The Land Use Report promotes community involvement in land use decision making. Too often, we act as if we were simply a collection of individuals, and as if the “community” part of our lives was just a spreadsheet total of all our “individual” activities, added up. In fact, we are all part of a greater whole, and we recognize this truth by establishing mechanisms (many of them governmental) that allow us to act on a community level. If we don’t pay attention to the “community” sphere of our lives, the effects can be quite negative, not only at the “community” level, but at the “individual” level, too.

How we, as a community, use the land has a profound impact on our economy, environment, and on our ability to reach our social equity goals. Land use decisions impact each one of individually.

Governmental action is not the only way we can get engaged. Community based organizations provide a terrific way to work on land use issues. Let me highlight, today, the Highway 68 Coalition. If you ever travel on Highway 68, which runs from the Monterey Peninsula to Salinas, you should find out more about the Highway 68 Coalition. Click on the Land Use Report link on the KUSP website as one way to do that. You’ll find there’s a meeting tonight, at 7:00 p.m., you might like to attend.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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The Highway 68 Coalition is one of Monterey County’s most “venerable” citizen action organizations. It focuses on all of the various decisions that can impact life along the Highway 68 corridor, and since Highway 68 is the most direct connection between the Monterey Peninsula and the Salinas Valley (and because it travels through such a beautiful part of Monterey County), that means that its work is of interest and importance to almost every Monterey County resident. The Highway 68 Coalition is not a “high tech” or elaborate organization. It’s just a group of activists who keep an eye on proposed land use and other decisions that will impact Highway 68. If you’d like to get involved, you can contact the Highway 68 Coalition by mail by writing to: Highway 68 Coalition, 52 Corral de Tierra Road, Salinas, CA 93908. Don’t hesitate to send the Highway 68 Coalition a donation, and ask to get on their mailing list!

Tonight, at 7:00 p.m., Highway 68 Coalition members and supporters will attend a “scoping” hearing, at the Government Center in Salinas. You’re invited! The session will focus on a proposed development on property adjacent to State Highway 68 from San Benancio Road to River Road, on the right hand side of Highway 68 as you head “eastbound” towards the Salinas Valley. This proposed development, which has had various names over the years, is now being called the “Ferrini Ranch” project (it was formerly called “Toro Vista”). If you don’t want more residential subdivisions adding traffic to and marring the beauty of Highway 68, now is the time to get involved!

Both the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors are meeting today, and there is at least one land use policy item of importance on the agenda of the San Luis Obispo County Board. The Board will be considering the modification of its Rural Planned Development Ordinance. If you think that the words “rural” and “development” are probably not best placed in the same sentence (at least not if the idea is to keep “rural” areas truly “rural”), then you might want to hustle down to the Board meeting this morning. The proposed change to the ordinance is item C-6 on the Board’s agenda, and I’ve put a link to the staff report in the transcript for today’s Land Use Report, found on the KUSP website.

In Monterey County, the Board will be making lots of land use related decisions in a closed session, not open to the public, as is usual for that Board. They are able to do that because so many land use matters are tied up in litigation, and there is a “litigation exception” to the standard open meeting requirements that govern public agency actions. And of course, the Monterey County Board will be further considering the fourth version of its General Plan Update, and will even be deciding whether or not to translate it into Spanish. Regrettably, this discussion comes at the “end” of the process, when it’s too late for meaningful involvement by monolingual Spanish-speaking residents.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda for December 19th
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/
cttb/agenda121906.htm

Supplemental Agenda For December 19th
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/
cttb/suppagenda121906.htm

San Luis Obispo County Board Agenda
http://slocounty.granicus.com/
AgendaViewer.php?view_id=10&event_id=8

Staff Report on San Luis Obispo County Rural Planned Development Ordinance
http://slocounty.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?
view_id=10&event_id=8&meta_id=22744

Monday, I highlighted the Highway 68 Coalition, long involved in critically important land use issues in Monterey County. If you’d like to hook up with the Highway 68 Coalition, track down the transcript for Monday’s Land Use Report, to get contact information.

