Some important items will come before the Monterey County Board of Supervisors tomorrow. The Board will be meeting in Salinas, starting at 9:30, and you are welcome to attend. Access to the Agenda is available at the KUSP website. Just click on the Land Use Report link.

You are not welcome to participate in the part of the Board meeting designated as a “Closed Session.” The Government Code does permit public agencies to conduct certain business in secret, and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors makes frequent use of the “Closed Session” technique to transfer major policy discussions to a private setting.

On the public agenda tomorrow, as Agenda Item S-7, there is a consideration of the proposed development plan for the “East Garrison” area on the former Fort Ord. The staff recommendation is that the discussion of this item be continued to September 20th. Item S-6, however, held in “Closed Session,” is also a consideration of the proposed East Garrison development. The Agenda seems to indicate that a representative of the developer is going to be meeting behind closed doors with the Board of Supervisors, to make the “real” decisions about the future of the East Garrison project. No one in the public will know what goes on in that meeting, and when the matter is ultimately heard on September 20th, key decisions will probably already have been made, without the benefit of public review or participation.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Agenda, Monterey County Board of Supervisors - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda091305.htm

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is meeting today, and Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt has placed an interesting item on the Agenda, as Item #25. A link can be found at the KUSP website.

Supervisor Wormhoudt is urging the Board to support passage of Senate Bill 411, setting up some specific rules to govern how “greenwaste” is accounted for, under the state laws that mandate local government efforts to increase recycling, and to reduce the disposal of waste materials to landfills. In bringing this matter to the Board, Supervisor Wormhoudt is actually following up on a citizen suggestion, made to her by a local resident. This is a pretty good example of how citizen action can galvanize action by a local government agency (and ultimately, perhaps, by the state government). It’s an encouragement to all of us to get involved ourselves.

One of the biggest land use problems around is the siting of landfills. The problem has its own acronym, in fact, LULU, meaning “locally undesirable land use.” Diverting materials out of landfills is critically important, to reduce the need for building more of them. Senate Bill 411 would help ensure that local governments don’t get credit for “recycling” greenwastes when they’re really just putting them into the dump.

Senate Bill 411 did not pass the Legislature this Session, but this issue can come back next year. A supportive resolution from Santa Cruz County will definitely help!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/
Govstream/ASP/Display/ SCCB_AgendaDisplayWeb.as

p?MeetingDate=9/13/2005

Letter of Supervisor Wormhoudt
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/
Govstream/BDSvData/ non_legacy/ agendas/
2005/20050913/PDF/025.pdf

Senate Bill 411
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?
bill_number=sb_411&sess= CUR&house=B&author=alarcon

Information on State Legislation
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

If you are a Marina resident, you might want to hie yourself over to 11 Reservation Road, in Marina, at 7:00 o’clock this evening, to attend the regular Board meeting of the Marina Coast Water District. The Water District will be considering a proposed Initial Study and Negative Declaration for the “Marina Station” development, proposed for that portion of the Armstrong Ranch located within the City’s Urban Growth Boundary.

You’ve heard it before, but it’s always worth repeating: water and land use go together. In fact, state law has been modified in recent years to make the ties even more explicit. Major development proposals, like the “Marina Station” project, need to undergo a very specific and focused review by the water agencies responsible for water delivery. In this case, the developer of “Marina Station” is proposing that the property be annexed to the Marina Coast Water District, so the proposed development can get access to water from the District. Approval for such an annexation is not automatic, and one of the required steps is an environmental evaluation. The District believes that it is not necessary to do a full scale Environmental Impact Report. Nearby residents and others who are following the project may want to examine the so?]called “Negative Declaration” that will be considered tonight, to be sure they agree with that judgment. There is more information at www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Marina Coast Water District Website
http://www.mcwd.org/

Marina Coast Water District Agendas and Minutes
http://www.mcwd.org/html/meetings.html

I’ve been “on the job” in Sacramento as the Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League for just about a week, and I’m already clear about one thing: the State of California, and all of its governmental agencies, and lots of nonprofit and scientific organizations from around the State are going to be focusing in on the important topic of Climate Change and Global Warming. What’s happened in New Orleans is directly related to the issue of global climate change. Levee breaks in the Bay-Delta Estuary could be devastating here. Not only with respect to the impacts of flooding, but because the Bay?]Delta is a major source of water supply for all of Southern California. In fact, the impacts of climate change on California are likely to be profound, even without any “disaster” type event.

Today, and continuing through Friday, a major scientific conference is being held, in connection with the West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative. The Governors of California, Oregon, and Washington have officially begun an intensive effort to take action at the state level on global warming issues, addressing the impacts that global warming will have here on the West Coast. More information on this state-level effort is available at www.kusp.org. I’ll definitely be keeping you posted on the impact that global warming, and our efforts to deal with it, will have on land use, and our land use regulatory system.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

West Coast Governors’ Global Warming Initiative
http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/westcoast/

I gave you some advance notice, a few weeks ago, of the Coastal Cleanup Day scheduled for this Saturday, September 17th. Coastal Cleanup Day is an annual event, held as part of a national celebration of “Coastweeks.” The time has arrived! I’m hoping that many KUSP listeners will be out in our spectacular environment tomorrow, helping to clean up and restore our coast.

To give you a specific idea of something you can do personally, let me announce that volunteers are still needed at the annual cleanup of Elkhorn Slough. The cleanup is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday September 17th, and is an official part of what is the world's largest volunteer coastal cleanup. Clean up efforts this year will be focused along Elkhorn Road to the north and the area roadsides.

The Elkhorn Slough cleanup efforts are being sponsored by FANS (Friends, Artists, and Neighbors of Elkhorn Slough), in partnership with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation.

Volunteers should meet at Kirby Park, located on Elkhorn Road, at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Please come equipped with water, comfortable shoes, layered clothing, and sunscreen. The site captain will have bags, gloves and data cards ready for participants. Minors must have a parent or guardian available to sign the event waiver. Get more information at www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

FANS Website
http://www.saveourslough.org/

Elkhorn Slough Foundation
http://www.elkhornslough.org/

Coastweeks Website
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/
coastweeks/coastweeks.html

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Website
http://www.elkhornslough.org/esnerr.htm

Map: