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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of March 8, 2004 to March 12, 2004
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KUSP LandWatch
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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 March 8, 2004 to March 12, 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,
March 8, 2004 – The Handley Quarry
A proposed new quarry, which would be located on the East side of
the Salinas Valley, nearby the City of Gonzales, is being called
“the largest heavy industrial project in Monterey County history.”
That may be right. The quarry is expected to be in operation for
over one hundred years, and will put 2,122 large trucks onto Highway
101 each day. If you’d like more information on the proposed
quarry, please click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
The quarry proposal has been in the planning process for over two years. It was approved by the Monterey County Planning Commission in November. Tomorrow, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will hear an appeal of the Planning Commission decision.
Preserve Our Valley, the group opposing the quarry, claims that the market for the massive new aggregate products coming out of the quarry would largely be outside Monterey County. This means that the policy issues in this case are not unlike the policy issues presented in so many other development proposals affecting Monterey County: should Monterey County residents accept and live with the environmental and other impacts associated with projects that are responding, in the end, to developments going on in the Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area?
If you’d like to be heard, the public hearing begins at 1:30 tomorrow, in Salinas.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htmWebsite Information from County
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/major/handley/handley_main.htmPreserve Our Valley
http://www.preserveourvalley.org/
Tuesday,
March 9, 2004 – Next Week At The Board of Supervisors
Today, at 1:30 p.m., the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will
consider whether to approve, or not, the proposed Handley Quarry
project, located on the East side of the Salinas Valley. This is
an important item, which I talked about yesterday.
A week from today, the Board will hear another important item, the proposed construction of a flood control project along the Pajaro River, adjacent to the town of Pajaro in Monterey County, and the City of Watsonville, in Santa Cruz County. Next Tuesday, in fact, presents the potential participant with a genuine “double header” opportunity. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors will consider the proposed flood control project during a daytime hearing next Tuesday, and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will consider the same project during an evening hearing. Those who would like to do a little “compare and contrast” evaluation of the state of local government in the region, might well want to take in both of these public hearings. At least to date, the approaches taken by Monterey County and Santa Cruz County are a little bit different.
The Pajaro River Flood Control Project is of critical importance to the future of both Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. Flooding dangers are currently high within the City of Watsonville, the town of Pajaro, and on farmlands on both sides of the River. I encourage residents (on both sides of the River) to get involved.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Agendas, Monterey County Board of Supervisors
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htmAgendas, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/
Govstream/archive/ArchiveIndex.aspAction Pajaro Valley
http://www.actionpajarovalley.org/
Wednesday,
March 10, 2004 – The GPU Hearing Tomorrow
The Monterey County Planning Commission meets tomorrow, to conduct
the second it its series of public hearings on the proposed Monterey
County General Plan Update. You are very much encouraged to attend,
and to testify. I’ve placed some useful references on the KUSP
website. You can get to them by clicking on the Land Use Report
link at www.kusp.org, and then
finding the transcript for today’s Land Use Report.
Tomorrow’s public hearing is to focus on “Quality of Life” issues. The Planning Commission is specifically interested in hearing comments relating to the various “Community Areas” identified in the Plan, and on the urban design concepts that will be used within such areas. Specifically, this means how development will proceed in Castroville, Pajaro, Boronda, and on the former Fort Ord.
Another key issue for tomorrow’s hearing is “concurrency.” Will necessary services and infrastructure actually be available at the time new developments are built; that is, “concurrent” with new development? In the past, developments proceeded prior to the construction of necessary streets and highways, and before other services, and adequate water, were actually available. The “concurrency” issue is one of the most important issues to be decided in the General Plan Update.
Remember, tomorrow’s your opportunity to be heard. The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. in Salinas.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County GPU Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/Planning Commission Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/cca/pcmain.htmJoint Letter on GPU From Citizen Organizations
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
countyplan/030304joint.html
Thursday,
March 11, 2004 – More on the Monterey County GPU
A joint letter on the proposed Monterey County General Plan Update
has been signed by seventeen different citizen-based organizations,
including the League of Women Voters of the Monterey Peninsula,
the Planning and Conservation League, the Oceans Conservancy, the
Carmel Valley Association, the Highway 68 Coalition, LandWatch Monterey
County, the Ventana Chapter of the Sierra Club, Friends, Artists
& Neighbors of Elkhorn Slough, the North County Citizens Oversight
Coalition, and the Prunedale Preservation Alliance. You can get
access to the letter through the KUSP website.
The seventeen citizen-based groups make three main points:
Today, you can make your views known. The Monterey County Planning Commission will begin its hearing at 9:00 o’clock this morning, at the courthouse in Salinas.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County GPU Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/Planning Commission Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/cca/pcmain.htmJoint Letter on GPU From Citizen Organizations
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
countyplan/030304joint.html
Friday,
March 12, 2004 – Plan Ahead for Arroyo Grande Workshop
KUSP Central Coast Public Radio covers the entire Central California
Coast, including Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, and the northern
portion of San Luis Obispo County. Today, for KUSP listeners down
south, let me give you a “heads up” on an important planning
workshop scheduled for March 30th.
On Tuesday, March 30th, a public workshop has been scheduled in Arroyo Grande, to obtain community input on potential future land uses in the Arroyo Grande Sphere of Influence Area, south of the City along Highway 101. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., and will be held at the Arroyo Grande Women’s Club Community Center, 211 Vernon Street in Arroyo Grande.
A city’s “Sphere of Influence” is an area outside the city’s current boundaries, but that the city expects to annex and develop. In this case, the Sphere Area includes approximately 500 acres, owned by the Frederick and Williams families. Arroyo Grande’s 2001 General Plan slated this area for development, but required the preparation of a Specific Plan for the area first. That Specific Plan will determine what happens in this important expansion area of the City.
There’s a lot at stake, and everyone is invited to attend. For more information, check the KUSP website at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Arroyo Grande Website
http://www.arroyogrande.org/Workshop Notice
http://www.arroyogrande.org/city_hall/releases/pr-sphofi.pdf
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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