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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of April 19, 2004 to April 23, 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 April 19, 2004 to April 23, 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,
April 19, 2004 – Adult-Oriented Business Regulations
Local communities have “plenary” powers to establish and
regulate the use of land. “Plenary” means “full.”
Communities can decide what kind of land uses will be allowed, and
where those land uses will be permitted, and the conditions that
will apply to permitted uses.
Communities can decide to regulate what a house looks like (perhaps to preserve the historic character of a neighborhood), or whether a homeowner can add a second unit, or whether a large tree can be cut down. The land use powers of local government are generally limited by “political” restraints, as opposed to legal constraints. If you believe that a local land use regulation is too stringent, or overbearing (and that’s a common complaint), the remedy isn’t to claim a constitutional right to do whatever you want, it’s to get together with others, and convince the local elected officials that they should change the rules.
There are constitutional limits to the land use powers of local government, and when free speech rights confront community moral standards there is often a spirited debate. Lots of local communities want to regulate (or even prohibit) so-called “adult businesses.” Because of the First Amendment, it’s not that easy to do. You can get a reference to what Santa Cruz County has done on the KUSP website. If you’re down in San Luis Obispo County, you can join the debate, this morning, at a special meeting of the Pismo Beach City Council, where a discussion of adult-oriented businesses is the only item on the agenda.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Santa Cruz County Code Provisions [Section 13.10.621]
http://ordlink.com/codes/santacruzco/index.htmCity of Pismo Beach
http://www.pismobeach.org/SITE/index/index.html
Tuesday,
April 20, 2004 – Water on the Central Coast
Water issues will be increasingly important in the Central Coast
Region. Tomorrow, a forum sponsored by the Association of Monterey
Bay Area Governments will address the topic: “Got Water? Urban
Water Issues on the Central Coast.” There is more information
at www.kusp.org.
Water supply and water quality issues go together. Let’s consider groundwater overdraft. A groundwater aquifer is like a bank account. Deposits are made into it (rainfall and water recharge), and we take amounts out of it. If we only “spend” the amount of our “income,” on the average, our bank account stays stable, and it’s available in an emergency. If we spend more than our income, our bank reserve goes down, and if we always use more than comes in (and that’s what groundwater overdraft means), then eventually we’ll spend our reserves down to zero, and will have to live on our income alone, emergency or not. That’s the basic “bad news” about groundwater overdraft. We’ve built our lifestyle on the illusion that we can continue to live beyond our water income, and our reserves are disappearing. There’s more bad news, though, in the groundwater overdraft example. Drawing down those groundwater reserves allows seawater to spill into our freshwater aquifers, so we are destroying the value of the reserves that remain, even before they’re gone.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
AMBAG Website
http://www.ambag.org/AMBAG Events Schedule
http://www.ambag.org/events/For more information, or to make a reservation for the Water Forum, call: 831-649-8252
Wednesday,
April 21, 2004 – Architectural Review
The “police powers” given to local government can be exercised
directly by the people, but are most commonly used by local elected
officials, as they adopt various rules and regulations, which become
our local laws. I know from personal experience how much power and
authority really is available to local government in the area of
land use, and how contentious the debates sometimes are about how
the community’s land use powers should be used.
One area of regulation that has continually been contentious (and not only locally, but throughout the entire United States) is the area of regulation called “architectural standards.”
The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, for instance, imposes very strict rules on building and construction, going right down to architectural details. The objective is to preserve the unique character of Carmel. There is a constant debate, within the community, about whether these rules are strict enough, or too strict. The City of Monterey also has architectural standards, particularly oriented to protecting the historic character of Monterey. In connection with its enactment of architectural standards, the City of Monterey has established an Architectural Review Committee, where these issues are debated in the context of individual project proposals. If you’d like to see how this works, check out the meeting of the Architectural Review Committee this afternoon. It’s at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Monterey City Hall.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
City of Monterey Website
http://www.monterey.org/Historic Preservation in Monterey
http://www.monterey.org/commdevelop/planning/historic.html
Thursday,
April 22, 2004 – Sacred Earth, Sacred Texts
This Land Use Report emphasizes the legal and governmental aspects
of our use of the land. Democratic self-government provides us an
opportunity to chart a future for our community that achieves the
kind environmental protection, economic growth, and social equity
that we want for ourselves and our children. I would be remiss,
however, not to remind us all, once in a while, of the spiritual
foundations and dimensions of land use.
This evening, there will be celebration of Earth Day 2004, sponsored by the UCSC University Religious Council. The celebration has been titled “Sacred Earth, Sacred Texts: The Spiritual Basis for Environmentalism.” It will take place from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Namaste Lounge at College Nine/Ten on the UCSC Campus. There will be snacks and drinks to sustain the body, and music, discussion, and sacred texts to refresh the soul. I’m going to be there to make a presentation, and hope, whether you’re able to come or not, that you’ll take a moment, in connection with the celebration of Earth Day this year, to renew your appreciation of the incredible gift that we have been given to enjoy, in this wonderful earth, and beautiful environment, about which we are, too often, so careless, and thoughtless, and dismissive, and destructive.
In the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero, “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something.”
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Earth Day Celebration Calendar Entry
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/calendar.htm
Friday,
April 23, 2004 – Highway One
Scott Kennedy, Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz, has suggested that
the City should play “let’s make a deal” with the
local governments in Santa Cruz County that would like to widen
Highway One. So far, the Santa Cruz City Council has not been enthusiastic
about the proposed Highway One widening. It would be very costly,
and would have major environmental impacts. While its short term
effects would certainly be to speed up commuting times, it’s
not clear that this relief would last very long. The result of such
widening projects, almost everywhere else, has been has been to
create new traffic, so-called “induced demand,” that quickly
eliminates the short term benefits.
At any rate, Mayor Kennedy is now suggesting supporting the Highway One widening project, in return for the acquisition of the Union Pacific railroad right of way. That’s another contentious proposed transportation project!
It would be hard to overstate the importance of the decisions to be made on the proposed Highway One widening, so I want to alert you to a couple of meetings coming up next week. On Monday, April 26th, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission will be holding a public information meeting in Aptos, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., at the Best Western Seacliff Inn. A similar meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 29th, at the Simpkins Family Swim Center in Live Oak. Click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org for more information.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Transportation Commission Website
http://www.sccrtc.org/body.htmlHighway One Widening Project
http://www.sccrtc.org/highway.html#overMeeting Notice
http://www.sccrtc.org/pdf/hwy1_mtgs_0404.pdf
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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