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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of May 3, 2004 to May 7, 2004
"Listen Live"
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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 May 3, 2004 to May 7, 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,
May 3, 2004 – The Long Range Development Plan at UCSC
If planning is important, and I’m here to tell you that it
is, then the long range planning done by major institutions is bound
to be significant. In the City of Santa Cruz, the University of
California has to be seen as the single most important institution
in the community, and it’s an institution largely independent
of the regulatory powers of city government. Thanks to the California
Constitution, the University of California operates pretty much
independently of any local government. Wal-Mart and Home Depot have
to answer to the City Council, but UCSC is in a different position.
When the University bought a major motel, and turned it into a dorm,
the City’s permission was not required. The City found out
about this deal after it was done, even though the University’s
action had a major impact on tax revenues.
Though the City has no direct control over the University’s long range plans, it can exert influence. Tomorrow afternoon, the City Council will be meeting with representatives of UCSC, to discuss the University’s Long Range Development Plan, which is now in process. Enrollment, housing, alcohol abuse, and opportunities for collaboration are all topics set for discussion. If you’re interested in the future of the City of Santa Cruz, you should be interested in the long range plans of UCSC. They may end up affecting your life.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
May 4, 2004 City Council Agenda
http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/University Guidelines on LRDP Preparation
http://www.ucop.edu/facil/fmc/facilman/volume2/ch3.htmlOpinion Article (March 2004)
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2004/
March/28/edit/stories/02edit.htmUCSC LRDP Website
http://ppc.ucsc.edu/cp/projects/11408/
Tuesday,
May 4, 2004 – Cathrein Estates
The Monterey County Department of Planning and Building Inspection
maintains a very helpful website. It contains a list of development
projects that are now under consideration by the County, and the
list of projects in North Monterey County is extremely impressive.
By that I mean it’s a long list. North Monterey County is “ground
zero” for development. It’s also an area where most of
the water comes from groundwater aquifers that are overdrafted.
There’s no guaranteed long term water supply, but development
is still plunging ahead.
Oddly enough, the County’s website does not appear to contain a reference to a proposed North County subdivision that will be considered by the Board of Supervisors at 11:00 o’clock this morning. The proposed subdivision is called Cathrein Estates, and has been in the pipeline for years. Despite the water overdraft problem, and traffic concerns, the County has not required an Environmental Impact Report on this project. The County’s General Plan policies say that the County shall seek to “eliminate long-term groundwater overdrafting …as soon as practically possible,” and “shall not allow water consuming development in areas which do not have proven adequate water supplies.” Despite these statements, the County staff is still recommending approval. If this one can be approved, get ready for the rest of that whole, long list. There’s more information at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
May 4, 2004 Board Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htmList of North County Projects
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/projects/planning/north_c.htmPlanning and Building Inspection Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/Ahwahnee Principles for Water
http://www.lgc.org/events1/land_use/past/
yosemite2003_davis2.htmlLocal Government Commission Website
http://www.lgc.org/LandWatch letter on a similar North County project
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
northcounty/020304sunridge.html
Wednesday,
May 5, 2004 – The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
“Life on the Bay,” the report from Cap’n Steph Dutton,
that you hear each weekday on KUSP, celebrates the incredible beauty,
diversity, and productivity of our coastal waters. According to
a report released on April 20th, those coastal waters are at risk.
“The oceans and the coast are in serious trouble, and we’re
getting close to the point of not being able to stop the decline,”
said Admiral James Watkins, who heads the U.S. Commission on Ocean
Policy. The Commission’s 16 members were selected by President
Bush, which means that they are not radical environmentalists. They
called for immediate measures to stop the precipitous decline of
sea life, and to protect threatened marine habitat. Save Our Shores,
one of the great nonprofit groups based in this region, is taking
that word to local governments around the Bay. You might want to
get in touch with your local elected officials yourself. Or call
Save Our Shores, and get involved in their efforts. There’s
more information at www.kusp.org.
This broadcast, of course, is called the “Land Use Report,” so you might wonder why I’m dipping my toes into the troubled waters of our marine environment. Here’s why: one of the main causes of the degradation of our marine environment is bad land use policy. Again, it was not a group of radical environmentalists that said that.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
http://oceancommission.gov/Preliminary Report Released April 20, 2004
http://oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/welcome.html“Living on the Edge”
http://oceancommission.gov/documents/prelimreport/04_living_edge.pdfSave Our Shores Website
http://www.saveourshores.org/
Thursday,
May 6, 2004 – Environmental Justice and Desalination
Public Citizen has initiated a campaign called “Water For All.”
It’s particularly active in California, and there’s a
reason for that. California is, in large part, a desert environment,
where water is scarce, and yet it’s the one of the fastest-growing
parts of the United States. Critical water supply problems already
exist throughout the state (not just in North Monterey County),
and things will probably get a lot worse, before they get better,
if they ever get better at all. Global warming is not predicted
to have a positive impact on our water supply system. Even if our
recent warm weather isn’t related to global warming, as I actually
suspect it might be, global warming is a reality. Water supply problems
(and their relation to land use) will be defining problems for us,
going forward.
When the things people need become scarce, the price goes up. Big business (global big business in this case) is doing everything it can to privatize public water supplies, so it can make the windfall profits it can see coming, for those who control the water that everybody has to have.
Desalination, which requires a lot of capital to develop, is an easy route to the privatization of water. This Friday, in Monterey, you can attend a conference called “An Environmental Justice Framework for California Water and Desalination.” There’s information at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Seawater Desalination and the Coastal Act
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/energy/Th9b-8-2003.pdfPublic Citizen “Water For All” Website
http://www.citizen.org/california/water/Public Citizen Statement on Desalination
http://www.citizen.org/california/water/desal/
Friday,
May 7, 2004 – Environmental Entrepreneurs
The organization I work for, LandWatch Monterey County, is often
labeled an “environmental” group. In fact, LandWatch is
dedicated to the proposition that our economy, environment, and
social equity are all connected, and that we must develop land use
policies that provide us with simultaneous successes in each one
of those areas.
Recently, I have learned of an organization that is explicitly forging a positive link between business and the environment. The group is associated with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of this nation’s largest environmental groups, and is called “Environmental Entrepreneurs,” or “E2” for short. One of the members of the LandWatch Board of Directors, and so a local, Monterey County person, is very active in the Environmental Entrepreneurs. Thanks to his good offices, E2 is starting to look closely at the relationship between good land use policy and economic success.
It turns out that the local economy seems actually to be strengthened by good land use regulations. Good land use regulations, in other words, help business. That’s pretty much the conclusion of a local Economic Impact Study done in connection with the Monterey County General Plan Update, and it’s good news for everyone, because everyone will benefit when we do insist that a healthy economy, social equity, and environmental protection are all required, and aren’t to be “traded off,” one against the other.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
E2 Website
http://www.e2.org/ext/index.jsp;jsessionid=
FB306C568F19E35A27F37C7AA2599E4C?topicId=0ECOSLO
http://www.ecoslo.org/
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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