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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of May 17, 2004 to May 21, 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 May 17, 2004 to May 21, 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 17, 2004 – The Monterey County GPU
In 1999, Monterey County released an “Existing Conditions”
report, documenting serious land use challenges. These included
groundwater overdraft, traffic congestion, an affordable housing
crisis, service deficiencies, and fiscal shortfalls. In December
2001, the County issued a draft General Plan Update, addressing
these issues. Public hearings were held in 2002. Many of these hearings
focused on requests by individual property owners that they be allowed
more development. By the end of 2002, the Planning Commission had
recommended a new General Plan Update to the Supervisors. The Board
reviewed this recommendation, and rejected many environmentally
protective features, and built in approval for many of the development
requests made by property owners.
In 2003, a revised General Plan Update was released, meeting the Board’s specifications, but no real action occurred. Late last year, the Board directed the preparation of a “third draft” General Plan Update. An Economic Impact Report was also prepared. The Planning Commission has now made another recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, and tomorrow, the Board is going to decide what to do about it.
The Board has spent five years, and more than $5 million dollars on the General Plan Update, and has been avoiding the tough decisions. Rumors are that some Board Members are going to seek even more delay tomorrow.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htmGeneral Plan Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/1999 Existing Conditions Report
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/reports/Existing%20
Conditions/Web%20Page%20Conditions%20Report.pdfDecember 2001 Draft GPU
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/reports/GPU%20
Public%20Review%20Draft/Whole%20Document.pdfApril 2003 GPU Draft #2
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/reports/0403/index.htmlJanuary 2004 GPU Draft #3
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/reports/0104/index.htmlEconomic Impact Report
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/news/ADE%20Econ
%20Report%20022704.pdfPlanning Commission Recommendation
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/news/PC%20
Recom.GPU.Final%20w-Resol.4.28.pdf
Tuesday,
May 18, 2004 – The Pacific Legal Foundation
The Pacific Legal Foundation is an anti-environmental, pro-property
rights group headquartered in Sacramento. Their mission is to <quote>
“rescue liberty from the grasp of government.”
This governmental philosophy is profoundly un-American. The Declaration of Independence says that that all persons are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” and that “to secure these rights, Governments are instituted… deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” The American idea of government, in other words, is that liberty is actually secured by democratic self-government itself. We lose liberty, not gain it, when we undermine the ability of our government to protect the public interest.
The Pacific Legal Foundation is dedicated to making it impossible for our government to protect the public interest, and this gives private interests what they want.
The people who have been opposing the Monterey County General Plan Update (variously organized under different names) have now created a new front group, “Plan for the People,” and have allied themselves with the Pacific Legal Foundation. Using their new name, these General Plan Update opponents have announced they will sue the Board of Supervisors. Local citizens and residents might tell their Supervisors that they don’t want local land use to be directed by such anti-environmental, extremist policies.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Pacific Legal Foundation Website
http://www.pacificlegal.org/list_Publications.asp
Wednesday,
May 19, 2004 – Julia Butterfly Hill in Santa Cruz
Julia Butterfly Hill lived on an ancient redwood tree named Luna
from December 10, 1997 to December 18, 1999. “Here,” she
said, “I can be the voice and face of this tree, and for the
whole forest that can’t speak for itself.”
Land use policy definitely includes the issue of forest management. However, forest management issues have been mostly preempted by state law. How our forests are managed largely depends on what happens in Sacramento, not on what happens at the local level. Governor Schwarzenegger is urging the relaxation of forest management rules, in return for more fees from timber companies. Depending on the details, this could be seen as selling off the environment for money.
A counter proposal is also being considered. State Senator Don Perata has introduced the Heritage Tree Preservation Act (or SB 754). This bill would provide increased protection for old-growth trees.
If you’d like to meet Julia Butterfly Hill in person, then plan to attend a fundraising event, scheduled from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. this evening, at 270 Quarter Horse Lane in Watsonville. The event will benefit the Heritage Tree Preservation Act. Congress Member Sam Farr and Assembly Member John Laird are co-hosts. For more information, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Heritage Tree Preservation Act
http:// www.ancienttrees.org/fulltext.phpTo make a reservation call Lisa Beyer at 510-444-4710, or email her at: lisa@nextgeneration.org
Thursday,
May 20, 2004 – Vote The Coast
Yesterday morning, I mentioned a local fundraising event to benefit
the Heritage Tree Preservation Act, but didn’t give listeners
much notice, since the event was yesterday evening. Today, let me
tell you about another fundraising event with a connection to land
use policy. I can give you a bit more notice this time.
On Sunday, May 23rd, Vote the Coast is hosting an event at the spectacular Glen Deven Ranch, in Palo Colorado Canyon, in Big Sur. The Glen Deven Ranch sits high above Highway One, and boasts breath-taking views of the Big Sur Coast. The Big Sur Land Trust manages the Glen Deven Ranch, which was a bequest from the estate of the late Dr. Seeley and Mrs. Virginia Mudd. Besides being a scenic jewel in the Big Sur crown, Glen Deven Ranch is an example of how careful estate planning can protect some of the most spectacular parts of the California Coast.
Vote the Coast, as you can guess from its name, is a nonprofit group dedicated to coastal protection. As its website says, “If you care about the coast….Vote The Coast.”
If it’s true that land use policies will profoundly affect our future (and it’s true they will), and if those land use policies are established by governmental action (and they are), then getting involved in how those policies are established, and by whom, is an assignment we all need to take seriously. There’s more information at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Vote The Coast Website
http:// www.votethecoast.orgInformation on Glen Deven Ranch
http://www.bigsurlandtrust.org/protected3.htmlFor reservations, call or email Sara Wan: 310-456-5674. Email: executivedirector@votethecoast.org
Friday,
May 21, 2004 – Fort Hunter Liggett Special Resource Study
KUSP listeners may remember the controversy several years ago about
the proposed use of Fort Hunter Liggett as a bombing range. As of
November 15, 2001, the Navy abandoned that idea. Congress Member
Sam Farr played a key role in persuading the Navy to terminate the
bombing range proposal.
Now, the U.S. Forest Service has prepared a study about merging Fort Hunter Liggett with the 80,000-acre Hearst Ranch in San Luis Obispo County, creating a Big Sur National Forest. The idea for the study arose from the Big Sur Multi-Agency Task Force meetings chaired by Congress Member Farr and Monterey County Supervisor David Potter. Farr notes that the Los Padres National Forest, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Fort Hunter Liggett, Pinnacles National Monument, and Ventana and Silver Peak wilderness areas constitute a huge amalgamation of federally owned land. “These holdings, from the bottom of the ocean to the highest point on the coast, should be looked at as one big ecosystem," Farr says, but the lands operate under different jurisdictions. Farr thinks that they might be managed better by a single agency, such as a Big Sur National Forest, possibly headquartered in King City.
A “Special Resources Study” will soon be released by the National Park Service. For more information, go to www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Fort Hunter Liggett (Army) Website
http://www.liggett.army.mil/Military Museum Website
http://www.militarymuseum.org/FtHLiggett.htmlVentana Wilderness Alliance Website
http://www.ventanawild.org/projects/fhl/bombing.html1999 Park Service Statement
http://www.nps.gov/legal/testimony/106th/loesfort.htmApril 9, 2004 News Story
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/
montereyherald/news/local/8398057.htmTo find out more about the National Park Service Special Resources Study Email: PGSO_FHL@nps.gov
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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