Residents of the Monterey Peninsula have a particularly good opportunity to get an education on the relationship between land use and water, and that's because the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District makes lots of information publicly available.

If you'd like to start focusing on these issues through the lens of what's happening at the Water Management District, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. There's a meeting of the District Board of Directors this evening, at 7:00 p.m., and the on?]line agenda materials are quite informative.

Tonight, the District will receive a presentation on various "Water Supply Alternatives." In addition, the agenda packet includes a quarterly report on the District's Water Supply Strategy and Budget. The District's water supply strategy was developed cooperatively with Cal-Am, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the California Department of Fish and Game. With the continuance of low-flow conditions, Cal-Am will not be allowed to divert any water from San Clemente Dam, except in the case of an emergency. This obviously means water supplies are very "tight," so the District monitors the situation quite closely. The Planning and Conservation League Foundation, incidentally, is working actively to find a way to provide an adequate water supply, while eliminating the San Clemente Dam, and enhancing the wildlife values of the Carmel River watershed. There's a link to that exciting work on the KUSP website.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Website
http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/

MPWMD Agenda
http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/
boardpacket/2005/20050919/0919agenda.htm

PCL's "Investment Strategy For California Water"
http://www.pcl.org/pcl/pcl_files/Investment
%20Strategy_11_18_04.pdf

PCL Efforts on Carmel River Watershed
http://www.pcl.org/pclf/pclf_plan_centralcoastwater.asp

Water and land use go together. I think I mentioned that yesterday. Today, let me point out that transportation issues and land use issues are also indissolubly linked.

Tomorrow morning, the Board of Directors of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, called TAMC, will be meeting in Salinas at 9:00 o'clock. This will be a meeting well worth attending. TAMC is expected to adopt an ordinance asking the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to set an election on June 6, 2006, at which time the voters would be asked to raise the sales tax to provide money for various transportation projects.

Visitors to and residents of Monterey County are aware of a number of significant transportation problems, and fixing these problems does take money. The KUSP website has a link to the proposed "Expenditure Plan," showing how TAMC plans to spend the money, if the public authorizes the increased sales tax. The proposal is mostly for new highway construction on state highways, the state having decided that it can't fully fund necessary work on its own highway system, and that the locals will have to do it. From a land use perspective, the problem is that the TAMC expenditure plan doesn't really encompass any effective "smart growth" restrictions on the use of the money, so the money may just lead to more sprawl, which means even more traffic congestion. As I say, this is a meeting that will be well worth attending.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

TAMC Website
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/

Agenda For September 21, 2005 TAMC Meeting
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/tamc/
meetings/2005/sep/agenda.pdf

TAMC Proposed Expenditure Plan
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/prog_14yrplan/
pdf/Adopted_Exp_Pla_14%20year.pdf

As a former member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, I definitely have sympathy for local government agencies faced with difficult budgetary demands. Frankly, things have gotten a lot worse on the local government finance front since I left office in January of 1995.

An example of how the financial difficulties of local government may lead to some rather excruciating decisions is the proposal that the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea should sell off a part of one of its City Parks, to raise money. This would be what local government officials know of as "one time" money, since the sale of a capital asset doesn't bring in any continuing budget relief.

If you are a resident of Carmel, or have ever used the Mission Trails Park, you might want to make plans to attend the Council meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday, September 22nd) at 5:00 p.m. The City Council seems ready to authorize the sale of the "Flanders Mansion," owned by the City, and included within the Mission Trails Park. Any real estate in Carmel is worth millions, and the historic Flanders Mansion would undoubtedly bring a good price. The policy question is whether City residents really want to sell off one of the City's open space and cultural assets for a one-time infusion of money. If you want to be heard on the issue, don't miss tomorrow's meeting. There is more information at www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

City of Carmel Website
http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/

Map of Mission Trails Park
http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/images/missiontrailmap1.jpg

Friends of Mission Trails Park and Flanders Mansion
831-277-6481 or

Today, I'd like to give you a "heads up" on a couple of events you might like to attend, one here in the Central Coast Region and one scheduled for Sacramento.

On Monday, September 26th, LandWatch Monterey County will hold one of its monthly "Around the County" sessions, this one in Carmel. The meeting is definitely for early risers, since it's a breakfast gathering at the Village Corner Restaurant, Dolores and Sixth Avenue in Carmel. The "Around the County" starts at 7:30, and runs till 9:00 a.m. Assembly Member John Laird will be there to provide an "end of session" report on what has happened (and hasn't happened) in the state legislature.

Incidentally, now that I'm up in Sacramento on a regular basis, I'm pleased to report that the voters of the 27th Assembly District, which includes part of Monterey County, and all of Santa Cruz County, not to forget some territory in Santa Clara County, is getting good marks for the representatives it has sent to the State Capitol. After just two weeks in my new job, I am already getting the word that John Laird has been doing a great job representing the environmental and community concerns of the Central Coast.

Now, a quick mention of another important meeting, this one in Sacramento. On Wednesday, September 28th, the 6th Annual California Watershed Forum will be taking place at the CALEPA building. There is a lot more information at www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

LandWatch Website
http://www.landwatch.org/

For more information on the Around the County meeting
Lupe Garcia at

Map of the 27th Assembly District
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a27/district.htm

California Watershed Network
http://www.watershednetwork.org/index.php

For more information on the Watershed Forum
Mary Lee Knecht at

The University of California at Santa Cruz has often been called the "City On A Hill." This name refers to a meditation by John Winthrop, a 17th Century Protestant Clergyman, who felt that the New England colonies could be like a biblical "City On A Hill," if they would only base their community life on a proper appreciation of the laws of God.

I can't comment on how UCSC incorporates the laws of God into its community life, but one thing is clear: UCSC is not the kind of "city" we think of when we think, for instance, of the "city" of Santa Cruz. In California law, a "city" is a local government agency with general governmental powers, under the direction of a democratically selected set of local officials. Places like Boulder Creek and Prunedale are not cities, because they do not have democratically elected city council members. Neither does UCSC.

UCSC is not directly or democratically accountable to any set of local residents. It is under the control of a Board of Regents, and they are quite independent of any democratic process that might operate at the local level. Because there is no direct way to affect the municipal decisions that UCSC makes, local residents, affected by those decisions, have formed a group called CLUE, Coalition for Limiting University Expansion. CLUE is involved in lots of activities, including a recent lawsuit. You can get lots more information at www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

John Winthrop's City On A Hill
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/winthrop.htm

CLUE Website
www.santacruzclue.org

CLUE vs. The LRDP
http://smlive.ucsc.edu/paper/city/4.txt?39_30

CLUE Article on UCSC Expansion
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/
2005/August/28/edit/stories/06edit.htm

More Information on CLUE