The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will be meeting tomorrow, starting at 8:30 in the morning, and item F-1 on the regular agenda has many important land use policy implications. Because San Luis Obispo County, like Santa Cruz County, makes its agenda materials available online, you can easily see what is going to be discussed, by reading the staff report that has been included in the Board's agenda packet.

Agenda item F-1 is clearly going to be at least somewhat controversial, and one of the tip-offs that this is true is that the staff does not make a specific recommendation. The item presents several specific recommendations from the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission, about how San Luis Obispo County's land use policies should treat agriculture, but instead of "picking a side," the staff report just advises that the Board should "determine…how it wishes to proceed."

At issue is whether there should be a stand alone "Agricultural Element" in the County General Plan, favored by the ag industry, but not recommended by the Planning Commission, and much more importantly, whether or not the County should revise its rules relating to "agricultural cluster projects," which the Planning Commission thinks have promoted the inappropriate subdivision of productive agricultural land.

If these topics interest you (and I hope they do) consider attending the Board meeting tomorrow! There is more information on the KUSP website.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://slocounty.granicus.com/AgendaViewer
.php?view_id=2&event_id=25

There's a Board of Supervisors meeting today in San Luis Obispo County, Monterey County, and Santa Cruz County. I've provided a reference to the agendas in the transcript of today's Land Use Report. Monterey County just provides a "listing" of the topics to be considered, but both San Luis Obispo County and Santa Cruz County make the full agenda packet available online.

As reported yesterday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will be making some very important decisions about the future of agricultural land in that county. Not too much seems to be happening in Monterey County, but the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors does have an interesting item on land use policy.

Item #33 on the agenda of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors proposes amendments to the County Code that will make it possible to subdivide land down to a ten-acre minimum parcel size, on properties located in county-designated earthquake hazard zones. Current County rules now require a minimum twenty-acre parcel size for new parcels created in such hazard zones.

The staff report says that the staff is "generally not supportive of these types of policy changes" since, "if used on a regular basis, [they] could … undermine the effectiveness of … hazard avoidance policies." If you'd like to know why the staff thinks this change is "ok," track down the agenda materials by clicking on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

San Luis Obispo County Board Agenda
http://slocounty.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?
view_id=2&event_id=25

Monterey County Board Agenda
http://monterey.granicus.com/
ViewPublisher.php?view_id=5

Santa Cruz County Board Agenda
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/
ASP/Display/SCCB_AgendaDisplayWeb.asp?
MeetingDate=8/26/2008

A major new development in the City of Los Gatos has received the official blessing of the Los Gatos City Council. A group called "Friends of the Hillsides," however, has filed a court challenge, and if that court challenge is successful, the story of this proposed development project may have additional chapters. If you'd like to get some basic information on the controversy you can visit the website of Friends of the Hillsides. I've placed a link to the website in the transcript of today's Land Use Report.

You might also want to pay a visit, this evening, to the Los Gatos City Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will be meeting in the Town Council Chambers, at 110 East Main Street in Los Gatos, starting at 7:00 p.m. It's my understanding that Friends of the Hillsides is urging residents and other interested persons to appear during the Planning Commission's "Verbal Communications" period, to voice their concerns about the proposed project.

Usually, it's too late to speak out once a project has been approved, and yet people often only find out about important land use decisions after they've already been made. If the so-called "DeSantis project," located at Kennedy and Forrester Roads, does come back for further review, after a successful court challenge, there will be another opportunity to get involved. If you're a Los Gatos resident who cares about hillside protection in this immensely picturesque city, then think about heading to the Planning Commission meeting this evening.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

City of Los Gatos Website
http://www.town.los-gatos.ca.us/

Friends of the Hillsides Website
http://www.friendsofthehillsides.org

Agenda, Los Gatos Planning Commission
http://losgatos.granicus.com/AgendaViewer
.php?view_id=2&event_id=50

Columbia is the South American country probably best known here as the likely source of most of the cocaine that gets imported, illegally, into the United States. Its capital city, Bogota, however, does have some land use lessons to teach us!

Enrique Peñalosa served as the Mayor of Bogota from 1998 through 2001, and he made sustainable planning the focus of his work. He led a massive effort to improve the conditions of Bogota's neighborhoods, always with very significant citizen involvement. His Administration created a successful Urban Land Reform institution, called Metrovivienda, which works as a land bank, and builds affordable housing in a public-private partnership system. It also created a new and highly successful bus-based transit system, based on exclusive corridors and high capacity buses. It also initiated the construction of bicycle paths. The number of bicycle riders increased from .3 percent of the population in 1998 to 4.4 percent in 2003. Mayor Peñalosa's Administration planted more than 100,000 trees and built or rebuilt more than 1,000 parks. It has promoted a transportation system that progressively restricts private car use, especially during peak hours.

Check out the links to this ambitious and very successful sustainable planning effort by clicking on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Bogota Mayor Enrique Peñalosa
http://www.planning.org/lenfant/aboutpenalosa.htm

You Tube Presentations on sustainable planning in Bogota

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
   v=0j3FVPeTwoU&feature=related
   
   
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
   v=p_7N2ajOYYw&feature=related
   
   
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
   v=zUSg7br5sLU&feature=related

Because this Land Use Report is pre-recorded it may be out of date, even before it's heard. Maybe, on this Friday morning, there will have been some clear resolution to one of the big debates that has been going on in the State Capital about water policy. If so, forgive me for delivering "old news." But I'm kind of betting that the State Legislature and the Governor will not yet have come together on the very controversial proposal to put a "water bond" on the November ballot.

Here's a quick summary: Governor Schwarzenegger and United States Senator Dianne Feinstein (and virtually every Republican member of the State Legislature) want to put a bond issue on the ballot that will authorize the State to borrow $9.2 billion dollars to build new dams and other water storage and delivery facilities. A coalition of environmental and environmental justice organizations is attempting to head off this proposal, which they believe would not actually solve California's admittedly significant water supply and water delivery problems. Bond opponents say there should be "policy before plumbing."

Unfortunately, there has been little willingness on the part of the Governor and the Republicans to work "with" bond critics, which usually means "deadlock." Since the water bond approval has now been linked to the state budget, however, the Governor may be successful in jamming his "let's spend billions for new dams" idea through the Legislature. You can get more detailed information on the KUSP website.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

L.A. Times article
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/
2008/08/environmental-g.html

California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/
2008/08/community_group.html

PCL Action Alert on Water Bond
http://www.pcl.org/legislation/wastefulwaterbond.html

The "Ten Principles" advocated by a broad coalition of environmental and environmental justice groups can be accessed through the PCL website, as referenced above.