It is likely that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will want to take some action on the Monterey County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Though I’m not sure exactly when the Board might discuss the matter, I thought it would be worthwhile to give you a little more background today. You can find links to relevant materials in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

The Monterey County Fire Safe Council, which spearheaded the preparation of the Plan, is a non-profit group, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, the same kind of organization as LandWatch Monterey County, or the Salinas Chamber of Commerce. This means, of course, that the plan developed by the group cannot have the force of law unless it’s adopted by the official governmental agency that oversees land use in the unincorporated portions of Monterey County. That’s the Board of Supervisors.

Under the California Environmental Quality Act, decisions by governmental agencies that might have a significant environmental impact must be given environmental review. Since the Plan prepared by the Fire Safe Council would apply to about 60% of Monterey County, a full EIR is probably required. In fact, this turns out to be a contested matter. The Fire Safe Council wants the County to adopt its plan without that level of public review.

More Information:

Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365”
http://www.gapatton.net

Monterey County Fire Safe Council Website
http://firesafemonterey.org/

Monterey County Community Wildfire Protection Plan
http://firesafemonterey.org/JANUARY_2010_MCCWPP.pdf

The San Mateo/Santa Cruz County Community Wildfire Protection Plan
http://wildfireplan.blogspot.com/

The “unhidden agenda” of the Land Use Report is to stimulate public participation in the land use policy and project decisions that affect our communities. Last Wednesday, the Monterey County Planning Commission took a “field trip,” to visit the site of a proposed Corral de Tierra Shopping Center, to be located at the corner of Corral de Tierra and Highway 68. I hope that some of you were there.

Highway 68 is ever more congested with traffic, and ever less scenic, and it’s quite possible that constructing a new shopping center right on the Highway isn’t going to help alleviate those problems; in fact, it might make them worse. Ultimately, the decision is going to be made by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. If you care about Highway 68, you really should be getting involved now. You should probably get involved if you care about the economic vitality of downtown Salinas, too, since building shopping centers on the “periphery” of cities is almost certainly the best way to kill off the city center. Salinas and Watsonville demonstrate the phenomenon quite well.

Tomorrow, the Monterey County Planning Commission will take up another proposed development off the Highway 68 corridor, the proposed 17-lot subdivision called “Encina Hills.” If you care, you should be there! The item is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, 168 West Alisal Street in Salinas.

More Information:

Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365”
http://www.gapatton.net

For more information on shopping center, contact Mike Weaver of the Highway 68 Coalition: 831-484-6659.

Beverly Bean Op-Ed on impacts of the proposed shopping center development
http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion/
ci_15766872?nclick_check=1

Get more information on the Encina Hills proposal from the Meyer Community Group
http://www.meyercommunitygroup.org/

The Monterey County Planning Commission plays a big role in land use planning decisions in Monterey County. If you are not familiar with the Commission, which meets today in Salinas, I’d encourage you to do a little research. You can find links to some relevant information by clicking on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website. I placed links to the Commission membership list, and to its agendas, in the written transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

If you want to see the Commission in action today, it is a great day to do so. The Commission’s meeting in Salinas starts at 9:00 o’clock this morning, and you can get access to their complete agenda online. As I said yesterday, there is an important item relating to a proposed subdivision off Harper Canyon Road scheduled for consideration at 11:00 o’clock.

The Planning Commission in Monterey County is comprised of ten persons, and the Board of Supervisors appoints each one of them. Two persons serve from each one of the County’s five supervisorial districts. Under state law, the Board of Supervisors must allow the Commission to review key planning project and policy matters prior to any Board decision. This means that the Commission can have an incredibly significant impact on land use, at both the “policy” and “project” level. Recently, the Commission has completed its review of the proposed County General Plan Update. I’ll be talking more about that General Plan Update in future Reports.

More Information:

Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365”
http://www.gapatton.net

County Planning Department Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/

Planning Commission Agenda Access
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/cca/cca_main.htm

Planning Commission Membership List
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/cca/pcmembers.htm

A while back, I invited listeners to provide me with land use related acronyms that I could define here on the Land Use Report. Acronyms sometimes act like a “secret code” to discourage involvement by the “uninitiated.” People don’t feel comfortable giving their opinions when they don’t understand what’s being talked about. It’s important to meet and master those acronyms to become an effective participant in the land use decision-making process.

Linda Meckel, a planner at AMBAG (that’s the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments), did send me some acronyms, by way of an Acronym List related to the implementation of SB 375. SB 375 means “Senate Bill 375,” the legislation that has stimulated the AMBAG Regional Blueprint Project on which Linda is working.

Here’s a very short list of acronyms from the AMBAG website.

• ADT means “Average Daily Trips” made in a 24-hour period. (Keep that ADT low)
• CARB means “California Air Resources Board” (CARB is in charge of SB 375 targets)
• GHG means “Greenhouse Gas Emissions” (They’re bad!)
• VMT means “Vehicle Miles Traveled” (Again, we want to lower VMT)

Many thanks to AMBAG and Linda!

More Information:

Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365”
http://www.gapatton.net

AMBAG’s SB 375 Acronym List:
http://www.ambag.org/programs/met_transp_plann/
documents/Acronym Guide_LetterSize.pdf 

A helpful contact on regional planning matters:

Linda Meckel, Planner
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
445 Reservation Rd, Suite G | Marina, CA 93933
Telephone: 831-883-3750, Ext. 304
Email: lmeckel@ambag.org

Debates about governmental policy are important, and interesting. Many will grant me the first observation, but dispute the second. Unfortunately, if citizens and voters find public policy “boring,” the chances are they won’t pay much attention to the discussion, and this means that governmental decisions will get made without what I’d call “full, democratic participation.”

Non-democratic decision-making leads to “bad” decisions, which means decisions that do not actually reflect what people want. There is really only one way to deal with the problem, and that is to stimulate more public participation. As I’ve often said, the “unhidden agenda” of the Land Use Report is to promote that kind of public involvement. We can’t have “self-government” if we’re not involved “ourselves.” Government is in “disrepute” at virtually every level. Nonetheless, we are not only a bunch of individuals. We live together, and we need to have a “common cause,” as well as an individual purpose in life. Unless you think good group decisions just precipitate out from the sum of lots of individual decisions (that’s the Adam Smith “invisible hand” thesis), you need to start paying attention, and getting involved.

Next week, I’ll give you a “heads up” on some of the ballot propositions on the November 2nd ballot. We have lots of very important (and interesting) issues to decide.

More Information

Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365”
http://www.gapatton.net

List of qualified statewide ballot measures
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/
qualified-ballot-measures.htm