In a previous Land Use Report, I alerted listeners to a meeting held last Tuesday in Prunedale. I billed this meeting as an opportunity to find out more about the disposal of toxic materials in the Crazy Horse Landfill, and the meeting did provide an opportunity to explore that topic. The focus of the meeting, however (something I didn’t really make clear) was a proposed new ordinance that would establish a “buffer zone” around landfills. The ordinance would have impacts far beyond Prunedale, which means that residents of other parts of Monterey County might want to pay attention.

If you are interested in this topic, consider attending a public meeting tomorrow, at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds. The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m., and will be held in the Orradre Building, 625 Division Street in King City. I have more information as part of the transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

The proposed buffer zone ordinance is being considered because landfills can pose very significant public health dangers. The migration of methane gas and the contamination of groundwater aquifers with toxics are just two of the most important. A big issue is how far the “set back” from an existing landfill should be. The proposed ordinance says 2,500 feet for some existing landfills, and only 1,000 feet for others. The buffer zone would prevent new development within the setback area, so if you have property near a landfill, you could be directly affected.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Buffer Zone Ordinance Workshop Notice
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/health/Publications/
pressReleases/Feb08WorkshopNotice.pdf

Monterey Herald article on Prunedale meeting held February 19th: “Residents Cry Foul Over Dump”
http://www.montereyherald.com/search/
ci_8314539?nclick_check=1

Detailed information on the proposed Buffer Zone Ordinance
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/major/
Landfill%20Buffer%20Zone/landfill_main.htm

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it.” Haven’t we all heard that little bromide a hundred times or more? Nowadays, of course, it’s pretty clear that we’re all doing something about the weather, and that what we’re doing isn’t very good. Global warming is the consuming public policy and environmental issue of our time, and it’s obvious that we have to go beyond “talking about it,” to “doing something about it.”

The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 does pledge the State of California to “do something about” global warming, but it has delegated the real work to the State Air Resources Board, which isn’t actually supposed to impose any new regulations until about 2012. Individuals are left to the job of checking their tire pressure and changing out their lightbulbs. Well, maybe we could start trying to change our behavior patterns, too, and that has land use implications. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, stop all that commuting. You may have noticed that while I’m still working for the Planning and Conservation League (which is based in Sacramento), I’m now working, personally, out of Santa Cruz, which is at least a small step in the right direction for me.

There is another arena for action, beyond the large state bureaucracy and the individual effort. It’s called community action. State Attorney General Jerry Brown has launched an ambitious new program to get our communities on the right track. The Planning and Conservation League has a companion program. Find out more below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

“Everybody talks about the weather….” Who said it?
http://healthvsmedicine.blogspot.com/2007/
01/everybody-talks-about-weather-but.html

The Attorney General’s global warming website
http://ag.ca.gov/globalwarming/

Environment News Service article on the Attorney General’s global warming workshops for local officials
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/
feb2008/2008-02-20-091.asp

San Jose Mercury News article on local reactions to Attorney General’s global warming efforts
http://www.mercurynews.com/
ci_8302327?nclick_check=1

Planning and Conservation League Local Climate Action Initiative workshops for citizen activists
http://www.pcl.org/projects/localclimateaction.html

An important meeting is taking place today at the UC MBEST Center in Marina. The meeting is being held under the auspices of the Division of Ratepayer Advocates of the California Public Utilities Commission. It begins at 9:30 this morning. If you were casting about for something interesting to do this morning, taking in this meeting might be instructive.

The group meeting is the “Regional Plenary Oversight Group” of what is being called the “Monterey Regional Water Supply Reliability Collaboration.” In essence, the major players in water supply and delivery are attempting to find the best way to provide adequate water for current and future residents of the Monterey Peninsula. They’re doing this in the context of an Order from the State Water Resources Control Board that tells California-American Water, the Peninsula’s major water supplier, to reduce its diversions from the Carmel River. The Order was issued long ago, and the Board is running out of patience. One solution, a mammoth desalination plant, has lots of problems, including some potential land use and growth-inducing implications.

So, “what’s a community to do?” The “Water Supply Reliability Collaboration” is trying to find a positive and cost-effective solution. They’re being aided by the UCSC Center for Integrated Water Research, which I mentioned on this Land Use Report a week ago. Again, the meeting this morning would be well worth attending.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

California PUC Website
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/

Monterey Regional Water Supply Reliability Dialogue
http://urbanwater.ucsc.edu/monterey/

DRAFT Regional Water Supply Plan
http://urbanwater.ucsc.edu/monterey/
supply/index.html

Center For Integrated Water Research
http://ciwr.ucsc.edu/

Sentinel “Coastlines” Notice
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com//ci_8248153

One good reason to get involved with land use policy and land use project-level decisions is simple “self-interest.” There are those who are motivated to get involved for reasons that go beyond “self-interest,” and that’s definitely to be encouraged. However, it’s not only the crusaders for environmental protection, or environmental justice, who need to pay attention to local land use.

The land use policy and project-level decisions made by local government will profoundly affect things that will have an impact on each one of us, personally. Do you care about traffic congestion? Do you care about air pollution; for instance, do your kids have asthma? Do you want to protect your property value? Do you want your city to be able to continue to provide the necessary level of public services (like parks programs and law enforcement)? Do you want new commercial uses located nearby? These are not, really, only “public policy” questions. The land use decisions made by local officials will directly determine what happens in our communities, and that will have an impact on things we care about deeply, from a purely “self-interest” perspective.

If you live in Marina, you should think about getting personally involved in the decision-making on the proposed “Marina Station” development. Final decisions will be made soon. You might also want to consider applying for appointment to the Marina Public Works Commission. There’s a vacant seat.

More information can be found below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Salinas Californian article on Marina Station
http://www.californianonline.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802210303

Marina City Website
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/

Marina Station documents
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/
depecon1xMarinaStation.htm

For more information on the Marina Public Works Commission vacancy contact Toula Hubbard, Deputy City Clerk at thubbard@ci.marina.ca.us, or by telephone at: 831-884-1236.
Information on appointments procedure and Commission Application Form
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/commision1.htm

As KUSP listeners probably know, students have instituted a “tree sitting” protest on the UCSC Campus, and the protest is all about a land use policy issue. Amazing! Listeners probably also know that the UCSC Administration is trying to “crack down” on the protest, and is doing so not only directly, but by filing a lawsuit against certain faculty, and staff, and community members who have provided food or other support to the “tree sit” protesters.

I went to college in the 1960’s, and I got used to the idea that student protests were a pretty good thing. They tended, among their other impacts, to teach a lesson that the classroom often couldn’t provide: personal commitment and involvement, particularly when it’s personally risky, can make a difference in the world. My sense is that we need more, not less, of that kind of personal commitment, and that we should be fostering, not extinguishing, the educational experiences that lead to it.

The bureaucracies that govern in our name often don’t reflect our deepest aspirations; nor do they always consider ways to do things that might not be as “easy,” but that might be “better.” A protest that tries to highlight this, in the context of the land use decisions being made by the most influential and least publicly accountable institution in Santa Cruz County, is well within the protest tradition.

To find about a new group that is helping to support those who have been supporting the protesters, see below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Friends of Flora and Fauna
http://friendsflorafauna.org

Donations can be sent to:
Friends of Flora and Fauna
Box 4281
Santa Cruz, CA 95063