Just before I stepped into the KUSP studios to record today’s Land Use Report, I happened to read a brief item in Sunday’s Monterey County Herald, which somewhat “preempted” the remarks I had already prepared.

The Herald’s “Rants and Raves” column gave a “Rave” review to Ben Kaatz, a Seaside resident who sued the City of Seaside, claiming that the City had not followed the law in approving the “Seaside Highlands” development. This development was built on land that was formerly part of Fort Ord, and that was transferred to Seaside at a bargain price. The area had hundreds of existing housing units that could have been used to meet the critical housing needs of working families on the Monterey Peninsula. Instead of maximizing such housing opportunities, however, the Seaside City Council made the land available to one of the nation’s largest private developers, and they tore down the existing housing to build upper income housing, with no requirement to provide affordable housing within the development.

Ben Kaatz thought that this was wrong, and at considerable expense and financial peril to himself, he sued. His lawsuit has now been settled, and the result is that Seaside will get one million dollars for its housing fund. As the Herald says, this “is a tiny fraction of what KB Home/Bakewell made by developing the property. It's a relative pittance, but better than nothing.”

Thank you, Ben Kaatz!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Monterey County Herald “Rave”
http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion/
ci_8511336?nclick_check=1

The Monterey Peninsula has had water supply problems for years, and how to solve those problems has been a subject of intense debate. One proposed solution was a new dam on the Carmel River, but I think it’s fair to say that this proposal has now been completely eliminated from further discussion. California American Water is currently promoting a new desalination plant at Moss Landing, as its preferred alternative.

Just to be clear, the new water supplies being looked for are not needed so much for new growth (though cities and the development community would definitely like to have some water for growth) but just to make up for a mandated reduction in the amount of water that is currently being taken from the Carmel River. An Order by the State Water Resources Control Board requires a reduction in pumping from the River of about 10,000 acre feet per year. That water needs to be made up by some other source.

Since the Moss Landing desalination proposal seems to be about as controversial as the former dam proposal, it’s nice to see that another set of options is gaining some traction. Working with the Public Utilities Commission, a “Regional Plenary Oversight Group” has come up with a menu that includes conservation, capturing stormwater, storing excess water in the Seaside aquifer, recycled water, diverting excess flows from the Salinas River, and desalinating intruded groundwater.

There is more information on the KUSP website.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

You can get an overview of the latest proposals in an article in the Carmel Pine Cone
http://www.pineconearchive.com/080307PCA.pdf

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/

Yesterday, concerned residents from North Monterey County made a good use of the Board’s “Public Comment” period, to bring to light a life-threatening failure of the County government process.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors has been generally positive towards development in North Monterey County. In an area known for traffic congestion, water shortages and fire danger, the Board has seldom met a proposed subdivision it didn’t approve. As it has approved new subdivisions, the Board has often imposed conditions intended to address the impacts that the new development will cause. Such conditions, however, are only as good as the enforcement of the conditions.

Yesterday, North County residents and property owners brought documents to the Board showing that required water storage tanks, intended to provide fire safety in the Pesante-Berta Ridge Area, have never been built. This is an area of extreme fire danger, and something like 180,000 gallons of water storage for fire safety is missing. What’s worse, County employees apparently knew that the required water storage was not being provided, but let the subdivisions go ahead anyway.

The Brown Act gives members of the public the very important right to complain about the failures of its local government. The real test is what the government officials do when they find out there’s a problem. I’ll keep you posted on what happens in this case!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

The Ralph M. Brown Act requires every public agency to offer a time on its agenda for members of the public to comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the agency being addressed. The Hollister City Council calls this agenda item “Petitions, Remonstrances And Communications.” The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors calls it “Oral Communications,” and in Monterey County, this item on the Board agenda is simply called “Public Comment.” Provisions of the Brown Act can be found Government Code Section 54950
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/
waisgate? WAISdocID=07789228244
+1+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

For more information on the fire danger issues in Berta Canyon, and the failure of the County staff to enforce permit conditions, please contact the Prunedale Neighbors Group at – Janmitchell77@hughes.net

Proposition 98, sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Association, with help from the Farm Bureau and mobilehome landlords, would radically cut back the ability of local and state government to regulate land use to achieve environmental protection and social equity objectives. For instance, Proposition 98 would essentially eliminate rent control. A link to an extensive analysis, prepared by Shute, Mihaly, and Weinberger, one of the state’s foremost environmental law firms, is available on the KUSP website.

Proposition 98 says that it would stop “abuses” of the power of eminent domain. Its real purpose, however, is actually to eliminate all sorts of valid governmental activities. If you’re interested in a more responsible effort to constrain the unjustified use of the eminent domain power, then Proposition 99 is probably what you’re looking for. The coalition opposing Proposition 98 is calling itself “No” on 98 / “Yes” on 99 Coalition. Again, there is more information on the KUSP website.

I will keep you posted on Propositions 98 and 99, as the June election date draws nearer. Meanwhile, here’s a brief summary from Shute, Mihaly, and Weinberger:

If the Initiative becomes law, there is a substantial risk … that it would … prevent the enforcement of many existing environmental regulations as well as the adoption of new laws and policies to protect the environment.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

“Yes” on Proposition 98 Website
http://yesonpropertyrights.com/

“No” on 98 / “Yes” on 99 Website
http://www.no98yes99.com/

League of California Cities
http://www.cacities.org/index.jsp?displaytype=11
&zone=locc&section=&sub_sec=&tert=&story=27077

California League of Conservation Voters
http://www.ecovote.org

Legislative Analyst’s Office Analysis
The Environmental Impacts of Proposition 98
http://www.cacities.org/index.jsp?displaytype=
11&zone=locc&section=&sub_sec=&tert=&story=27077

If you would like to get involved in the “No” on 98 / “Yes “ on 99 campaign, you can contact the regional organizer working in the Monterey Bay Area at dsessums@cacities.org; telephone: 831-429-6605.

If you’re interested in water supply issues in North Monterey County, mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 19th, the date tentatively set for a meeting to discuss water supply and water overdraft issues in the Granite Ridge Area. While the meeting is still tentative, it’s expected that Supervisor Lou Calcagno and Monterey County staff will discuss possible solutions to the current water supply crisis. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m., at the “Forum” at North Monterey County High School. Get more information by clicking on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website, and then tracking down the transcript to today’s Land Use Report.

Neighborhood activists have been seeking a meeting to focus on water issues in North Monterey County, where a number of property owners have found that the wells that they’ve depended on to supply their residential needs have gone dry. Obviously, new development in an area where existing groundwater supplies are not adequate makes a bad problem worse. I feel certain that development and land use policies will be on the agenda for this meeting, presuming that it does take place, but it’s also likely that various public works projects may be outlined, as a “solution” to the current problem caused by past approvals beyond the capacity of local resources.

One reason to try to make sure that new development isn’t approved unless there are adequate resources is that correcting a problem after it has developed is always expensive.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

To confirm that the March 19th meeting will, in fact, take place, and for more information, please contact the Prunedale Neighbors Group at Janmitchell77@hughes.net, or by telephone at: 831-663-3021