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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of August 21, 2006 to August 25, 2006
Week of August 21, 2006 to August 25, 2006
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 August 21, 2006 to August 25, 2006
- Monday, August 21, 2006
“Around The County” And the LUACS
- Tuesday, August 22, 2006
“Jurisdictional Hearings”
- Wednesday, August 23, 2006
LAFCO and Water Privatization
- Thursday, August 24, 2006
Desalination on the Central Coast
- Friday, August 25, 2006
Coastal Politics Disseminates!
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, August 21, 2006 “Around The County” And the LUACS |
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Monterey County is a “big” county. San Luis Obispo County is a “medium sized” county. Santa Cruz County is the smallest county in the state, speaking geographically. I don’t know what Dr. Ruth says about it, but “Dr. Gary” says that size does make difference, at least in terms land use policy. In Santa Cruz County, people from every part of the county tend to know something about every other part of the County. People from Watsonville have a pretty good idea of the North Coast, and people from the north end of the county have an even better idea of what’s happening in Watsonville, since they drive by it all the time. Familiarity breeds engagement. If the Third District Supervisor (from Santa Cruz) gets involved in land use policy issues that affect Watsonville, nobody in the Third District thinks that’s strange. In Monterey County, on the other end of the spectrum, people who live on the Peninsula may not know much about Parkfield, in southern Monterey County, and vice versa. Building a countywide consensus on land use is a lot harder. With its “Around the County” program, LandWatch Monterey County has been doing just that, for about the last eight years, and LandWatch deserves some credit for this concept. You can get more information on the KUSP website, and can get a schedule for upcoming LUAC meetings on the General Plan. LUAC means “Land Use Advisory Committee,” which is Monterey County’s official way to recognize its geographic diversity. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, August 22, 2006 “Jurisdictional Hearings” |
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The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is meeting today. So are the Monterey County and San Luis Obispo County Boards. By and large, Supervisors meet on Tuesdays. Item #58 on the agenda of today’s meeting of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is an appeal of a Planning Commission decision which denied a Coastal Development permit to build a new residential structure at the toe of a coastal bluff. The geological stability of the bluff, and the safety of residents and visitors to the home (if it were permitted to be constructed), were clearly on the Planning Commission’s mind. When the Board considers this item today, the Board will not move immediately into a discussion of the substantive issues. In Santa Cruz County, there is a “two-stage” appeals process. The first stage, on the agenda today, is for the Board to decide whether or not to “take jurisdiction” of the appeal. In other words, you don’t have an automatic right of appeal in Santa Cruz County. You need to convince the Board that there was some exceptional procedural or substantive failure at the Planning Commission level. If there wasn’t, then the Planning Commission decision will stand. This “two-stage” appeals process makes everyone take the Planning Commission very seriously, and elevates their status. It’s a good way to make sure that decisions are based less on “politics,” and more on the substance. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, August 23, 2006 LAFCO and Water Privatization |
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Land Use Report listeners have probably gotten the idea that I’m seriously addicted to local government in all its many flavors. I’m going to have to “cop” to that. From my perspective, there is hardly anything more interesting or exciting than to become engaged in the process of citizen participation at the local government level. That’s the place where we can truly realize our full potential as human beings, because our full potential is not just “individual,” it’s “collective.” We are inevitably connected and related to other people, and local government provides a mechanism by which geographically contiguous individuals can cooperate to do things, collectively, that none of them could do individually. Take, as an example, providing water for the local community. This is usually done by community and collective action. Well, not always. In some places, water systems are owned by for-profit corporations and are part of the “private market.” In the San Lorenzo Valley, for example, while most people get their water from the San Lorenzo Valley Water District, a public agency, certain areas in Felton are served by a private company. Citizens in that area are trying to convert their water system into public ownership, and whichever way that goes, it’s an exciting and important discussion! One of those unusual “flavors” of government, LAFCO, is playing a big role. You can get more information on the KUSP website. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, August 24, 2006 Desalination on the Central Coast |
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Desalination is being seriously discussed as a way to provide new water supplies. A major debate is taking place in San Luis Obispo County, and it might be fair to say that two major debates are taking place in Monterey County, since two different proposals are under consideration. In Santa Cruz County, the City of Santa Cruz also has a desalination proposal, largely intended to provide a “backup” water supply during periods of drought. The energy implications of desalination are serious, since these systems need a lot of electricity to work, and most of our power is coming from non-renewable fossil fuels, the use of which is pushing us towards a global warming calamity. Then, there is the “entrainment” issue. Many desalination proposals utilize seawater not only as a supply source, but also as a way to cool the equipment. That means sucking in marine organisms in prodigious numbers and killing them during the desalination process. That can have a significant biological impact. Of course, to the degree that a new and virtually unlimited water supply can be manufactured out of abundant seawater, the “growth inducing” impacts of this water supply is another important concern. That is definitely an issue in both Monterey and San Luis Obispo County. The purpose of this Land Use Report is just to give an early warning “alert” to interested Central Coast residents. Now would be a good time to get involved. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, August 25, 2006 Coastal Politics Disseminates! |
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In the mid-‘70’s, John and Patty Brissenden, then residents of Live Oak, were very active in local land use issues. Patty worked for now-Congress Member Sam Farr. John worked for then-Congress Member Leon Panetta. In the early ‘80’s, the Brissendens moved to Alpine County, where they reestablished an historic mountain resort, Sorenson’s. John was elected to the Alpine County Board of Supervisors, and is now a member of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The creation of the Conservancy itself has a Central Coast connection, since the establishing legislation was co-authored by Assembly Member John Laird. At the annual meeting of the Sierra Nevada Alliance, held at Lake Tahoe, I was proud to be able to accept an award on behalf of the Brissendens, when they unexpectedly couldn’t attend. That made me think about how our local community efforts have disseminated themselves so powerfully throughout the state, even just up the coast, where one of my former interns, Aaron Peskin, is now the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. At the Sierra Nevada Alliance meeting, language from Berman v. Parker, a U.S. Supreme Court decision, was read into the record, to exemplify what local land use efforts are all about. Here it is: “The concept of the public welfare is broad and inclusive…. The values it represents are spiritual as well as physical, aesthetic as well as monetary.” For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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