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Week of November 29, 2004 to December 3, 2004 |
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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 November 29, 2004 to December 3, 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, November 29, 2004 –Dates For The Rancho San Juan Hearings |
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The proposed Rancho San Juan project is the largest single development project in the history of Monterey County. County taxpayers (not the developer) are paying all the bills to process this project, and the County has “fasttracked” it besides, so it’s quite possible that final action will be taken by the middle of December. I’m going to give you the dates of the upcoming hearings, which include a hearing today! The list of dates and more information is available at www.kusp.org. Here are the hearing dates:
In over thirty years of involvement in land use issues at the local government level, I have never seen a local government more committed to approving a project on behalf of a developer, and I have also never seen a project with more negative fiscal and environmental impacts. If you’re a Monterey County resident, and particularly if you live in either Salinas or North Monterey County, you may want to make your views known. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, November 30, 2004 – Transportation Issues Around The Bay |
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In large part, transportation issues in Monterey County are under the jurisdiction of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, also known as TAMC. In Santa Cruz County, transportation issues are largely under the jurisdiction of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, called “The Transportation Commission,” for short. TAMC meets Wednesday, December 1st. The Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission meets Thursday, December 2nd. There are some interesting items on these agendas, and you might want to attend. At TAMC, the Commission will be discussing the traffic impacts of the proposed Rancho San Juan Specific Plan. The staff is recommending that the Commission urge that any fees collected from the developer be used to reduce traffic impacts on Highway 101. The County’s current proposal is to use Rancho San Juan developer fees to facilitate the development itself, not to solve public problems. In Santa Cruz County, the Commission will discuss a preliminary agreement to purchase the Santa Cruz County Branch Rail Line from the Union Pacific Railroad Company. That line runs from Watsonville to Davenport. Bringing it into public ownership will make new transportation solutions possible in the years to come. As I said, these are interesting meetings. You can get more information by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, December 1, 2004 – Boronda Community Plan |
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As regular listeners will remember, the County of Monterey began an effort to update its General Plan in 1999. In June of this year, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to scrap that effort, even though it had been five years in the making and had cost the taxpayers about five million dollars. Instead of voting on the recommendations sent to them by the Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors told its staff to “start over” on the General Plan Update, and to hold a series of private “stakeholder” meetings with development interests, as the way to get a plan that the Board would approve. The Board did not say to hold off on major development projects in the meantime, and the developers are getting close to gaining approval from the Board for about twenty years of growth, most of which could receive entitlements to proceed by early next year, long before the County has a new General Plan. The current General Plan was adopted in 1982, so is over twenty years old. The Monterey County process can justifiably be described as “develop first, plan later.” There is one bright spot, and that is the “Community Plans” that are being developed for Pajaro, Castroville, and Boronda, unincorporated areas where the County has already made a commitment to urban development. The Boronda Community Plan will be unveiled tonight. You can get details at www.kusp.org. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, December 2, 2004 –Santa Cruz Hotel At The Planning Commission |
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Two major development proposals are under consideration in the City of Santa Cruz. Probably the most important is the proposal vastly to increase the size of the University of California at Santa Cruz. The University has a Constitutionally-guaranteed right to make independent decisions about its growth and development, so the citizens and residents of Santa Cruz are not able directly to affect what happens. Local leaders, like County Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt, are asking for help from the State Legislature, and specifically from Assembly Member John Laird. If you care about this issue, it wouldn’t hurt to let Supervisor Wormhoudt and Assembly Member Laird know your thoughts. The other big development proposal is the proposed demolition of the 163-room “Dream Inn” hotel, and its replacement with a new, 270room hotel, restaurant, and conference center, with a six-level parking garage. Significant traffic impacts and impacts on the beach and bluffs are to be expected if the hotel plan goes ahead. Local citizens and residents can have a direct impact on the decisions made about the proposed hotel. Ultimately, the Santa Cruz City Council will make a decision, and the Council does pay close attention to the concerns of local residents. If you’d like to get involved, the City Planning Commission is holding a public hearing tonight. The public hearing will begin at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, December 3, 2004 – Water, Water… |
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The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District has its headquarters in the Ryan Ranch Office Park, located off Highway 68 in the City of Monterey. Here’s a holiday invitation from the District, with an educational purpose. Next Thursday, December 9th, the Water Management District will be holding a “Holiday Open House” at its offices in Ryan Ranch, and the public is invited. Not only will there be refreshments, there will be multi-media displays that highlight the District’s activities related to water supply planning, fishery enhancement, riverbank restoration, and water conservation. Guided tours and demonstrations are planned. In other words, this is a celebration with a purpose, and the purpose is to get Monterey Peninsula residents more in touch with what’s happening to their water system. If you’d like to go, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org, and track down the transcript to today’s Land Use Report. There is more information on the website. Other meetings about water, perhaps not quite so celebratory, are also taking place. Yesterday, for example, groups like Friends of the Sea Otter, Surfrider, and Save Our Shores held a meeting about the impacts that desalination plants might have on the marine environment. These groups are determined that any decisions made should be scientifically informed. If you’d like to be of assistance, check the website. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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CONTACT 306 Capitol Street #101 PO Box 1876 Phone (831) 759-2824 Fax (831) 759-2825 |
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