 |
Home | Issues & Actions | About |
Archive Page This page is available as an archive to previous versions of LandWatch websites. |
KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of April 28, 2008 to May 2, 2008
Week of April 28, 2008 to May 2, 2008
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 April 28, 2008 to May 2, 2008
- Monday, April 28, 2008
Different Approaches to Affordable Housing
- Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Certificates of Compliance
- Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Affordable Housing and Parks
- Thursday, May 1, 2008
May 3rd on Marks Ranch
- Friday, May 2, 2008
Join The Marina Planning Commission
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, April 28, 2008 Different Approaches to Affordable Housing |
 |
Last Thursday, I noted that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors would soon be making a decision on whether or not to provide a benefit to a couple of politically well-connected Monterey County development companies by removing a requirement that the developers provide price restricted affordable housing as part of a development located on Rogge Road. If any listener would like to testify on this matter, please note that the item is on the agenda for tomorrow’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting. It’s Item S-2 on the Board’s agenda, and if the Monterey County Board of Supervisors does what the Monterey County Planning Commission recommends, the Board will be eliminating a long term affordability requirement on 123 single-family units. In other affordable housing news, I’d like to draw your attention to an upcoming meeting in Santa Cruz, where elected officials seem to be more on the side of potential affordable housing purchasers, and relatively less interested in providing special benefits to developers. Tomorrow night, at 7:00 o’clock, the Santa Cruz City Council will hold a joint meeting with the City Planning Commission, to review "housing strategies." This study session on what the City can do to stimulate more affordable housing should be interesting. I encourage Santa Cruz listeners to attend. Both of these items are being heard tomorrow, and there is more information on both of them below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
|
|
| Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Certificates of Compliance |
|
"Certificates of Compliance" create new parcels of land (or at least that’s one way of looking at it) without requiring the landowner to go through the normal subdivision process. A decision to create a new parcel of real estate, and to make that new parcel separately salable, is one of the most important land use decisions that a local government can make. Once there is a new parcel, it can be sold, and built upon, and has what are popularly called "property rights." Prior to the creation of a new parcel, a landowner must get public approval for a division of land that would allow a particular development to proceed. Often, after a parcel is created, development is "ministerial" in character, and no further substantive public review is required. A state law, called the Subdivision Map Act, spells out the procedural and substantive requirements that must be met before a new parcel can be created. In order to avoid these requirements, landowners often see if they can make a claim that the parcels they want to create "already exist." If they can demonstrate that, they get a "Certificate of Compliance," and won’t need to get subdivision approval at all. Today, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is considering a Certificate of Compliance issue in the Aptos area, and the staff report outlines the issues very well. You can find a link to the agenda materials that the Board will consider below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
|
|
| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Affordable Housing and Parks |
|
The basic rule in Santa Cruz County is that new developments must pay their own way, and provide support for the public necessities that go along with the new development. Obviously, each new development increases the demand for transportation infrastructure, so new developments have to provide a fair share of the cost of future transportation improvements, or must actually construct those improvements as part of the development project. A similar rule applies with respect to parks. New residential developments increase the need for parks, so new developments must pay a "park dedication in-lieu fee" to support the ultimate construction of the needed park facilities. Up until now, however, the Board has made an exception for affordable ownership units, as a way to lower the cost of those affordable homes. The County staff is now recommending that the rules be changed, and that new affordable homes be required to pay a park dedication in-lieu fee, just as "market rate" units are required to do. The staff believes that monies available to support affordable housing can pay this cost, and note that there usually aren’t subsidy monies available for parks. If you want to be heard on this issue, mark your calendars for May 20th. That’s the date of a public hearing to consider a possible change to the County Code, to eliminate the current rule excusing affordable housing developers from having to pay a parks fee when they construct their new, affordable units. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
|
|
| Thursday, May 1, 2008 May 3rd on Marks Ranch |
|
I am particularly and sentimentally attached to a piece of Monterey County real estate called the "Marks Ranch," located along Highway 68 right next door to Toro Park. It’s a beautiful place, but I’m attached to it not only because it’s beautiful, but because it represents a successful grassroots effort to protect and preserve our natural environment. Think about Lighthouse Field in the City of Santa Cruz. It, too, is a beautiful piece of real estate, but I love it just as much because Lighthouse Field was saved from almost certain development by an active, involved, and passionately committed group of ordinary people. Grassroots community action made sure that the developers didn’t disregard what the public wanted, in pursuit of that persistent American Dream of more development, everywhere, and all the time. A grassroots community effort saved Lighthouse Field in 1974. A grassroots community effort saved the Marks Ranch in 2003. The Marks Ranch is now under the jurisdiction of one of Monterey County’s premier conservation organizations, the Big Sur Land Trust, and this Saturday, May 3rd, the Land Trust has invited the general public to explore the Marks Ranch. I can’t think of a nicer way to spend some time outdoors in this beautiful environment we are all so privileged to inhabit, here on the California Central Coast. For more information, check below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
|
|
| Friday, May 2, 2008 Join The Marina Planning Commission |
|
The City of Marina is now seeking interested persons to fill one seat on the Marina City Planning Commission, and one seat on the Marina Economic Development Commission. Applicants must be residents and registered voters of the City of Marina. If you’d like to apply, please take note that the filing deadline is 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 6th. Applications are available from the Office of the Marina City Clerk, located at 211 Hillcrest Avenue, Marina, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Interviews of those who apply will be conducted by an interview panel consisting of the Mayor and the City Council Member who serves as the Council liaison to the Commission. The Planning Commission is an advisory body to the City Council, and has a very important role to play in virtually all land use policy and project decisions. The Planning Commission regularly meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. The Economic Development Commission, which is focusing on downtown redevelopment, meets at 6:00 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Frequent listeners know that my "unhidden agenda" is to promote more public participation in the key land use policy decisions that will define and determine our future. If you are a Marina resident and voter, and are interested in land use policy, I urge you to explore a possible appointment to these Marina City Commissions, which have such an important role to play in the decision making process. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
|
|
Archives of past transcripts are available here
|
CONTACT 306 Capitol Street #101 PO Box 1876 Phone (831) 759-2824 Fax (831) 759-2825 |
|