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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of June 25, 2007 to June 29, 2007
Week of June 25, 2007 to June 29, 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 June 25, 2007 to June 29, 2007
- Monday, June 25, 2007
The Energy Commission and Land Use
- Tuesday, June 26, 2007
A Toll Road Through A State Park?
- Wednesday, June 27, 2007
AMBAG Community Planning Forum
- Thursday, June 28, 2007
Tuesday in Arroyo Grande
- Friday, June 29, 2007
SB 303 and SB 375 – Two Ways To Get To The City
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, June 25, 2007 The Energy Commission and Land Use |
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As required by state law, the California Energy Commission publishes a report, every two years, which they call the “Integrated Energy Policy Report.” The Commission is going to be holding a workshop session in Sacramento, tomorrow, to hear from various experts, in connection with their preparation of the 2007 report. What I think is most interesting is the Energy Commission’s explicit inclusion of experts in land use and planning on the panels that the Commission will be hearing from tomorrow. Also important is the fact that last year the Energy Commission published a stand-alone “Update” to the 2005 Report, which focused specifically on the relationship between energy and land use. Before last year, the Energy Commission did not specifically review land use issues as they surveyed the overall framework of our state energy policy. A big change has taken place. If you’d like references to the Commission’s Integrated Energy Policy Report, and workshop notices, you can find them by clicking on the Land Use Report link on the KUSP website. Most interesting is the 2006 Update, which spells out in significant detail how land use affects our ability to meet the state’s energy needs. The Update also notes that we need to do a better job of thinking about the energy implications of our land use decisions.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, June 26, 2007 A Toll Road Through A State Park? |
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The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is meeting today, and their agenda, available through the County’s website, shows that they are focused mainly on issues of direct relevance to Santa Cruz County government. That’s as it ought to be, and as you might expect. However, the Board of Supervisors does sometimes gets involved with state or national issues that don’t seem (at least at first glance) to have much direct impact on Santa Cruz County. People sometimes complain about that, but I have always felt that our locally elected representatives act quite properly when they amplify our local voice in other governmental arenas. State and federal actions do affect our local community, so I’m glad that Santa Cruz County officials are paying attention, and weighing in on our behalf. To provide a specific example, I was delighted to find that Supervisors Campos and Coonerty have put an item on the Board’s agenda today that asks the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to take a stand against a road proposal pending in Orange County. Does this seem far afield to you? Well, the proposal is to put a toll road through San Onofre State Park, bad in itself, and a terrible precedent for Santa Cruz County, if this technique becomes common. How about a Highway One to Highway 9 connector, right through Big Basin? Find out more below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, June 27, 2007 AMBAG Community Planning Forum |
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AMBAG, or the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, is not the best known of our local governmental agencies, but its impact on air quality, transportation, and other issues in the region including Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties is quite significant. You can find out more about AMBAG by clicking on the links below. One item of interest is the 9th Annual Community Planning Forum, hosted by AMBAG, which will take place tomorrow at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. The Forum will begin at 9:00 a.m., and continue till 12:30, and you can probably still register to attend. This year, AMBAG’s Community Planning Forum is entitled “Climate Action Plans – Strategies for Local Government.” The State Air Resources Board, charged with implementing AB 32, the “Global Warming Solutions Act,” will be represented by James Goldstene, whom I’ve heard speak in Sacramento. Dr. Christopher Potter, from NASA, is the keynote speaker, and the conference wraps up with a presentation by PG&E. In the middle, a couple of panels will include presentations by representatives of ICLEI, which was founded in 1990 as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. I’d encourage your attendance. And bring up land use! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, June 28, 2007 Tuesday in Arroyo Grande |
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The City of Arroyo Grande is located on the coast, about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, in San Luis Obispo County. The City is 5.45 square miles in area, with a population of something like 17,000 people. On Tuesday, June 26th, the City Council held a public hearing to consider entering into an “exclusive negotiating agreement” with a group called “South Valley Developers,” for purchase and hotel development of a parcel owned by the City’s Redevelopment Agency, and located immediately adjacent to the Highway 101 freeway. You can get more information by clicking on the links below. Residents of Arroyo Grande, of course, have a very direct stake in what ultimately happens on the property, which is currently owned by the public. Others might like to examine the relevant documents to understand how local governments attempt to stimulate certain kinds of economic development which they believe will have local benefits. In this case, the proposed hotel development would advance a redevelopment plan that was initially adopted more than ten years ago. The “myth” is that community development takes place as private property owners make decisions to build and develop, and that local government sometimes just “gets in the way.” Here’s proof of the opposite case: the local government is in fact driving the economic development plan. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, June 29, 2007 SB 303 and SB 375 – Two Ways To Get To The City |
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SB 303, by State Senator Denise Ducheny, and SB 375, by State Senator Darrell Steinberg, will soon be heard in the Assembly Local Government Committee, chaired by Salinas-area Assembly Member Anna Caballero. Both bills seek to make significant changes to state land use and planning laws, and have some commonality, though they come from different directions. SB 303 is sponsored by the California Major Builders Council. SB 375 is sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council, and by the California League of Conservation Voters. SB 303 is intended to prevent local communities from “downzoning” properties in response to development proposals, thus increasing densities urban areas. SB 375 would encourage more compact development, promoting higher densities in “infill” areas, and discouraging development in “greenfield” areas. Both bills promote the idea (from their different perspectives) of higher density development in “infill” locations. “Sprawl” can be defined as low-density development on “greenfields,” outside of existing urban areas. Both these bills, in other words, with very different sponsors, and coming from different directions, espouse the “smart growth” principle: let’s build at higher densities in “infill” areas! There is more information below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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