Today, let me highlight an important community group based in the City of Santa Cruz, and focusing on key land use issues affecting Santa Cruz. “SCRP” is the group I’m thinking of, the acronym standing for “Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning.” Unlike the Highway 68 Coalition, which has been around for years, SCRP is a relatively new group, but it is duplicating, in a different context and different place, the kind of feisty community engagement that the Highway 68 Coalition is famous for in Monterey County.

Tonight, SCRP will be having a meeting with George Blumenthal, Acting Chancellor of the University of California at Santa Cruz. The meeting is taking place at the Chancellor’s request, and recognizes that SCRP really has made a difference in land use matters involving the City. The two ballot measures enacted by Santa Cruz voters in November, intended to make the University more accountable to the community where its growth decisions are concerned, were both strongly supported by SCRP. For more information on how to get involved with SCRP, click on the link below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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SCRP, like the Highway 68 Coalition, is not a “high tech” or sophisticated group. It’s a collection of concerned residents of the City of Santa Cruz, willing to put time into working on land use issues affecting the future of the City. SCRP’s first major effort centered on the proposed “Coast Hotel” project, and its recent work has focused on the impact of UCSC on the residents of the City of Santa Cruz. The fact that the Chancellor of UCSC has requested a meeting with SCRP makes clear that this group is a force to be reckoned with, where City land use matters are concerned. If you would like to connect up with SCRP, contact them by mail by writing to SCRP, 252 Swanton Boulevard, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

This week, I’ve been talking about various “grassroots” groups working on land use issues. The Highway 68 Coalition is a feisty group that has long been engaged in land use issues in Monterey County. SCRP, Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning, is a newer group that has already gained a reputation for its successful “scrappiness” on land use matters in the City of Santa Cruz.

Today, let me alert you to a grassroots effort on the “Eastside” of the City of Santa Cruz, focusing on a proposed development project on Frederick Street. The Seabright Neighbors Association is trying to get the City Council to consider an expansion of the much-beloved Frederick Street Park, as an alternative to the development of luxury homes on property adjacent to the Park. The Kingdom Hall Church is currently located on the property. It will definitely be replaced by some other use. The question is: what use?

Back in the early 1970’s, a “scrappy” and “feisty” group called the Frederick Street Irregulars galvanized Eastside residents, as the Eastside faced plans that would have put high rise apartments (and a major road) right in the middle of the existing neighborhoods. The Frederick Street Irregulars sent two people to the Santa Cruz City Council, Carole De Palma and Sally Digirolamo, and fundamentally altered the future of the City. To get involved in the newest grassroots effort on the Eastside, check the links below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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The Seabright Neighbors Association has put up a website, highlighting their concern about the proposed project on Frederick Street
http://www.rootaction.org/170FrederickSt.html

The next City Council hearing on the proposed Frederick Street development project will be on January 23, 2007. To get more information, and get involved, you should contact the Seabright Neighbors Association through its website, or contact Skip Spitzer at spitzer@rootaction.org.

Today, I want you to consider a little “vacation trip” to Nevada City. The event I’m proposing runs from Friday, January 12th through Sunday, January 14th. It’s the Fifth Annual Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival.

The Film Festival was founded in 2003 by the South Yuba River Citizen’s League (their acronym, S-Y-R-C-L, is pronounced “Circle”). The Film Festival is now the largest festival of its kind in the United States, and this year will screen more than 110 films, including 32 premiers. Attendance will most likely top 4,000 people. Nevada City’s art galleries, restaurants and stores will host chats with filmmakers and receptions where attendees can meet world-class environmentalists to discuss issues, swap ideas, and become inspired about what each one of us can do.

The festival is sponsored this year by Patagonia, a company founded by world–famous climber and environmentalist Yvon Chouinard. Patagonia uses its business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis, and they see the film festival as a way to reach out to “activists.” Since the Land Use Report is unabashedly in favor of “activism,” and personal involvement in environmental and land use issues, Id like you to think seriously about that vacation in Nevada City! More information see below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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Find out about the Wild & Scenic Film Festival
www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org