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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of June 7, 2004 to June 11, 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 June 7, 2004 to June 11, 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,
June 7, 2004 – Ancient Maps
According to planning officials in Monterey County, local citizens
in fact don’t have the right to appear and be heard prior to
approval of a 73-unit subdivision on prime farmland immediately
adjacent to the Town of Spreckels. How could that be? That could
be because there’s an old map, filed with the County in 1906,
which shows the 73 lots. According to planning officials, all the
decisions were made about 100 years ago.
In fact, however, no "decisions" were made when the map was filed. No hearing was held. The property owner at the time, The Spreckels Sugar Company, simply filed a map showing lots comprising the Town of Spreckels, and then proceeded separately to deed out and develop most of them. However, the Company never conveyed away the 73 lots at issue now. They’ve always been just one piece of ground, and past County decisions have refused to allow development on this prime farmland.
Tomorrow, the Board of Supervisors is going to decide whether the residents of Spreckels have the right to be heard before a development goes ahead that would increase the size of their little Town by 40%--with no environmental analysis or public hearing. If the answer is "yes" in Spreckels, then it’s "yes" in the scores of other places where such "ancient maps" exist, and you can expect little subdivisions to be popping up throughout Monterey County, from Big Sur to Arroyo Seco.For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htmLandWatch Letter on Spreckels Ancient Map Issue
http://www.landwatch.org
Tuesday,
June 8, 2004 – The Monterey County General Plan Update, Cont.
Today, the Board of Supervisors of Monterey County is going to decide
whether so-called "ancient maps," filed in the early 1900’s,
and which were never subjected to any public review or approval
process, will be given the same treatment as modern subdivision
maps. If the answer is "yes," then scores of such maps,
commonly called "paper subdivisions," will permit property
owners to build little "cities" in places like Arroyo
Seco and Big Sur.
Probably even more important is what the Board is going to do about its General Plan Update. After five years and five million dollars, the County Planning Commission sent the Board its recommended General Plan Update on April 28th. Without holding a single public hearing, and without looking at a Final EIR, on which the Board had spent several hundred thousand dollars, Supervisors Johnsen, Armenta, and Lindley voted to reject the entire five year process, and "start over." Today, the planning staff has outlined what "starting over" really means. It means another two years, and about a million dollars more in expense, and the redrafting process will largely be done in "private," not through public hearings. The Twelve Guiding Objectives, representing what the public said the General Plan should do, will be discarded.
Virtually every community organization that has participated in the process has opposed this "start over" strategy. Virtually every development interest has supported it. Today’s meeting will decide.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htmLandWatch Letter on General Plan Update
http:// www.landwatch.orgBoard of Supervisors Contact Information
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/supervisors.htm
Wednesday,
June 9, 2004 – From Mountains To Marine Reserves
Save Our Shores, a Santa Cruz based nonprofit, will host an important
workshop next week. It turns out that if we want to "save our
shores," and save our marine environment, we need to do something
about land use.
The workshop is entitled "From Mountains to Marine Reserves," and will focus on the importance of healthy watersheds to a successful marine protection program. The workshop is free, but you do need to register with Save Our Shores. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 15th, from 8:30 a.m. till noon, at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz. To get more information, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
"Our watersheds may be the single most important resource available for protecting the health of our coasts and oceans," according to Jane De Lay, Executive Director of Save Our Shores. Fred Keeley, former member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, former Assembly Member, and now Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, is in complete agreement. Mr. Keeley will speak at the workshop, and explore the multifaceted nature of the land-to-sea connection, and talk about how our governmental policies can make a big difference in the health of our marine environment.
Three panels will highlight the current science, policies, and opportunities surrounding watershed management and marine protected areas.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Save Our Shores Website
http://www.saveourshores.org/Workshop description
http://www.saveourshores.org/Events_Action_Alerts/news_main.htmlFor more information about the workshop, or to register, call Save Our Shores at 831-462-5660.
Thursday,
June 10, 2004 – GIS User’s Group
Technology and policy do interrelate. It’s possible, with new
technologies, to do a much better job of policy analysis, and it’s
actually possible to use high tech tools to provide a better system
of land use control.
The key to many of these new opportunities is what are called "Geographic Information Systems." These systems are computer-based, and help organize and retrieve land use and resource information in an easy-to-use way. If you’d like to see an example of what GIS systems can do—and again, that acronym stands for "Geographic Information Systems—then check out the Santa Cruz County GIS system, made available to the public on the County website.
Getting these high-tech tools actually to do something worthwhile is easier said than done. In fact, there is a small and probably growing cadre of GIS professionals, many of whom work for public agencies, and who are trying to explore and expand the possibilities of GIS. Their aim is to make GIS really perform in the public interest.
Last Wednesday, the Central Coast Joint Data Committee presented a workshop on Web Applications of the Central Coast. That meeting was held in Santa Cruz. Today, the Monterey Bay ArcGIS User Group is holding a meeting in Monterey, to explore how GIS tools are used for marine research. You can get more information at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Santa Cruz County GIS System
http://gis.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Central Coast Joint Data Committee
http://www.centralcoastdata.org/For more information on the CCJDC contact Mary Tsui at mtsui@montereybay.com
ESRI GIS and Mapping Software
http://www.esri.com/index.htmlInformation on June 10, 2004 Event
http://gis.esri.com/events/index.cfm?fuseaction
=showSeminar&shownumber=7258For more information on the Monterey Bay ArcGIS User Group contact Chuck Lerable at chuck@ci.salinas.ca.us
Friday,
June 11, 2004 – Transportation and the EIR Process
Housing and transportation tend to be controversial land use policy
issues in the Central Coast Region. Tomorrow, I’m speaking
at a Housing Forum convened by the Community Housing Land Trust
of Santa Cruz County, to be held at the Louden Nelson Community
Center in Santa Cruz, beginning at 10:30 a.m. You are very cordially
invited.
In terms of transportation, I have a different kind of invitation. Two agencies with major responsibility for transportation planning are involved in environmental review procedures on key transportation projects. I’d like to invite you to get involved personally.
If you care about the so-called "Recreational Rail" proposal in Santa Cruz County, consider commenting on the Draft EIR just released by the County Transportation Commission. The comment deadline is July 21st.
If you care about overall transportation planning, consider participating in the environmental review that will be carried out by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (or AMBAG) on the Santa Cruz County and Monterey County Regional Transportation Plans. That process is just beginning.
The EIR process is not just for professionals. The key to the whole enterprise is thoughtful comments from members of the public. Of course, in order to comment, you do have to read the "Draft" EIR, but if you comment, the local agency must take your comments very seriously indeed. Check the KUSP website for more information.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
AMBAG
http://www.ambag.org/ (Click on Transportation Planning)Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission
http://www.sccrtc.org/body.htmlFor information on the "Recreational Rail" EIR contact Karena Pushnik at 831-460-3200 or info@sccrtc.org
For information on the AMBAG EIR contact Kathy Urlie, Principle Planner at 831-883-3750
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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