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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of October 10, 2005 to October 14, 2005
Week of October 10, 2005 to October 14, 2005
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 October 10, 2005 to October 14, 2005
- Monday, October 10, 2005
Monterey County GPU Study Session Tomorrow
- Tuesday, October 11, 2005
The Zoning Code in Greenfield
- Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Water and Wastewater
- Thursday, October 13, 2005
Transfer of Development (One More Time)
- Friday, October 14, 2005
The Watsonville General Plan
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP Radio by Gary A. Patton. The Wittwer & Parkin law firm is located in Santa Cruz, California, and practices environmental and governmental law. As part of its practice, the law firm files litigation and takes other action on behalf of its clients, which are typically private individuals, governmental agencies, environmental organizations, or community groups. Whenever the Land Use Report comments on an issue with which the Wittwer & Parkin law firm is involved on behalf of a client, Mr. Patton will make this relationship clear, as part of his commentary. Mr. Patton’s comments do not represent the views of Wittwer & Parkin, LLP, KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
| Monday, October 10, 2005 Monterey County GPU Study Session Tomorrow |
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Tomorrow, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will turn its attention once again to what may be its longest running public policy discussion ever. I’m speaking about the so-called “General Plan Update.” Since 1999, the Board has considered and refused to adopt five different comprehensive General Plan Update proposals. Three of these were prepared by County staff, and one of them got a very strong recommendation (I believe unanimous) from the County Planning Commission. A “Community General Plan” was submitted by a consortium of community groups. Another proposal was submitted by a consortium of developer interests. The Board rejected them all, and is now working on another draft. The General Plan that the County is supposed to be “updating” was adopted in 1982, so it has been twenty-three years since the Board comprehensively reviewed its land use policies. To get a feel for what’s “normal,” the state of California recommends a comprehensive review every five years. In 1999, the state Attorney General said that the County’s failure to do a timely General Plan Update could put the County in legal jeopardy. Various lawsuits have now been filed making exactly this kind of legal attack. So far, the Attorney General himself has not sued the County, but it’s not impossible that he will. Monterey County residents might want to get personally involved. The General Plan Update item will be heard at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, in Salinas. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, October 11, 2005 The Zoning Code in Greenfield |
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Tonight, the Greenfield Planning Commission is considering new zoning regulations. Located in the Salinas Valley, Greenfield has dreams of a major urban expansion. This is a dream shared by every one of the Salinas Valley cities. Salinas is talking about an annexation of 4,000 acres of largely agricultural land, to be used for future subdivisions and shopping centers. Proposed urban expansions onto agricultural land pose very significant policy questions. The agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley are the most economically productive agricultural lands in California. California produces about thirty billion dollars a year in gross agricultural product, and Monterey County produces about ten percent of that. Since Monterey County only has about one percent of the productive agricultural land in the state, yet produces ten percent of the agricultural output, you can get an idea of just how economically productive those ag lands are. Despite its economic productivity when used for agriculture, the dollar value of the agricultural lands in the Salinas Valley would go up by a factor of about ten times if urban development were permitted. Land worth $30,000 per acre when used for agriculture is worth $300,000 an acre, or more, when used for subdivisions. That’s why “farmers,” who are also “landowners,” want to be able to convert their ag lands into subdivisions. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, October 12, 2005 Water and Wastewater |
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Land use and water issues are intimately related, and those “water” issues related to land use policy might be thought of in two categories: water “in,” and water “out.” Both “water supply” and “wastewater” issues are very important when growth and land use decisions are being made. Two meetings scheduled for today illustrate the connections. This evening, at 7:00 p.m., the Marina Coast Water District will be holding a workshop on a proposed 2005 Urban Water Management Plan. State law now requires water supply agencies directly to address the linkage between water supply and growth. That really wasn’t the case, even ten years ago, but it is definitely a requirement now. That’s what an “Urban Water Management Plan” is all about. At tonight’s workshop, the Water District Board will take public comment, and then provide direction to the District staff on what kind of policies should be incorporated into the District’s Plan. Ultimate adoption of the Plan will probably take place in November, so tonight’s a very good time to make your views known. In Soledad, at 4:30 this afternoon, the City Council is holding a special meeting, to extend an urgency ordinance that imposes a building moratorium, because of a lack of wastewater capacity. Here’s an example of where the “out” category, relating to water use, wasn’t properly factored in to the City’s land use planning. There is more information at www.kusp.org. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, October 13, 2005 Transfer of Development (One More Time) |
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A Transfer of Development Credits program, sometimes called a “TDC” program, is intended to help stop urban sprawl, and to preserve open space and agricultural lands. Unfortunately, these programs can easily be misused. Instead of protecting and preserving open space and agricultural land, they may actually stimulate inappropriate development. That’s exactly what the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission thinks is happening in that County. The Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors suspend further applications for the County’s TDC program, to investigate what the Commission believes are real problems. Since 1997, forty-two lots have been “retired” under the TDC program, but the result has been the creation of 252 new parcels, not one of which is within an Urban Services Line. In other words, the San Luis Obispo County TDC program may be stimulating sprawl, rather than stopping it. The current TDC ordinance also allows the supposedly “retired” parcels be used for wineries, tasting rooms, bed and breakfast facilities, processing facilities, and the like. Again, instead of preserving open space, the program may actually be shifting development into rural and agricultural areas. Despite the Commission’s recommendation, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has so far declined to make any immediate changes. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, October 14, 2005 The Watsonville General Plan |
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I let you know Monday about the General Plan Update process in the County of Monterey. After six years and the expenditure of something like six million dollars of taxpayer funds, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is still in the middle of doing “workshops” on what is now the fourth official draft General Plan Update document. Things seem to be moving quite a bit more expeditiously in the City of Watsonville. In fact, if you’re interested in the future growth and development of Watsonville, I’d recommend that you plunge right in, and get involved now, because I think the General Plan Update process in Watsonville will be the opposite of leisurely. The City is moving ahead very rapidly with what they are calling their “2030 General Plan Update” and it may all be over by the middle of November. A link to the draft document can be found on the KUSP website, at www.kusp.org. Just click on the Land Use Report link and track down the transcript for today’s Land Use Report. Send me any comments or suggestions you may have, as well. The City of Watsonville is preparing a full Environmental Impact Report (or EIR) on their draft General Plan Update, as required by state law. If you’d like to comment, you only have until October 21st to get those comments in. To learn more, attend a Workshop scheduled for tomorrow, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Youth Center at 30 Maple Avenue in Watsonville. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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