I have a kind of “rule of thumb” I use to evaluate how sensitive to the importance of thoughtful land use planning any particular local government might be. If a local government takes a great deal of care before allowing even the smallest subdivision of land, I think that shows the local government has a proper appreciation of the importance of land use decisions. In fact, small decisions do “add up” to what can sometimes be a very significant public problem. On the other hand, if the local government gives approval for what are often called “minor subdivisions” in a rather “routine” manner, my experience is that this indicates that the local government doesn’t really take land use planning very seriously.

I don’t think I’ve ever read about, or heard, of anyone else proposing this as a kind of “indicator test” for local government, and as a way to ascertain whether any particular local government is serious, or not, about land use policy. Like any “rule of thumb,” there must be many exceptions to the “rule.” However, I give you this “rule of thumb,” for your consideration, so you can think about it as you follow what your local city or county government is doing about land use. The fact that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved a two-split last Tuesday on its Consent Agenda, in an area of the County that is experiencing both groundwater overdraft and significant traffic problems, is what made me think of talking about this idea.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htm

The item from the March 25, 2008 Agenda:
Consent Agenda: 39. a. Accept the Parcel Map to allow a minor subdivision to divide the 2.87 acre parcel into two (2) parcels of 1.40 and 1.47 acres respectively; b.   Accept the Parcel Guarantee and Tax Report from the Tax Collector; and c.   Direct the Clerk to the Board to submit the Parcel Map to the County Recorder for filing. (PLN060643/ Rocha/Ortiz, 333 Hall Road, Watsonville, North County Land Use Plan).

A discussion about the transportation future of the Monterey Bay Area will take place tomorrow, April 2nd, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the California State University, Monterey Bay Alumni and Visitors Center. Space is limited, and you’ll need to RSVP. Lunch is provided, but there’s a charge to attend. You can get all the information you need by tracking down the written transcript for today’s Land Use Report on the KUSP website. Tomorrow’s forum is sponsored by the Tri-County Community Leadership Alumni Association.

Whether you decide to participate in tomorrow’s meeting, or not, I do encourage you to start thinking about “How Will We Get There From Here?,” which is the title given to the forum being held tomorrow. Most conventionally, we think that “transportation” means making it easier for cars to get around. That’s how we “get there from here.” There are some alternative ways to organize our world, and our thinking. One way, clearly, is to make the “there” we have to get to a lot closer to the “here.” Then, if it’s not that far away, we could actually choose to walk. Or use our bike (presuming that we’ve made some better arrangements for those extremely efficient people movers). We could even think about rail alternatives. Certainly that could work in Santa Cruz County, though only if we changed how we organize ourselves, somewhat.

Transportation policy and land use policy do go together. So think about that!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

RSVP to 831-649-8252. It costs $15 to attend this event.
Informational notice from the Salinas Californian
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20080322/BUSINESS/
803220312&template=printart

CSUMB Campus Maps
http://csumb.edu/site/x12183.xml

In a shootout, Clint Eastwood wins. Or, at least, that’s how it goes in the movies! Recently, however, Clint got “terminated” by the “Terminator.” With no advance notice, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger summarily refused to reappoint Eastwood and the Governor’s own brother-in-law, Bobby Shriver, to the California State Park and Recreation Commission.

This unexpected action has been read as a “payback” by the Governor for the refusal of Eastwood and Shriver to vote for the Governor’s plan to bulldoze a major new freeway through the middle of San Onofre State Beach. The State Coastal Commission, by the way, after a hearing in which over 3,500 persons participated, also rejected that idea, and saved the Park.

