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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of May 5, 2008 to May 9, 2008
Week of May 5, 2008 to May 9, 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 May 5, 2008 to May 9, 2008
- Monday, May 5, 2008
Land Use and Fire Protection
- Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Transportation Impact Fees
- Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Pajaro Valley Water Woes
- Thursday, May 8, 2008
The City General Plan: Parks and Recreation
- Friday, May 9, 2008
Eminent Domain: The Basics
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, May 5, 2008 Land Use and Fire Protection |
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Frequent listeners have heard about “LAFCO.” LAFCO stands for “Local Agency Formation Commission,” and the duties of LAFCO are spelled out in the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act. Dom Cortese, for whom the LAFCO law is partly named, was at one time a County Supervisor in Santa Clara County. The annexations carried out by San Jose, fueling the sprawl that ultimately consumed most of the agricultural land in the Santa Clara Valley, is one of the reasons we have a LAFCO law. Sprawling growth can have bad effects not only on the natural environment, but also on the ability of our local government agencies to provide good and cost effective services. The state legislature created LAFCOs to make sure that new governmental agencies make good fiscal and governmental sense, and that the expansion of existing agencies would make good sense, too. Because LAFCO decides whether cities and service districts should to expand or not, LAFCO has an important role to play in growth and development issues. But the “governmental formation” tasks assigned to LAFCO are also important. If you are a Bonny Doon resident, you should know that LAFCO will be discussing the possible creation of a Bonny Doon Fire Protection District, at its meeting to be held this coming Wednesday, May 7th. There is more information below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Transportation Impact Fees |
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Tonight, the Monterey City Council will be considering whether or not to impose fees on new development, to help pay for projects that will mitigate regional transportation impacts. The public hearing begins at 7:00 o’clock, and I’ve placed a link to the staff report discussing this matter in the transcript to today’s Land Use Report. The City Council of the City of Marina has scheduled a public hearing on this same topic on Tuesday, May 20th, at 6:30 p.m. The basic idea of the ordinances that will be considered not only by Monterey and Marina, but eventually by each city in Monterey County, is that new developments should actually help pay their own way. Each new development project, no matter where it’s located, ultimately has an impact on regional traffic congestion. Therefore, the idea is that each development, everywhere, should pay a regional traffic impact fee, and that the funds generated from these fees should be jointly administered. The plan is to spend the fees in a way that best solves regional problems, but that also treats each jurisdiction fairly. Imposing a fee on a development in Marina, to help fund a project in Salinas (as an example) is a pretty hard sell for an elected official in Marina. There’s been a lot of controversy about this scheme, and the hearings should be interesting. According to the Monterey City staff report, the fees are also being set at about half the amount recommended in the study that looked at this program initially. That’s something sure to make the developers happy. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Pajaro Valley Water Woes |
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On May 1st, the Watsonville Register Pajaronian ran a story about the remarks of Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, who came to Watsonville at the invitation of Santa Cruz County Supervisor Tony Campos. Garamendi has long ties to the Watsonville area, and gave local folks the benefit of his political judgment. In short, Garamendi thinks that people on both sides of the Pajaro River need to get together, instead of fighting, and they should be looking for a solution to their current water woes that relies on local sources, and local actions. In the past, the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency has proposed solving the groundwater overdraft problem in the Pajaro Valley by importing water from California’s Central Valley. As Garamendi noted, that solution is a “non-starter.” There isn’t enough water in the federal Central Valley Project, or in the State Water Project, to handle current demands for water in an environmentally sustainable way, and it certainly isn’t going to be possible for these massive water projects to start taking on new obligations. On May 20th, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider whether or not to declare a groundwater emergency in the Pajaro Valley, and to start doing something about the problem. Modifying the way agriculture uses water, for instance, is one obvious solution. If you’re interested in this issue, you might want to mark your calendars ahead. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, May 8, 2008 The City General Plan: Parks and Recreation |
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The Santa Cruz City Planning Commission will meet tonight in the Santa Cruz City Council Chambers, starting at 7:30. The purpose of the meeting is for the Planning Commission to review and discuss goals, policies and actions for the sections in the proposed new Santa Cruz City General Plan that relate to parks, recreation, open space, natural resources, and conservation. The City’s General Plan, once revised, will act as the “Constitution” for land use in the City of Santa Cruz. Every individual planning and zoning action will have to be consistent with the goals and policies spelled out in the General Plan document. If you care about the future of the City, and if you understand (as I hope you do) that the City General Plan is the most important policy document that will determine that future, you can see why the General Plan update process is so worthy of your attention. In Monterey County, a general plan update process has been underway since 1999, and while the length and acrimony of that process is not a model to be emulated, the Monterey County experience does convey one important lesson: the people of Monterey County pretty much understand that the general plan update is going to be critically important for their future, so people on all sides of almost every issue are deeply engaged. If you’re a City of Santa Cruz resident, now is a good time to get engaged in the City’s General Plan Update. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, May 9, 2008 Eminent Domain: The Basics |
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Eminent domain allows governmental agencies to “take” private property for public purposes. For instance, if a public agency wants to widen a road, and doesn’t already own enough right-of-way to make that possible, the agency will be allowed to “condemn” property along the road, using the power of eminent domain. The public can thus obtain the right-of-way necessary, even if the adjoining property owners don’t want to sell. Of course, if the public “takes” private property, using these eminent domain powers, the public must demonstrate that there is a public purpose for which the property is being taken. Public agencies must also pay full market value for whatever property they acquire. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as a matter of fact, specifically says that private property shall not be taken for public use, without “just compensation.” Starting June 2nd, in Santa Cruz, a court trial will determine exactly how much “just compensation” the San Lorenzo Valley Water District will have to pay to California American Water, in order to buy the Cal-Am water system in Felton. As a public agency, the Water District has the right to “take” Cal-Am’s system, but they do have to pay for it. Next week, I want to talk more about eminent domain, and get beyond the basics, particularly highlighting Propositions 98 and 99 on the June ballot! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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