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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of March 12, 2007 to March 16, 2007
Week of March 12, 2007 to March 16, 2007
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 March 12, 2007 to March 16, 2007
- Monday, March 12, 2007
A Monterey County Pot Pourri
- Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Blue Circle
- Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The Coastal Commission Is Meeting Here!
- Thursday, March 15, 2007
The Santa Cruz City Planning Commission
- Friday, March 16, 2007
The Ventana Wilderness Just Got Bigger
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, March 12, 2007 A Monterey County Pot Pourri |
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If you believe that your personal participation in public policy making around land use issues is important to your future (and I’m here to tell you that it is), and if you are a resident of Monterey County, you’ll be happy to learn that Monterey County is “ground zero” for public participation opportunities and public education opportunities this week:
Information on all of these events is available by clicking on the Land Use Report link on the KUSP website. And just in case you’re not registered to vote, May 21st is the deadline to register, if you’d like to vote on those land use ballot measures! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, March 13, 2007 Blue Circle |
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This evening, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., the Santa Cruz County “Blue Circle” is meeting in Soquel. Their meeting probably doesn’t qualify as a truly public meeting, but I thought I’d alert you anyway, since the “Blue Circle” is such a positive and important collective effort. The “Blue Circle” was organized in 1996 by the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District (sometimes called the RCD), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, as a way for local agencies, units of government, special interest groups, and concerned citizens to meet in a social setting and exchange views on natural resource issues affecting residents living in the County’s watersheds. The “Blue Circle” was designed to humanize (and make fun) the process of creating and/or enhancing working relationships and communications. The “Blue Circle” goes out of its way to say that it’s not “political,” and that it takes no positions on local issues, and it’s not a form of regional government. It doesn’t have an agenda (hidden or otherwise), except maybe this: Plain and simple, the “Blue Circle” is “people having fun with watersheds.” If you’re up for that kind of a good time, I bet you’d be welcome at the meeting this evening. It’s being held at Michael’s On Main Restaurant, located at 2591Main Street in Soquel. There’s more information on the KUSP website. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, March 14, 2007 The Coastal Commission Is Meeting Here! |
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The California Coastal Commission will be meeting in Monterey, starting today, and continuing through Friday. Details on the meeting are available online, including full copies of all the staff recommendations. I’ve included a link to this material in the transcript for today’s Land Use Report. The Coastal Commission has jurisdiction over land use and planning issues affecting the California Coastal Zone, so they are a state agency, with statewide responsibilities. The Commission meets in every part of the Coastal Zone, and only holds a meeting in our region about once a year. If you have the time to attend their meeting, even if only to observe, I think you’ll find it very worthwhile. I’ve had lots of experience with both state level and local agencies that deal with land use matters, and the premier, best of the lot, bar none, is the California Coastal Commission. What I’m talking about here is this agency’s professionalism and consistency in carrying out its statewide mandate to protect the coast. I don’t always agree with every decision, but the procedures and policies the Commission uses, and the way they conduct their meetings, show how a public agency can take seriously the important public policy issues around land use that so profoundly affect not only our environment, but our economy, and our ability to achieve our social equity goals. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, March 15, 2007 The Santa Cruz City Planning Commission |
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I make no bones about my “unhidden agenda” to stimulate public participation in land use policy matters. If you’re a resident of the City of Santa Cruz, and listen to this Land Use Report frequently, you’ll remember that the City is currently in the process of developing a new General Plan. The General Plan is the local community’s “Constitution for land use,” and will govern and direct all future growth and development in the community. It’s hard to overstate its importance. I hope many listeners will investigate how they can get personally involved in the General Plan Update process. Tonight, at 7:00 o’clock, the Santa Cruz City Planning Commission will be meeting at City Hall, to take up an agenda that includes review of a significant development proposal on Seabright Avenue. The plan is to demolish two existing single-family dwellings, and to build six condominium units to replace them. The properties involved are at 627 and 629 Seabright. Removing a heritage tree is also part of the proposal. This kind of project is often controversial, since it both carries out what are sometimes called “smart growth” goals, but with the concomitant effect of changing the neighborhood. Don’t hesitate to visit the Land Use Report pages on the KUSP website for more information. And don’t hesitate to use the KUSP email link to send me your questions, comments, and suggestions. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, March 16, 2007 The Ventana Wilderness Just Got Bigger |
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You have probably heard of the Big Sur Land Trust, based in Carmel Valley, and dedicated to the protection and preservation of the spectacular Big Sur Coast. But have you ever heard of the Wilderness Land Trust, based in Carbondale, Colorado? And would it surprise you to know that this Colorado-based group has just played a key role in helping to protect and preserve the Ventana Wilderness? Well, it’s true. The Wilderness Land Trust (with financial help from the Big Sur Land Trust) has just purchased a 160-acre tract of land located near Tassajara Hot Springs. The land will be turned over to the U.S. Forest Service, to be managed as part of its existing federal holdings. Converting land from private ownership to public ownership can be controversial. In Big Sur, it definitely is controversial. Private property owners there sometimes feel like an endangered species, but those who are interested in protecting our wilderness areas from future private development, generally see efforts like the one I just reported as positive. We should be debating how best to provide long term, enduring protection for the wilderness areas that sustain our souls, and that make possible the continued existence of the natural environments that we have so often obliterated, as we have sought to exploit the land for various kinds of economic purposes. As this recent development shows, the land trust movement is playing a key role in the debate! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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