An Election Day article in the Salinas Californian announced that the City of Salinas has received a $25,000 grant to help the City find ways to involve more city residents in important policy decisions. There's a link to the article in the transcript for today's Report.

Several years ago, I worked in Salinas as the Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County, a nonprofit organization that promotes and inspires sound land use policies through grassroots community action. LandWatch, in other words, was (and actually still is) directly engaged in efforts to involve more city residents in the important land use policy decisions that will shape their future.

Here's a lesson learned at LandWatch, which I'm happy to pass along for free: If people believe that their actions will make a difference, they'll definitely get involved. Our next President calls this "Change We Can Believe In." Millions of Americans, including lots of Salinas residents, hope that what happened on November 4th will produce real and visible changes in our country. If it turns out that our political efforts have made a difference, I guarantee that people will start getting ever more involved in important public policy decision making.

So here's my advice to the Salinas City Council: remember the law of supply and demand. When your constituents demand something, try supplying it! That's how you get more involvement.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Salinas Californian Article
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/
20081104/NEWS01/811040306/1002

LandWatch Website
http://www.landwatch.org.

The law of "supply and demand" does work in the context of public policy, and this is the genius of American democracy. Our political system provides an opportunity (and an "opportunity" only; not a "guarantee") for our personal involvement to make a difference in our lives.

One problem is that we're all busy! People simply don't have such an abundance of time and money that they can be persuaded to get involved in activities that they don't think will make an actual difference. The fact that our national government has been disregarding what most of the people of the United States want, has had an extremely discouraging effect on political participation. Lower income people, people of color, and young people have been particularly "turned off" by a national administration that has used the power of the many to benefit the few.

President-Elect Obama was able to convince people that true change is, in fact, possible. And when we believe we can make a difference, then we do get involved, and that is, in fact, how real change is accomplished.

In the Central Coast, grassroots efforts also produced a "change we can believe in." John Leopold, new Supervisor in Santa Cruz County's First Supervisorial District, and the new Mayor of Marina, Bruce Delgado, should be complimented on their ability to promote and inspire the kind of political engagement that gives us an opportunity to turn our ship on a new course.

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

Tomorrow, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission is going to consider a request by Paul Viborg. Mr. Viborg is asking the County to allow him to continue to operate a concrete and asphalt recycling facility on North River Road, about one-half mile from Paso Robles. Operations include on-site sorting and stockpiling of sand, gravel, concrete and asphalt, a portable rock and recycling crusher, and trucking scales. Mr. Viborg apparently has a vested right to operate a sand and gravel mine; however, beginning in 1995, he has changed his business, and because concrete and asphalt recycling is now the primary use on the site, Mr. Viborg is required to meet County permitting requirements. According to the County's Environmental Coordinator, there is no substantial evidence that the concrete and asphalt recycling operation may have a significant impact on the environment; therefore, the County is not proposing to prepare an Environmental Impact Report.

Many landowners find it more convenient to ask forgiveness, rather than asking permission, when they want to do some new thing with their land. If you think that this operation might have some impacts you care about, you can get more information on tomorrow's meeting below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Agenda for the November 13, 2008 Planning Commission Meeting
http://slocounty.granicus.com/
AgendaViewer.php?view_id=3&event_id=47

The Viborg application is Agenda Item #7. You can get a link to the staff report from the Commission's Agenda.

It would be hard to overstate how important Al Gore's film, an "Inconvenient Truth," has been in building awareness of the global warming crisis. However, I'm beginning to think that this title might be sending the wrong signal. Our challenge is not simply to deal with an "inconvenience." Global warming puts world civilizations at risk. We are in an incredibly dangerous situation. A lesser known film about the climate crisis, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, is entitled "The 11th Hour." The sense of urgency contained in that title is perhaps closer to the mark than a title that suggests that global warming is merely "inconvenient."

The California Air Resources Board will soon hold public hearings on a proposed "Scoping Plan," outlining how California will attempt to deal with global warming. To my mind, the currently proposed Scoping Plan seems to indicate that everything can go chugging right along, pretty much, and that we can, for instance, make the very significant reductions in greenhouse gases that we need to make without a mandated and fundamental change in our land use system and our use of energy. Looking at the numbers, I think it's clear that the future of human civilization depends on prompt and dramatic actions to reduce the use of automobiles, and to stop building any new fossil-fueled power plants.

You can get more information on the Scoping Plan, and find out how to participate, by tracking down the transcript of today's Land Use Report.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Air Resources Board Climate Change Website
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cc.htm

Attorney General's Global Warming Website
http://ag.ca.gov/globalwarming/

Film Website, "An Inconvenient Truth"
http://www.climatecrisis.net/aboutthefilm/

Film Website, "11th Hour"
http://wip.warnerbros.com/11thhour/mainsite/site.html

Residents of the City of Santa Cruz will soon have the chance to become personally engaged in a very significant land use planning process, and I'd like to give you lots of advance notice of this important public participation opportunity, so you can mark your calendars.

On Tuesday evening, December 2nd, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at the Louden Nelson Community Center, City staff will hold a community participation workshop to plan for the revitalization of the Lower Pacific Avenue Area, and to spur redevelopment along the west side of the San Lorenzo River, south of Highway One. The upcoming workshop is part of "Phase II" of this planning effort. "Phase I" involved information collection and analysis, and was completed during the past summer, with a presentation having been made to the City Planning Commission on July 31st.

After the December 2nd community workshop, which will explore various possibilities for development within the study area, the City staff will oversee the preparation of a "preferred concept." It is anticipated that the preferred concept will be completed in February 2009, and that this concept will then become part of the City's new General Plan, and implemented in a "Phase III."

The recent city elections helped stimulate discussion about what the environmental and economic future of the City should be. If you care about this topic, please do mark your calendar for the workshop on December 2nd.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

City of Santa Cruz Website
http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/.

More information on this planning effort is currently available through the City's Home Page.