General Plan policies in place can prevent disasters and encourage good things.
The Seaside Planning Commission meets tonight on its General Plan Update. Details are at the KUSP website.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Seaside Website
http://bbs.ci.seaside.ca.us/Draft Seaside General Plan Update
http://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/general%20plan/gp.htmSeaside Planning Commission Agenda
http://bbs.ci.seaside.ca.us/agendas/planning/10082003.htmSchedule for adoption of GPU
http://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/general%20plan/update/
amendedgpadopttimeline.htm
Thursday,
October 9, 2003 – Santa Cruz Planning Commission Meeting
The Santa Cruz City Planning Commission will be meeting this evening,
to take action on a proposed Housing Element, as an amendment to
the City General Plan and Local Coastal Program. Their meeting will
be held at the City Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Housing issues pose a challenge for local governments throughout California. But the City of Santa Cruz, and other coastal communities on the Monterey Bay, have a particular problem. Santa Cruz, Capitola, Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel all have extremely high housing and land prices; environmental and resource constraints are very significant; the communities are already largely “built out,” so that the areas available for development are limited, and the “demand” is high. In this set of circumstances, just letting the “market” operate will obviously not produce the kind of housing that ordinary income persons can afford. Yet, state law requires these communities to establish plans that will permit them to accommodate their “fair share” of the state’s projected population growth.
Did I mention the Coastal Act? While the state Housing Element law says “produce those units,” the state Coastal law says “save that coast.”
It’s a daunting challenge, and I think it’s somewhat reassuring that each one of these coastal cities is trying to find out how to make progress on affordable housing, despite the difficulties. They do need to meet that challenge. Check out how Santa Cruz is doing tonight at the Planning Commission.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
City of Santa Cruz Website
http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/
Friday,
October 10, 2003 – FORA Hearing
The Fort Ord Reuse Authority (or FORA) has been in the news, and
deservedly so. FORA has now directly tackled the affordable housing
problem that poses such a challenge for the California Central Coast.
Looking at things from a positive perspective, FORA has been rising
to the affordable housing challenge, having begun its existence
without really focusing on affordable housing issues in any significant
way.
When the Fort Ord Reuse Authority was created by special state legislation, the federal government had recently announced its intention to vacate Fort Ord, pulling something like 30,000 people out of the local economy. Economic recovery, and the redevelopment and reuse of the Base, were in the forefront of everyone’s mind. And naturally so. The Fort Ord Reuse Authority was required to adopt a “Reuse Plan,” which is very much like a General Plan for the former Army Base. That Reuse Plan put economic development at the center, and included no specific proposals to make sure that existing affordable housing was preserved, or that new housing on Fort Ord would be affordable.
Today, the FORA Board of Directors will meet at 4:00 p.m. at the FORA Conference Facility. They’ll receive a status report on the changes in course that the FORA Board recently directed. It’s hard, because it is change in course, but FORA is now putting affordable housing at the top of its agenda. Those who want FORA to continue to do so will need to stay involved.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
FORA Website - http://www.fora.org/
Listeners can find out more about FORA’s actions on affordable housing at www.landwatch.org
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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