"Greenfield" is a word often used in land use policy discussions to denote lands that have not yet been developed. "Greenfield" development is contrasted with "brownfield" development. "Brownfield" properties have been previously developed, and are located in existing urban areas.

Directing new growth into existing urban areas gives a priority to "brownfield" development over "greenfield" development. When new development is focused in existing urban areas, productive farmlands are preserved; natural habitat lands are protected; and development goes close to existing infrastructure, so public costs are reduced. Traffic congestion, air pollution, and water pollution are reduced, too.

The land use debate in Monterey County is really about whether "greenfield" properties should be developed, or whether new growth should go largely into existing urban areas. The Community General Plan gives "infill" a priority. The Board of Supervisors plan allows the development of the "greenfields."

"Greenfield" is also a city in the southern part of Monterey County, which wants to double in size. Tonight, at 6:00 p.m., the Greenfield Planning Commission is taking a tour of the "greenfield" properties (almost all of them prime agricultural land) that the City is proposing to convert into residential subdivisions. If you want to see what’s at stake in Monterey County, take the Greenfield tour! More information can be found below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

City of Greenfield Website
http://www.ci.greenfield.ca.us/

Planning Commission Agenda Page
http://www.ci.greenfield.ca.us/Planning_Agenda.htm

The Planning Commission tour begins at the Greenfield City Hall, 45 El Camino Real in Greenfield at 6:00 p.m. this evening, Monday, April 30, 2007. Contact Planning Director Mark McClain for more information
Email: bldgoffic@greenfield-ca.com. Telephone: (831) 674-5591.

If all "sentient beings" really know that there’s a land use vote coming up in Monterey County in June (and that was my assertion last week), it’s probably not true that we’re all equally informed about the issues.

In the transcript for today’s Land Use Report, I’ve placed some references that might be helpful for those wanting to "study up" on the issues. I’ve included a website where you can watch a series of television segments shown on KION-TV that call the General Plan debate a "fight for the future."

"Fighting" sounds like something we should avoid, and I think I’d prefer to use some "d" words, and some "c" words, and not the "f" word, in describing what’s going on. That is, I think I’d call this electoral battle a "discussion," and a "debate," with "conflict" and "controversy," ultimately scheduled for a "decision" on June 5th. To use another "d" word, this kind of political debate and decision is really what democracy is all about.

Despite the complexity of the General Plan documents, the choices before the voters are actually pretty easy to understand. To take the easiest first, should the Rancho San Juan-Butterfly Village project be approved? Voters will get to say "yes" or "no." The other three ballot measures ask the voters whether they prefer the "Community General Plan initiative" or the Board of Supervisors’ General Plan, called "GPU4." In essence, the voters get to choose. That’s another "c" word.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

The KION Fight For The Future Series
http://www.kion46.com/content/fightforthefuture/default.aspx

"Yes on A" Websites, supporting the Community General Plan Initiative
http://www.montereyplan.org/pages/yesonA.html
http://www.landwatch.org

"No on A" Website, opposing the Community General Plan Initiative
http://www.montereycountyfarmbureau.org/

Rancho San Juan Opposition Coalition
http://www.stopranchosanjuan.org/index.html

Commentary by Brian Brennan, "The Lettuce Curtain?"
http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion/ci_5726348

The Monterey Bay chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals will host a forum on the Monterey County General Plan at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 17th in the Santa Lucia Room of the Salinas Community Center. More information is available from Michael Zeller at 408-460-5856 or at
http://www.montereybayAEP.org.

I have highlighted the good work of the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County before. The Land Trust is working to achieve permanent protection for important habitat lands, and agricultural lands, located in Santa Cruz County. You can get more information on the Land Trust, and on all of its programs, by clicking on the Land Use Report link on the KUSP website.

Tomorrow, the Land Trust is hosting a six-hour program intended to explain how property owners can use "conservation easements" to achieve some of their personal and family objectives. This will be a very substantive and educational program, in which the tax and other benefits of conservation easements are explained at length. The workshop is being held at the Green Valley Grill, 40 Penny Lane, in Watsonville, and the $50 cost includes breakfast, lunch, and a workbook. I really encourage local property owners (including the owners of agricultural land) to take advantage of this program.

Listen to what Miles Reiter, chief executive officer and an owner of Driscoll Berries, had to say about conservation easements, in a recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. He explained that he watched Santa Clara Valley's farmland get plowed under, and said that it’s not something he wants to see happen in the Pajaro Valley. "You need to act before it is threatened," he said. "Once the threat is at the door, it's too late. For the Pajaro Valley, the time to act is now."

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Land Trust Website
http://www.landtrustsantacruz.org/

Santa Cruz Sentinel article on conservation easements
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/
2007/April/24/local/stories/03local.htm

Registration Form for Conservation Workshop
http://www.landtrustsantacruz.org/webdocs/
events/Workshop_Schedule_Registration.pdf

I mostly talk about land use policy in what might be called a "larger scale" context. Whether we direct new growth into "greenfield" areas, or into "brownfield" areas, will have a profound impact on our natural environment, the local economy, and on our ability to achieve our social equity goals.

Voter decisions to be made in Monterey County in June, at the end of the debate and discussion now going on in Monterey County, will probably decide the future shape and character of growth in Monterey County at large. The enormously productive commercial agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley are under unrelenting pressure for development. That pressure is operating in the unincorporated areas, controlled by the Board of Supervisors (absent the adoption of a voter initiative, of course), and by cities (like the City of Greenfield), which seek to expand into the surrounding agricultural lands. It only takes about 40 years to transform an agricultural valley into an urban metropolis, as the experience of the Santa Clara Valley confirms.

There are, however, smaller scale land use issues inside the cities, and they’re important. Today, the Monterey City Planning Commission will discuss how smaller homes are being torn down for mini-castles. If you care about that kind of neighborhood transformation, check the links below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Monterey City Website
http://www.monterey.org/

Planning Commission Agenda for May 8, 2007 meeting
http://www.monterey.org/boards/planning/
agendas/2007/0508pctentative.pdf

In 2004, San Benito County voters considered Measure G, a fiercely fought ballot initiative that called for three important development restrictions:

• An annual limit on dwelling permits, capped at one percent, coupled with a transferable development credit system;
• The permanent down-zoning of agricultural land to require 20-acre and 160-acre minimums for building new structures; and
• Extensive restrictions for use of agricultural land.

After Measure G failed to pass, a group called Vision San Benito formed, to try to bring together residents across a full spectrum of community interests and opinions. The group has developed a set of common agreements, with the following being and important part of the list:

• A full range of housing options for all income levels and life situations;
• Keeping agriculture a sustainable part of the economy and landscape; and
• A vibrant, walkable city center with housing, jobs, cultural activities, parks, and open space.

Vision San Benito is now hoping to get some "feedback" from the broader community. One workshop to get feedback was held on April 26th, and another one is scheduled for tomorrow, May 5th, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Building in downtown Hollister. Tomorrow’s meeting will be held in Spanish. You can get more information on the KUSP website. Hay más informacion en www.kusp.org!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

This Land Use Report is based on a newspaper report from the Pinnacle News
http://www.pinnaclenews.com/news/
contentview.asp?c=212133