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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of March 29, 2004 to April 2, 2004
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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 Week of March 29, 2004 to April 2, 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 29, 2004 – All Comments In (Monterey County GPU)
The Monterey County General Plan Update process has just passed
another milestone. Last Friday was the deadline for written comments
on the January 2004 Draft, and lots of comments were made. Four
public hearings have now been held before the Monterey County Planning
Commission, and the ball is squarely in the Planning Commission’s
court. There won’t be any more public hearings before the Commission,
and no more written comments for the Commission to receive. Between
now and April 21st, the Planning Commission is going to have to
sift through the thousands of pages of comments already received,
and then match those comments against the Draft General Plan document
itself, and it’s over 500 pages long. Then, the Commission
will have to make decisions either to keep, modify, or discard the
controversial policy statements contained in the draft General Plan
Update.
The Planning Commission’s deliberations will be held in public, and if you’d like to see land use policy makers at work, you should feel free to attend their upcoming meetings. The Commission will be discussing the General Plan Update on April 7th, and then again on April 21st. In the meantime, to see what some of the comments look like, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. I’ve given you references for a whole lot of information on all the controversial points.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
County GPU Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/Economic Impact Analysis
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/news/
ADE%20Econ%20Report%20022704.pdfEnvironmental Impact Analysis
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/reports/eir_0204/Joint comment letter from community organizations
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/countyplan/
032604jointletter.htmlComments from the business sector
http://www.refinegpu.org
Tuesday,
March 30, 2004 – D’Arrigo Cooler at the Board
According to a recent court ruling, that made the front pages in
Monterey County, the D’Arrigo Company did not pay its farmworker
employees properly, and owes those workers millions of dollars in
back wages. That labor dispute may return to court, on appeal, from
what I read. Today, however, there’s another kind of appeal
pending, and that involves the D’Arrigo Company, too, but it
centers on land use policy, not labor practices.
The D’Arrigo Company would like to build an agricultural processing plant on prime farmland adjacent to the historic Town of Spreckels. In addition, they’d like to build a major office building on that farmland. In addition, they don’t want the County to do an Environmental Impact Report on the project. So far, County planning officials have agreed, but the Planning Commission’s decision to approve the project, without an Environmental Impact Report, has been appealed to the Board of Supervisors. LandWatch Monterey County has filed what amounts to an extensive “brief,” and the United Farm Workers have also raised significant concerns.
Two main points are at issue. First, is building a 219,000 square foot processing plant and a 35,000 square foot office building on farmland something that should be given full environmental review? Second, and more fundamental, is it really right to pave over prime farm land to build factories and office buildings?
The hearing begins at 2:30 this afternoon, at the County Courthouse in Salinas.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
LandWatch letter opposing the D’Arrigo project - http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
spreckels/021702plancom.html
Wednesday,
March 31, 2004 – The DEIR Deadline
Monday, I reported the close of the comment period on the draft
Monterey County General Plan Update. Today, let me give you a little
impersonation of Paul Harvey, and tell you the “rest of the
story.”
Before any governmental agency makes a decision that might have an adverse impact on the environment, that agency has to undertake a rigorous environmental review. Usually, that means the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report, the circulation of that draft report for public comment, and then responses to every significant comment received. Decision makers have to review and consider all of that, the Draft EIR, the comments, and the responses to those comments, before making their decision. You can see that if these requirements are truly followed, government is made much more accountable. Citizens are given real power in the decision making process, because their comments have to be taken seriously. If the agency tries to “blow them off,” the courts back the citizens.
Where a City or County General Plan is concerned, which is the community’s “Constitution for land use,” a full Environmental Impact Report is required, and while the comment period is closed for comments on the Monterey County General Plan Update, it’s open for comments on the Draft EIR until April 2nd, so there’s still a chance to raise your concerns. That’s the “rest of the story.”
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Guide to Making Comments on a Draft EIR
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
countyplan/032104bootcamp.htmlCounty GPU Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/Economic Impact Analysis
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/news/
ADE%20Econ%20Report%20022704.pdfEnvironmental Impact Analysis
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/reports/eir_0204/Joint comment letter from community organizations
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/countyplan/
032604jointletter.htmlComments from the business sector
http://www.refinegpu.org
Thursday,
April 1, 2004 – TAMC And Taxes
This morning at 9:30, the Technical Advisory Committee of the Transportation
Agency for Monterey County (usually called TAMC) will meet at the
TAMC Conference Room, 55-B Plaza Circle in Salinas. Among other
important items, the TAMC Technical Advisory Committee will be discussing
a proposed ballot measure to raise local sales taxes, and to spend
the money on transportation projects.
Experience in other jurisdictions is that sales tax increases for transportation purposes are usually only approved when there is a broad public consensus about how the money is going to be spent. So far, there hasn’t been much outreach by TAMC to the community at large, and my guess is that many local residents would be suspicious of a tax increase that just helped pave over North Monterey County and the Salinas Valley at a quicker rate. Road projects are, quite often “growth-inducing,” and the impacts of growth, both fiscal impacts and environmental impacts, tend to fall hardest on the community at large. The benefits are much more narrowly defined. The proposed Rancho San Juan development, for instance, probably needs a major new highway project to be feasible. If it goes ahead, the developers will make a lot of money, but should the public really be subsidizing that? Working out a program that makes sure the money goes where the public wants it, won’t be easy.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
TAMC Website
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/
Friday,
April 2, 2004 – Appointments to The RWQCB
Transportation issues are directly related to land use policy. Tax
and fiscal issues are directly related to land use policy. Social
issues are directly related to land use policy. Environmental and
natural resource issues are directly related to land use policy.
And I don’t think that’s an exhaustive list. Decisions
about how we use the land are central to our society and civilization,
and to many of the issues and concerns that matter to us most. That’s
one of the reasons that KUSP makes time for this Land Use Report
each weekday morning.
In the realm of natural resources, issues of water supply and water quality are of particular significance. One agency that you might not have heard much about is the Regional Water Quality Control Board. It’s a state agency with regional responsibilities. The Regional Board that serves our region is made up of members, appointed by the Governor, who come from San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties, and I bring this up today to let you know that there are a couple of vacancies on the Regional Board. One vacancy is for a person who can represent Agriculture. One vacancy is for a person who can represent Industrial Water Users. You can find out how to apply, and what the responsibilities are, by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. Send your comments and suggestions, too.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb3/Information on Governor’s Appointments:
http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_htmldisplay.jsp?
BV_SessionID=@@@@1147518883.1080370164@@@@&BV
_EngineID=ccchadcldgfehgjcfngcfkmdffidfog.0&iOID=9462&sCat
Title=Appointments&sTitle=Serving+in+the+Schwarzenegger+
Administration&sFilePath=%2fgovsite%2fappointments%
2fServing_in_the_Schwarzenegger_Administration.html
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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