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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 February 2, 2004 to February 6, 2004
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,
February 2, 2004 -- Spreckels at Ground Zero
It's hard to believe it, but the historic little town of Spreckels,
in Monterey County, has become a kind of ìground zeroî
for new development proposals.
In 1899, Claus Spreckels built largest beet sugar factory in the United States on the banks of the Salinas River. He also built a tiny town for his employees, right next door, complete with a school, grocery store, post office, and fire department. John Steinbeck worked at the factory, and used Spreckels as a setting for some portions of ìTortilla Flats.î The movie version of East of Eden was largely filmed in Spreckels, which has been given a special historical designation by Monterey County.
Spreckels is only a few minutes from Salinas, and can be approached along a spectacular avenue of massive old walnut trees. If you haven't visited, maybe you better plan to do so soon, since the shape and character of the community has been placed at risk by at least three major development proposals.
One of those proposals is for a modern subdivision, built immediately adjacent to the existing town. Tanimura and Antle, a major lettuce grower, wants to turn some of its fields into houses, and claim they can do so without the customary review given other developments. Tomorrow, at 11:00 a.m., the Board of Supervisors will hear an appeal by local residents. For more information, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htmLandWatch Letter on Proposed D'Arrigo Development
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/spreckels/120803letter.htmlContemporary Spreckels
http://www.mtycounty.com/pgs/spreckels.htmlSome Spreckels History
http://users.dedot.com/mchs/clausspreckels.html; and
http://users.dedot.com/mchs/spreckels.htmlMore History
http://www.mtycounty.com/pgs-pioneers/spreckels.htmlTo Get Involved, Contact Elizabeth Panetta at 831-759-2824, Ext. 14, or by email at:
Tuesday,
February 3, 2004 -- AMBAG Population Forecasts
The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, or AMBAG, is charged
with developing population forecasts for the Monterey Bay Region.
AMBAG has recently completed its 2004 forecast, which will be considered
by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors this morning, on its
consent agenda, and by the Marina City Council this evening.
The AMBAG forecast includes projections of population, housing units, and employment for each local jurisdiction in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, in five-year increments from 2000 to 2030. Two separate versions of the population/housing unit forecasts were produced for each jurisdiction, an ìunconstrainedî forecast based upon ultimate general plan buildout, and a ìconstrainedî version that takes into account resource constraints. The Technical Advisory Committee that helped develop the forecast is recommending the ìconstrainedî version. If you'd like more information, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
There is a little ìkickerî in the ìconstrainedî forecasts for Monterey County. Because of water shortages and transportation constraints on the Monterey Peninsula, and in North Monterey County, the AMBAG constrained forecast suggests that new growth and development should be redirected to the cities of the Salinas Valley, which may put prime farmland at significant risk.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
AMBAG Website
http://www.ambag.org/Santa Cruz Board item on population forecast
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/BDSvData/
non_legacy/agendas/2004/20040203/PDF/030.pdfSanta Cruz Board Agenda:
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/ASP/Display/
SCCB_AgendaDisplayWeb.asp?MeetingDate=2/3/2004City of Marina Agenda
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/
Wednesday,
February 4, 2004 -- Friday in Big Sur
I think I've mentioned before that it's lots of fun to attend meetings
of the Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council. The Advisory Council
is comprised of virtually of all of the agencies that have something
to do with Big Sur, including agencies from every level of government:
federal, state, and local. Congress Member Sam Farr attends the
meetings personally, as does Monterey County Supervisor Dave Potter,
who represents the Fifth Supervisorial District. And the public
attends! The meetings are almost always spirited affairs. They are
held roughly on a quarterly basis, and a meeting is scheduled for
this coming Friday. If you'd like to see the Big Sur Multi-Agency
Advisory Council in action, plan to be at the Big Sur Lodge in the
Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park by 10:00 o'clock on Friday morning.
On the agenda this Friday is a revised proposal by CALTRANS to renovate Highway One along the Big Sur coast. The revised CALTRANS plan incorporates public comments made on an earlier draft, and contains guidelines for maintaining the scenic character of the coastline while improving highway conditions. It talks about how to manage landslides, and how to deal with storm damage, and puts a priority on preserving natural vegetation.
You can review the CALTRANS plan online. Click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org to get the website reference.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
CALTRANS District 5 Website
http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/For a hard copy of the plan contact Aileen Loe at 805-549-3103, or by email at: Hwy1_BigSur@dot.ca.gov
For information on meeting on Friday contact Kathleen Lee at 831-647-7755 or by email at: leekm@co.monterey.ca.us
Thursday,
February 5, 2004 -- Regional Government -- Speech in Berkeley
Some KUSP listeners may be heading towards Berkeley tomorrow, and
may have time on their hands between 1:30 and 2:30 in the afternoon.
If you're in this probably small group, and have an interest in
land use planning, then you may want to attend the second Victor
Jones Memorial Lecture on Metropolitan Governance, sponsored by
the University of California at Berkeley. It's free, and will take
place in the UC Berkeley Alumni House Toll Room, on the UC campus.
State Senator Tom Torlakson, formerly a County Supervisor in Contra
Costa County, will be giving the lecture.
Former County Supervisors do tend to stick together, which may be one reason I'm mentioning this lecture. More important though, for those many KUSP listeners who will not be heading to Berkeley tomorrow, is to stimulate your thinking about regional governance in our region along the Central California coast. Land use policy is mostly established at the local government level, and each local government acts independently, doing what that local government thinks is best. The results of such individual local government actions, added up, aren't always good. If we care about creating better patterns of development, which promote social equity, a healthy economy, and environmental protection, then we need to find a way to take a more regional approach to land use policy. It actually can be done.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
The Victor Jones Memorial Lecture Series
http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/events/jones/
Friday,
February 6, 2004 -- The Seaside Initiative
Direct democracy seems to be breaking out all over in Monterey County.
Local residents who felt that the Fort Ord Reuse Authority didn't
make the right decision about affordable housing are seriously discussing
a possible initiative. That would be a major undertaking. I'll certainly
keep you posted.
In the meantime, residents of Seaside are moving ahead with an initiative measure of their own. Several months ago, Mayor Jerry Smith and the Seaside City Council approved something called the ìFirst Teeî project, essentially a new golf course in Seaside. The proposal was quite controversial. Among other things, the proposed golf course would use up very scarce water supplies that would then not be available for other uses like new jobs and affordable housing. When the Council voted to approve the new golf course, opponents decided to let the people of Seaside have their own say. This is in the best tradition of direct democracy. Citizen initiatives are a traditional way to get the broad public involved in key land use issues.
The Seaside initiative says, ìNo new golf course shall be built in the city unless and until the construction and continued irrigation of any new golf course can be done with non-potable water.î That's simple, and to the point. If the initiative qualifies for the ballot, the voters of Seaside will decide what kind of future they want their city to have. You can find out more at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
For the text of the Seaside initiative
http:// www.landwatch.orgTo get involved with the Seaside initiative, contact:
Billy DeBerry, 10 Athens Court, Seaside, California -- bdeberry7765@sbcglobal.net
Helen Rucker, 1405 Mescal St., Seaside, California - hrucker@sbcglobal.net
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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