The Watsonville City Council meets tomorrow, and one key question is who will take over as Mayor. The selection of a new Mayor will be made by the Council itself, during its evening session, starting at 6:30. I actually checked the Council agenda looking for an appeal of a Planning Commission action approving a new five-story hotel on Technology Drive, right off and visible from Highway One. The City Council is not going to be hearing this item tomorrow, so this is a “heads up” advisory. Look for it. The appeal is by the Coalition For Working Families of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, which claims that the City cannot properly approve a new hotel in that location without an Environmental Impact Report. How the Council deals with this issue is going to be pretty interesting, since promoting new economic growth is such an important issue for the City. Will the Council buy the idea that doing environmental review is always in conflict with concerns about economic development? As I say, this is a “heads up” advisory.

Today, the Santa Cruz County Environmental Coordinator is hearing an item relating to a proposed new Aptos Village Plan. “Heads up” on that one, too. It will be important for Aptos and mid-county residents to get involved, as this Aptos Village Plan proceeds through the process.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

City of Watsonville Website
http://www.ci.watsonville.ca.us/

Agenda Packet, November 17, 2009 Meeting
http://www.ci.watsonville.ca.us/agendas/111709/
CC_111709_Packet.pdf

Santa Cruz County Environmental Coordinator Meetings
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/planning/plnmeetings/ASP/
Display/ASPX/ArchiveIndex.aspx?MeetingType=7

The City of Marina always has lots going on in terms of planning and land use. Recently, the City has begun taking an interest in a proposed Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, first developed by the City in 2003 but never officially adopted or implemented. For residents who would like the City to start promoting bicycle and pedestrian options (one component of what is often called “smart growth” planning) this would be a good time to get involved. At the time the City prepared the Plan that is now being reexamined, planning policies in Marina were rather “pedestrian,” but not in a good way. That’s why the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan never got anywhere. The current City Council is probably ready to be more innovative, so your personal participation could well pay off. I’ve put links to some information below.

Here’s another Marina item to spark your interest, and to highlight one of the big problems with the Brown Act, which is supposed to keep the public informed about what its elected officials are doing. This evening, the Marina Coast Water District Board of Directors is scheduled to meet in a “closed session,” not open to the public, to discuss negotiations with Cal Am relating to the District’s desal plant. Marina residents and voters might want to ask their elected Water District Directors to bring those issues out of the back room, so everyone knows what’s going on.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

City of Marina Website
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/

Agenda, November 12, 2009 Joint Meeting
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/Archive.aspx?ADID=1897

Marina Coast Water District Website
http://www.mcwd.org/

Agenda, November 17, 2009 Meeting
http://www.mcwd.org/docs/agenda_minutes/11-17-2009Agenda.pdf

Attorney General’s Guide To The Brown Act
http://www.ag.ca.gov/publications/2003_Intro_BrownAct.pdf

Text of The Brown Act
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?
section=gov&group=54001-55000&file=54950-54963

City Attorneys from cities throughout California are burning up the Internet with discussions about this key question: where should dispensaries for medical marijuana be located? It turns out that this is a pretty controversial question in most places, and even in the City of Santa Cruz. If you are a City of Santa Cruz resident, and would like to get involved in the local discussion, I recommend that you set aside some time to attend a meeting of the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission, scheduled for tomorrow evening. A link to the agenda is found below.

The Planning Commission meeting tomorrow begins at 7:00 p.m., and the agenda notice says that the Commission will consider a proposed amendment to Title 24 of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code, and to the Local Coastal Implementation Plan, and to Title 6 of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code, to modify standards for Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and Personal Medical Marijuana Use. This will not be the last opportunity to weigh in on this subject, since the City Council will ultimately have to pass on proposed ordinance and Local Coastal Implementation Plan changes. However, if this is a topic you care about, you really should plan to attend the meeting tomorrow.

For those wanting to do a little research into the topic, I’ve provided links to various ordinances relating to marijuana either adopted by, or under consideration by, other cities throughout the state.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

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

Planning Commission Agenda
http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/Modules/
ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=10746

Chico (See Agenda Item 4.3)
http://www.ci.chico.ca.us/government/minutes_
agendas/documents/10-6-09AgendawithReports.pdf

City of San Mateo
http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx?NID=1757

County of San Mateo (See Chapter 5.148)
http://library2.municode.com/default-now/
home.htm?infobase=16029&doc_action=whatsnew

City of Santa Rosa
http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/doclib/agendas_packets_minutes/
city_council/Ordinances/20050405_CC_Ordinance3717.html

City of Malibu (See Chapter 17.22.040)
http://library2.municode.com/default-test/
home.htm?infobase=16468&doc_action=whatsnew

Here is good news for Santa Cruz City residents who would like to get more involved with their City government. I’m hoping that if it’s easier for listeners to find out what’s going on with respect to land use and planning that many of you will avail yourselves of the chance to be better informed, and that when you see what’s happening you’ll actually make time to get personally engaged. Self-government, of course, does only work if we get involved ourselves.

The City of Santa Cruz has a new website, which really makes it easy for you to be automatically informed of upcoming City actions. I’ve provided a link to the website below, but any browser will take you there, if you type in “City of Santa Cruz Government.”

Once on the website, locate the “I Want To…” tab at the right hand side of the “bar” that runs across the top of the ever-changing pretty pictures. Place your cursor on that tab, and you’ll see some further choices. One of the choices is “Sign up for.” One of the choices under “Sign up for” is “Sign up for eNotifications.” Punch that and you’ll be able to enter your email address to receive ongoing alerts to various meetings and other actions (including notices about meetings of the Planning Commission, the City Council, the Public Works Commission, the Water Commission, and so on).

Once you get the notices, read them! Then, as the Quakers say, take action, as you may feel moved to do.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

New City of Santa Cruz Website
http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/index.aspx?page=1

The proposed Los Osos Sewer Project, in San Luis Obispo County, has been in the works for something like thirty years. The main idea is that existing septic tanks would be replaced by a sewer system, connected to a sewage treatment plant, to make sure that discharges meet relevant state and federal water quality standards.

This all sounds great, but there are a few real problems hidden within what seems like a “no brainer” project. First, the proposed treatment plant would take thirty-eight acres of commercially viable farmland out of production. Second, construction will probably disturb or destroy Chumash artifacts. Third, there are questions about the sizing of the proposed new sewage treatment system. Will the new system simply replace the several hundred septic tanks in the area, or will it, in fact, be sized to open up a lot of new development opportunities? Finally, since financing for the project will demand new property tax assessments, will this project displace the average or below average income residents who now live in the Los Osos area, and who won’t be able to pay the increased charges, thus transforming this very desirable location into a new Mecca for upper income mega-mansions?

It’s not too late to get engaged. The project will be heard in January by the California Coastal Commission, which will be considering twenty-two appeals of the project’s approval by the Board of Supervisors.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

San Luis Obispo Tribune Article
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/919196.html