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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of August 2, 2010 to August 6, 2010
Week of August 2, 2010 to August 6, 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 August 2, 2010 to August 6, 2010
- Monday, August 2, 2010
Water, Rental Inspection, and New Taxes
- Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The City Today And LAFCO Tomorrow
- Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Soledad City Council Meets This Evening
- Thursday, August 5, 2010
IRWMP
- Friday, August 6, 2010
The “Legal Planet” Advisory #2
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, August 2, 2010 Water, Rental Inspection, and New Taxes |
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The Santa Cruz City Council is holding a “Special Meeting” tomorrow. It’s going to be a significant meeting, and you are, as ever, invited to be there. Links to information about the meeting are found in the written transcript of today’s Land Use Report. At 3:00 p.m., the Council will consider whether or not to enact a citywide residential rental inspection and maintenance program. The Council has been stimulated to take action on this matter because of provisions in the so-called “Comprehensive Settlement Agreement” entered into between the City and the University of California. In general, landlords will have to pay a fee and submit inspection reports to prove that their rental properties meet Code standards. If that weren’t enough for 3:00 o’clock, the Council will then move on to consider an increase in the City’s Utility Users’ Tax, and whether or not to put such a tax increase on the November ballot. At 7:00 p.m., the Council will take on its third “big item” of the day, another item related to the Comprehensive Settlement Agreement with UC. The question is whether or not the City Council should “certify” the Final Environmental Impact Report that will support City efforts to facilitate new growth in the UCSC North Campus area, and that will make scarce City water supplies available for the construction of over 3,000,000 square feet of new buildings. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, August 3, 2010 The City Today And LAFCO Tomorrow |
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At 3:00 o’clock this afternoon, the Santa Cruz City Council is expected to enact a citywide residential rental inspection and maintenance program. The Council will also decide whether to put a Utility Users’ Tax increase on the November ballot. At 7:00 o’clock, the Council will decide whether or not to adopt a “Statement of Overriding Considerations” and certify the Final EIR on a plan for the City to provide 152 million gallons of water each year to areas at UCSC not currently served. The proposal is outlined in the “Comprehensive Settlement Agreement” entered into between the City and the University. To “certify” the EIR, the Council will have to declare, officially, that the benefits of this proposed UCSC growth “override” the adverse environmental impacts identified in the EIR. Those adverse impacts include, most notably, a reduction of drought protection for all the City’s existing customers, including residents and businesses in the City of Santa Cruz, Pasatiempo, Live Oak, and some parts of the City of Capitola. On Wednesday, the Santa Cruz County LAFCO will consider whether or not to extend sewer service to a property near to, but outside, the City of Scotts Valley. The same legal provisions applicable to the UCSC proposal are involved, but the scale and situation are quite different! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, August 4, 2010 The Soledad City Council Meets This Evening |
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LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission, is a relatively under appreciated governmental agency. There is a LAFCO in each California County, and state law requires each LAFCO to oversee “governmental organization” issues that relate to land use. The Santa Cruz County LAFCO is meeting this morning, starting at 9:30, so you could still make the meeting! Today, LAFCO is considering whether or not to allow the City of Scotts Valley to provide sewer service outside the current city limits. LAFCO is supposed to “stop sprawl,” and extending water and sewer service into previously unserved areas certainly makes sprawl possible. Here, the service would replace a failing septic system, so no new growth would occur. This is, as I said yesterday, quite different from the UCSC proposal, which would allow water and sewer service from the City of Santa Cruz to stimulate over 3,000,000 square feet of new construction, in an area that is now, largely, a natural reserve. I also like to keep checking in with the City of Soledad, since I have always been nervous about the City’s official slogan, “Feel The Momentum.” The momentum of City growth into the prime agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley doesn’t always result in the best land use. Today, the Soledad City Council is meeting at 5:30 p.m. and will address housing-related issues. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, August 5, 2010 IRWMP |
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If you work in the “land use” arena you have to learn to love acronyms. LAFCO (meaning “Local Agency Formation Commission”) seems quite natural to me now. It just rolls off my tongue. I’m pretty much used to TAMC, too, the “Transportation Agency For Monterey County,” and AMBAG, the “Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.” You probably know CEQA, the “California Environmental Quality Act,” and recognize ARB, the State “Air Resources Board.” But not all acronyms are that familiar. If you know an obscure but pronounceable land use related acronym, send it to me, and I’ll consider putting the best acronyms on the air to educate all of us. I’ll even give you credit if you want it. Land Use Report listeners should know that you can always send me an email, to ask me to comment on an upcoming meeting or event, or even to complain about something I may have said with which you disagree. I really do try to be responsive, so don’t hesitate to contact me through the KUSP website. Now here’s the acronym that got me started on this topic today: IRWMP – I, R, W, M, P. Yeah, that’s not one everybody knows. But it’s important! It stands for “Integrated Regional Water Management Plan,” and I have just started delving into the IRWMP for the Pajaro River Watershed. I can already promise you’ll hear more about this later. In the meantime, I’m serious: send me your own favorite acronyms. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, August 6, 2010 The “Legal Planet” Advisory #2 |
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As you probably know, there are two "flavors," or "types" of "environmental attorneys." Type One usually works for citizen groups, environmental organizations, and sometimes individuals, with the objective (usually) of stopping developments that do not meet high environmental standards, or preventing actions of all kinds that have adverse environmental impacts. Type Two, the other type of "environmental attorney," tends to work for the corporations and the developers who are being opposed by the first type. Type Two environmental attorneys, in other words, work to get approval for developments and activities, and to deal with the requirements and constraints of environmental laws and regulations as they do so. Both types are called "environmental attorneys," and both types belong to the Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar. If you ever need an "environmental attorney," you should check the attorney's client list before you sign a retainer, to make sure you get the flavor of "environmental attorney" you want. If you’re interested in environmental law (from either of these perspectives) I want to recommend, again, that you sign up for the blog “Legal Planet,” which spotlights important environmental issues from the legal point of view. “Legal Planet” is associated with the law schools at UC Berkeley and UCLA, and I find it invaluable. You can get the link in the written transcript of today’s Land Use Report. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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