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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of May 24, 2010 to May 28, 2010
Week of May 24, 2010 to May 28, 2010
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 24, 2010 to May 28, 2010
- Monday, May 24, 2010
The Monterey County LAFCO
- Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The City of Santa Cruz And Water Use Efficiency
- Wednesday, May 26, 2010
“Full Moon Hike” On The Marks Ranch
- Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Watsonville General Plan
- Friday, May 28, 2010
GPU #5 In Monterey County
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 24, 2010 The Monterey County LAFCO |
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The Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission (or LAFCO) is meeting this afternoon. Among other things, LAFCO will be saying “goodbye” to one of its past members, and welcoming a new member. LAFCO has a rather “complicated” membership structure. Two LAFCO members are appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. Two members are selected by the cities within the county, who rotate their designees. The “City Selection Committee,” sometimes called the “Mayors’ Selection Committee,” makes these city appointments. The county’s Special Districts also have two appointees on LAFCO. A “Special District Selection Committee” picks those designees. The cities, and the county, and the special districts each also appoint one “alternate” member to LAFCO, who will be able to vote if one of the regular city, or county, or special district members is absent or has a conflict. Finally, a “public member” and a “public member alternate” are selected by the rest of the voting members of LAFCO. As I say, “it’s complicated.” The LAFCO membership structure is complicated because the tasks assigned to LAFCO are complicated. LAFCO must balance between cities, the county, and special districts in deciding what the future structure of local government should be like. There is an item on tomorrow’s agenda on that topic, and a public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 16th, at 9:00 a.m., if you’d like to mark your calendars ahead. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, May 25, 2010 The City of Santa Cruz And Water Use Efficiency |
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This afternoon, the Santa Cruz City Council will consider a proposed “Water Efficient Landscaping Ordinance.” The proposed ordinance is “prospective” only. It will require water use efficiency for new landscaping projects, but won’t require anyone to go back and “redo” existing landscaping. In addition, as currently drafted, the ordinance would exempt the biggest single new project on the horizon, the proposed construction of over 3,000,000 square feet of new buildings on the UCSC “North Campus.” I’m hoping that this is just an oversight. One way to deal with the City’s current water supply crisis would be to require water use efficiency measures to apply in general, and not just prospectively. The City’s current plan, however, is to meet future water needs by constructing a multi-stage desalination plant. The UCSC expansion project, in particular, is premised on desal, which has major environmental and energy impacts, and can be incredibly costly. City staff will be talking about desal in a “Water Politics” meeting to be held tomorrow with the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce (it costs you $25 to get in the door). There’s a free and less “political” presentation on Thursday at 6:30, at the Simpkins Swim Center. I’ve put links to more information below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, May 26, 2010 “Full Moon Hike” On The Marks Ranch |
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Our Central Coast is truly an incredible place. Land use policy can help keep it that way; or, on the contrary, can undermine the integrity of the natural world that sustains our spirits, and (not just incidentally) our local economy. There’s no “hidden agenda” on the Land Use Report. These weekday snippets are intended to motivate listeners to get involved, personally, in the land use, water, and transportation policy issues that shape our future. Meetings, meetings, and more meetings are my normal prescription. My experience has been that self-government really does work, but only if members of the public will get involved themselves. If ordinary members of the community leave “politics” to others, then the key decisions affecting our future will be made in confabs like the one being held this afternoon between City of Santa Cruz water and land use planners and the Chamber of Commerce. The meeting today, on desalination, costs $25, but if you’ve got the money, hearing the City staff talk about “Water Politics” may just be worth it. Meetings are important, but they are definitely not the only good thing to do! Lots of meetings, and community involvement, helped save the Marks Ranch in Monterey County. My suggestion, today, is that you get out on the Marks Ranch for a “Full Moon Hike” with the Big Sur Land Trust. There is more information below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, May 27, 2010 The Watsonville General Plan |
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On May 11th, the Watsonville City Council rescinded its former approval of the City’s 2030 General Plan. This action was in response to a decision by the Sixth District Court of Appeal, which held that the City had not properly complied with the California Environmental Quality Act, and that the General Plan was not consistent with state law requirements relating to airport land use regulations. Getting the word that you have to do something over again is rarely a happy piece of news. In this case, though, it might be possible to make some lemonade out of the lemons served up by the Sixth District Court. A local General Plan is about the most important document that is ever adopted by a local city council. Getting a chance to do it over, in light of current information, could end up having some advantages. Water supply issues, and flood control issues, and the new perspectives encompassed in Senate Bill 375, intended to foster “smart growth” land use and transportation strategies, might all be dealt with in a quite different plan for the future for the City of Watsonville. The Council seems to be willing to think in those terms. The staff report for the May 11th meeting suggested that the City staff just “touch up” the plan rejected by the Court. At the request of the Farm Bureau and others, the Council continued its discussion to see if there aren’t some other (and maybe even better) possibilities. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, May 28, 2010 GPU #5 In Monterey County |
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The County of Monterey is now in the “home stretch” of its work on a comprehensive General Plan Update. The update process began in 1999. I remember that, because I had just taken a job as the Executive Director of a brand new group called LandWatch Monterey County. LandWatch is now almost “venerable,” as an active and effective grassroots, community-based organization focused on land use policy, and the County is still working on its General Plan Update. A local General Plan is the “Constitution for land use” for the local community, and the future of Monterey County will be very much affected by what policies are ultimately adopted by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Even if you haven’t been engaged in the policy discussions held so far, there is still time to get involved in the debate. LandWatch thinks that there are still three issues that need attention: First, GPU 5 abandons the 1982 General Plan Policy prohibiting the cultivation of steep slopes over 25% (except in the Carmel Valley); second, GPU 5 needs to provide better protection for the hills and benchlands rising out of the Salinas Valley; third, projects already in the approval process are exempted from new policies, and they pose significant and unavoidable environmental impacts. If you care about these, or other issues, now is the time to get engaged. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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