Tomorrow's election will have a big impact on land use policy. In the Presidential election, changing from a Republican to a Democratic Administration will make a huge difference. Under the current Republican Administration, federal agencies are working to remove or relax regulations that provide protection to the natural environment and public health. A vote for the Democratic candidate is a vote to change that. With respect to global warming, it is clear that the kind of legislation that Barack Obama will seek (requiring an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions) will absolutely necessitate fundamental land use policy reform. Land use policy changes might result from the less aggressive measures proposed by John McCain, but with a lot less certainty.

Candidate elections at the local level will also have a big impact. The Santa Cruz County First District Supervisorial race is a competition between a candidate who is heavily backed by developers, Betty Danner, and a candidate who places neighborhood protection at the top of his list. That's John Leopold. There is a business-backed slate in the City of Santa Cruz, making economic growth its highest priority, and the election of the Mayor in the City of Marina is also between an aggressive pro-development candidate (Gary Wilmot) and a candidate stressing neighborhood and environmental values, Bruce Delgado.

Tomorrow, I'll highlight some of the key ballot measures that will affect land use policy.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Voter information and election results can be obtained from the California Secretary of State
http://www.sos.ca.gov/

Today's election is critically important, including for the future of land use policy. If you're registered, you have until 8:00 p.m. to cast your ballot. If you don't know where to vote, I've provided links in the transcript for today's Land Use Report.

A number of state and local ballot measures will have a big impact on our land use future. If Monterey County Measure Z passes, it will provide ongoing funding for major new road projects in Monterey County, many of which will make possible the continued development of agricultural and open space lands. In the City of Santa Cruz, a proposed tax, Measure E, will provide ongoing funding for projects that provide water quality protection.

Proposition 1A, on the state ballot, would authorize borrowing $10 billion dollars to begin work on a High Speed Rail system. Unfortunately, there is no "business plan" that demonstrates how to get the rest of the money needed. It's a $50 billion dollar project. It's also unfortunate that the state agency overseeing the High Speed Rail project has selected an alignment that could result in lots of new sprawl development in the Central Valley.

Proposition 7 would increase the state's commitment to renewable energy, with associated land use impacts. Proposition 10, supposed to cut global warming emissions, would be a taxpayer subsidy to T. Boone Pickens, its biggest backer.

There is a lot at stake today. Please do vote!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Voter information and election results can be obtained from the California Secretary of State
http://www.sos.ca.gov/

Santa Cruz County Elections Website
http://www.votescount.com/nov08/

Monterey County Elections Website
http://montereycountyelections.us/

San Luis Obispo County Elections Website
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/clerk/elections.htm

California's gross agricultural product is about $30 billion dollars per year, and Monterey County produces about $3 billion dollars per year. So, Monterey County produces ten percent of California's gross agricultural income, yet has only about one percent of its commercial agricultural land. That makes Monterey County land about ten times more productive, economically speaking, than other agricultural land in California.

Given that, you would think that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors would do everything possible to protect the long-term future of commercial agriculture. Not so. Last week, the Board approved the construction of an airplane museum, coupled with a 150-room hotel and spa, an 80-space RV parking area, restaurants, two gas stations, and retail space. All of this will be on prime agricultural land, and will have a detrimental impact on adjacent agricultural operations. Real farmers came to the Board to protest, but the protests were dismissed. Instead, the Board listened to Don Chapin, a politically well-connected developer, who said that the Board's action was <quote> "what we need."

The Board also directed county housing staff to draw up an amendment that will make it easier to subdivide farmland into lots of 40 acres or more without paying affordable housing in-lieu fees. As such subdivisions occur, they will help speed the end of Salinas Valley agriculture. There's more on below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Salinas Californian article
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/
20081029/NEWS01/810290314/1002

Monterey Herald article
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/
ci_10843875?nclick_check=1

If land is located inside an incorporated city, a landowner usually must get permission from the city to develop or otherwise change the use of the land. For lands outside the boundaries of a city, the County Board of Supervisors has land use jurisdiction.

There is an exception to this general rule. School districts don't have to get land use approval for developments on lands they own, wherever located. This means, as a practical matter, that school districts can ignore land use planning designations. Land may be designated for agriculture, for instance, but if a school district wants to build a new school there, that designation doesn't stop it (even though the designation would make a project by a private developer impossible).

Clever landowners and developers often get schools to act as development "pioneers," going into open areas, and developing facilities there, so that then there is a much better argument for other development on adjacent lands.

That has recently happened in San Jose's Coyote Valley, where a politically influential developer has persuaded the Gavilan Community College District to buy some of the developer's land (at a supposedly discounted price) to build a new college campus. Of course, the landowner continues to own immediately adjacent lands, and development applications on those will undoubtedly be forthcoming if the Gavilan project does go ahead. There is more below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Article in Pinnacle News
http://www.pinnaclenews.com/news/
contentview.asp?c=249811

GPU 5, or the fifth version of a proposed General Plan Update for Monterey County, is now undergoing environmental review. The Board of Supervisors has directed staff to accelerate review of GPU 5, so that the current Board can vote on the plan before the end of 2008. County Supervisor Ila Mettee-McCutchon was defeated in her bid to continue on the Board, and she will be off the Board in January 2009. Since she has always been a reliable vote for the development lobby, they've worked hard to make sure that she, and not her successor, will cast the definitive vote.

It's unclear whether the Board's desires in this matter can be accommodated, in view of the need to do a full environmental review. Based on the latest Planning Commission meeting, here's the most likely schedule:

• On November 12th, staff will provide a summary of key issues to the Planning Commission, and the Commission will entertain oral and written comments on the Draft EIR.
  
  
• On November 18th, the comment period on the Draft EIR closes.
  
  
• On December 3rd, planning staff will be ready to begin accepting policy language suggestions from the Planning Commission.

Staff is giving the County's EIR consultants one month to complete the Final EIR, after the comment period is closed on the Draft EIR. This means that Board action on GPU 5 would have to occur sometime after December 18th.

How about a hearing on Christmas Eve?

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Monterey County General Plan Update Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/
planning/gpu/GPU_2007/gpu_2007.htm