Despite the stories about “payback,” I think that the Governor may well have been looking “ahead,” and not “behind,” as he terminated Eastwood and Shriver. The Governor is an ardent advocate of placing a massive new power transmission corridor through the middle of Anza Borrego State Park. The State Senate opposes that plan, but these new vacancies on the Park Commission may allow the Governor to engineer an approval of the power line later this Fall, when the State Legislature is out of session. This would be a benefit to San Diego Gas & Electric Company, which seems to be trading on Schwarzenegger’s tight association with former Governor Pete Wilson. There is information on the power line proposal below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

State Park and Recreation Commission Website
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=843

San Francisco Chronicle stories about removal of Eastwood and Shriver from the State Parks Commission
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/
n/a/2008/03/20/national/a161528D08.DTL&hw=
eastwood+governor+in+law&sn=001&sc=1000

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/
a/2008/03/20/state/n122644D17.DTL&hw=
eastwood+governor+in+law&sn=002&sc=870

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/
c/a/2008/03/19/BAU1VM6QC.DTL&hw=
eastwood+governor+in+law&sn=003&sc=697

Mercury News story about removal of Eastwood and Shriver
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8669421?nclick_check=1

Sacramento Bee Editorial on removal of Eastwood and Shriver
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/803838.html

Information on Sunrise Powerlink (PUC)
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/
aspen/sunrise/sunrise.htm

Information on Sunrise Powerlink (SDG&E)
http://www.sdge.com/sunrisepowerlink/index.html

Information on Sunrise Powerlink (Sierra Club)
http://sandiego.sierraclub.org/northcounty/Sunrise.asp

Information on Sunrise Powerlink (CBD)
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/
PROGRAMS/sprawl/sunrise-powerlink.html

Anza Borrego State Park
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638

Notice in Salinas Californian
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll
/article?AID=/20080321/NEWS01/80321004/1002/rss

I had a nice experience about a week or so ago, as I visited Coyote Valley with a group of students from De Anza College. Over the past year or so, about thirty students, participating in an “environmental stewardship” program, have been documenting wildlife movements on and across Coyote Valley. Remember, Coyote Valley is supposed to be the next big “growth area” for the expansion of the City of San Jose. About five years ago, Cisco Systems targeted Coyote Valley for a massive industrial park, and most recently, landowners and developers have been studying other alternatives. In every case, a currently undeveloped and agricultural area would be transformed into a dense urban center.

But maybe not! The De Anza stewardship group is finding a lot of reasons to rethink the current urban development plan. Using infrared cameras, GPS units, and scientifically supported wildlife tracking techniques, students have begun to document the Coyote Valley as an ecological treasure. Inhabitants include at least 132 different species of birds (all seen within the last couple of months), mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, badgers, deer, and other wildlife. It turns out that Coyote Valley is a critical wildlife corridor providing connectivity for many species between the Diablo Range (or the inner coastal range) and the Santa Cruz Mountains (or the outer coastal range).

The future of Coyote Valley may need to be rethought!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

City of San Jose Plans for Coyote Valley
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/coyotevalley/

Environmental Studies at De Anza College
http://www.deanza.fhda.edu/es/

I have been giving you periodic updates on one of the most important bills affecting land use policy now pending in the California State Legislature. The bill I’m referring to is Senate Bill 375, authored by State Senator Darrell Steinberg. Senator Steinberg is slated to take over leadership of the State Senate as President pro Tem. He currently serves as Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

The basic idea of Senate Bill 375 is that our regional transportation planning efforts should somehow stimulate better land use planning. As you’ll recall, I often remark that land use planning and transportation planning should go together. Senate Bill 375 suggests that this should happen in real life, not just theoretically. While it’s “voluntary” in its approach, the premise of the legislation is that the state should not be providing funding for transportation projects to any local government that hasn’t found a way to make its land use plan include “smart growth” principles, which can be demonstrated to reduce VMT, or vehicle miles traveled.

To get “up to the minute” information on what’s happening with SB 375, you can actually “subscribe” to an email alert system that will advise you of every change that’s made, and of every upcoming hearing. If you’re interested in doing a little research, check out the the links below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Darrell Steinberg Website
http://dist06.casen.govoffice.com/

Information on SB 375
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?
bill_number=sb_375&sess=CUR&house=B&author=steinberg

The Leginfo Website
www.leginfo.ca.gov

You can “subscribe” to a bill by finding the bill on the “Leginfo” system, and then pushing the “subscribe” button at the bottom of the page. To subscribe to SB 375, use the bill link listed above.