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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of March 19, 2007 to March 23, 2007
Week of March 19, 2007 to March 23, 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 19, 2007 to March 23, 2007
- Monday, March 19, 2007
Big Coastal Project Tomorrow
- Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Latest Decision of the Monterey County Board
- Wednesday, March 21, 2007
A Tale of Two Neighborhoods
- Thursday, March 22, 2007
The PCL Symposium
- Friday, March 23, 2007
Learn About the Farm Bureau’s Views
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 19, 2007 Big Coastal Project Tomorrow |
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People who live along East Cliff Drive (that’s in Santa Cruz County) might tell an acquaintance from Boston that they live in “Santa Cruz,” but that’s not actually correct, because “Santa Cruz” is a city, and while West Cliff Drive is in the City of Santa Cruz, East Cliff Drive isn’t. Both East Cliff and West Cliff are in the County of Santa Cruz, of course, but since West Cliff Drive is located within the boundaries of the City of Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz City Council makes decisions about developments along West Cliff Drive. East Cliff Drive isn’t in a city, though the City of Capitola is nearby, which means that developments along East Cliff Drive are decided upon by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Most listeners to these regular Land Use Reports probably understand this basic point, but not everyone does, because places that sound like cities sometimes aren’t. Castroville and Prunedale are not cities. Neither are Boulder Creek and Aptos. Decisions about projects in those areas are made by the Monterey County and Santa Cruz County Boards of Supervisors, respectively. Same for East Cliff Drive. Tomorrow, at its regular meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be making some big decisions about the future of East Cliff Drive. If you live in the area, you probably should get informed. Click on the Land Use Report link on the KUSP website for more information about this item. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Latest Decision of the Monterey County Board |
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Two weeks ago, I noted that decisions by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors were almost certain to cause confusion to voters going to the polls in June.* I’m happy to say that the Board of Supervisors recognized this, and promptly scheduled a time to discuss what they should do about it. During their meeting last week, on March 13th, the Board did, in fact, address the problem. Their decision, however, was not to eliminate the confusion, but to perpetuate it. Because of action by concerned voters, both an initiative measure and a referendum measure are now going to appear on the June ballot. The Board did everything it could to prevent the voters from getting to the ballot with the initiative and referendum, but they lost that battle. The Constitutional right of the voters to use their initiative and referendum powers ultimately prevailed. Faced with that reality, the Board placed its own measure on the ballot, and that is where the confusion comes from. The Board’s measure asks voters if they want to “repeal” the Board’s GPU4 Plan (which isn’t even in effect, because of the referendum). On the other two measures, “Yes” means “Yes,” and “No” means “No,” but the Board’s measure is structured so that a “No” vote is a vote in favor of the Board’s plan. Because of the Board’s action, part of its continuing battle to make sure that the voters don’t get a fair chance to decide what they want, those supporting the Community General Plan are going to have to go back to court. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, March 21, 2007 A Tale of Two Neighborhoods |
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Citizen activism on land use matters is a “taken for granted” reality in the City of Santa Cruz. As you can imagine, I think that’s a great thing, and one of the best things about living in Santa Cruz. Every community should be so lucky! I first got involved in citizen activism as a member of the Save Lighthouse Point Association, back in the early 1970’s, and from that time to this, local residents in the City of Santa Cruz have regularly become involved, directly, in the land use and related decisions that so profoundly affect their future. My weekday Land Use Reports are an invitation for you to get involved in your local community (no matter where you live), and to see if you don’t agree that one of the most satisfying experiences we can have in life is joining together with friends and neighbors to help make the future be what we think it should be, instead of letting things just “happen to us.” I can get almost rhapsodic about the joys of “self government,” the kind of government in which we get involved ourselves. If you are a resident on the Eastside of the City of Santa Cruz, you should know that concerned residents, calling themselves the Seabright Neighbors, are working hard to expand the Frederick Street Park. If you live on the Westside of the City, you may be interested in “Friends of the Westside,” a group that is working against a large new Bus and Maintenance Yard, proposed on Swift Street. You can find out how to get involved in both those efforts with the links below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, March 22, 2007 The PCL Symposium |
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These Land Use Reports focus on the Monterey Bay Area and the Central Coast, providing a “heads up” on significant land use items. My “day job,” however, finds me not on the Central Coast, but in Sacramento, where I head the Planning and Conservation League. PCL works on all sorts of environmental issues at the state level. Today, I thought I’d provide you with a special invitation to attend PCL’s 2007 Environmental Legislative Symposium, scheduled for Saturday, April 14th, at the Sacramento Convention Center. You can get full information on the Symposium by clicking on the links below. The PCL Symposium is not just for those who follow state level issues. Quite the opposite. PCL is truly a League” of local environmental organizations, and the Symposium is our annual statewide “get together,” where local groups share their experiences and efforts, and learn from each other. This year, the Symposium is entitled, “How To…Win The Environmental Battles That Test This Generation.” Workshops will include instruction on how to enforce legal rights and government obligations under California’s “Government in the Sunshine” laws, how to run a community initiative, how to use the California Environmental Quality Act, and how to run a successful referendum. Attorneys can even get MCLE credit! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, March 23, 2007 Learn About the Farm Bureau’s Views |
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Bob Perkins is the Executive Director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, and is an outspoken opponent of the Community General Plan initiative that will be on the Monterey County ballot in June. Mr. Perkins is also a spokesperson for those who would like to change the California Constitution, to make it more difficult for local governments to use the power of eminent domain. During last November’s election, Mr. Perkins was urging a “yes” vote on Proposition 90, which would not only have restricted the ability of local governments to use eminent domain, but would also have required the government to “pay” property owners if the government tried to restrict their use of their property. Most of our land use regulations do, in fact, restrict what property owners can do with their property, and Mr. Perkins thinks the community’s ability to impose such restrictions should be radically curtailed. To place his views in context, Governor Schwarzenegger opposed (not supported) Proposition 90 last November. Whatever your own views on these issues, you might like to have a chance to hear what a strong “property rights” proponent has to say about them. Your chance to do that is coming up, at a March 28th luncheon sponsored by the Monterey Bay Republican Women Federated. Their meeting will be at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Seaside, and you can get more information by clicking on the Land Use Report link on the KUSP website. While you’re there, send me an email with your comments and suggestions. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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