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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of September 13, 2010 to September 17, 2010
Week of September 13, 2010 to September 17, 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 September 13, 2010 to September 17, 2010
- Monday, September 13, 2010
The Aptos Village Plan
- Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monterey County Strategic Initiatives
- Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Gonzales General Plan
- Thursday, September 16, 2010
The SCCRTC Agenda Today
- Friday, September 17, 2010
The Watsonville Slough Farm Dedication
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, September 13, 2010 The Aptos Village Plan |
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Frequent listeners know that I think “plans” and “planning” are important. Human beings have a great deal of choice about what sort of world they live in, because we don’t live immediately in the world of Nature, which is simply a “given,” but in a world we construct ourselves. The world we construct can be built in one of two fashions: first, we can decide simply to let individuals do what they think best, and the world that results will be the sum total of individual actions, added up; second, we can decide that we need to act collectively, to try to achieve a specific result based on what the majority of us think best. To build that kind of world requires both planning and regulation. The reality is, that the world built by humans incorporates both of these techniques. Many of the key policy decisions affecting land use are really decisions about how much the future should be determined through community level “planning,” and how much should be the result of letting property owners and developers do whatever it is they want. Tomorrow, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be considering how railroad-crossing improvements relate to the implementation of the Aptos Village Plan, which has definitely resulted from a community planning effort, and which will transform Aptos Village if implemented. Check it out if you are interested. Links are found in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, September 14, 2010 Monterey County Strategic Initiatives |
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If it’s Tuesday, that probably means that a County Board of Supervisors is meeting near you. Today, there are some important land use policy and project items facing County officials, from San Luis Obispo County, up to the coast to Santa Cruz County, and then over the hill to Santa Clara County. There are links to the Boards’ agendas in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. Item #S-2 on today’s agenda of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is important not so much for what it portends for land use policy, but for what it doesn’t. This item is a status report on what the Board calls “Monterey County’s Strategic Initiatives and Key Objectives.” Obviously, all Monterey County residents have a big stake in what their elected officials think are the key, strategic goals and objectives towards which their county government is working. I encourage you to review the report, and to comment at today’s Board meeting, if you are so inclined. What I found surprising is that among all the “strategic initiatives” and “key objectives” identified by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, not one of them is really linked to land use policy. Yet, land use policy has an incredibly important effect on the future of the local economy, environment, and how local social justice issues are addressed. If you are a Monterey County resident who thinks that land use policy is important, you might want to convey that idea to your County officials.
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| Wednesday, September 15, 2010 The Gonzales General Plan |
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I am personally in favor of active, community level planning, since I think that our best chance to build a world that responds to our deepest desires is directly related to our active and collective efforts, through dialogue and discussion, to develop a set of policy decisions relating to land use. Land use policies need clearly and accurately to outline what it is collectively we want to achieve, in terms of the land use decisions that will largely determine the future health of our economy and environment, and that will also have a profound impact on whether or not we achieve our social equity goals. Getting KUSP listeners personally involved in this community level planning process is the “unhidden” agenda of the Land Use Report. In essence, the key land use policy decisions that will affect our future are made as “political” decisions by locally elected officials at the City and County level. If you are not personally engaged in the process, you are missing a chance to help shape the future for yourself and your kids! Let me specifically highlight an opportunity for residents of the City of Gonzales, located in the Salinas Valley. Gonzales is considering a revision of its current General Plan, and has circulated an Environmental Import Report evaluating what those proposed changes would mean to the environment and the community. The comment period ends on September 21st. I hope Gonzales residents will get involved! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, September 16, 2010 The SCCRTC Agenda Today |
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Please raise your hand if you know what “SCCRTC” means. This abbreviation stands for “Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.” The equivalent agency, in Monterey County, is called “TAMC,” the “Transportation Agency For Monterey County,” which has a somewhat more congenial ring to it, when spoken out loud. Both agencies play a key role in the future of land use policy in the Central Coast Region, since land use and transportation issues are so integrally related. Today, the SCCRTC, the Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission, which is usually just called the “Transportation Commission,” is holding a Transportation Policy Workshop, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Transportation Commission’s meeting today will be held in the Commission’s own offices, located upstairs at 1523 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. You are most cordially invited to attend, and to participate. The most important issue on today’s Transportation Commission agenda is probably a proposed resolution which would authorize and direct the Executive Director of the Commission to complete the purchase of the Santa Cruz County Branch line, the railroad right of way running from Watsonville to Davenport. Bringing this railroad right of way into public ownership could have profound impacts on future transportation and land use planning in Santa Cruz County. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, September 17, 2010 The Watsonville Slough Farm Dedication |
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The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is holding a celebration this Sunday, September 19th, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. You are definitely invited to attend. The occasion is the dedication of the Watsonville Slough Farm, a 485-acre property located near Watsonville, and now under the ownership and management of the Land Trust. Wetlands protection, and farmlands protection are the objective. You can get more information in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. There are various strategies for how best to achieve our land use objectives. One of them, which I talk about frequently, is for the public to adopt planning regulations that govern land use. Once land use regulations have been properly adopted, through General Plan policies and implementing ordinances, individual landowners are bound by the adopted regulations, so the community can achieve the kind of future land uses that the majority thinks best. Often, of course, individual landowners don’t want to be “regulated,” and this means that adopting strong and effective regulations is sometimes politically difficult. Thus, an alternative strategy is sometimes brought into play, in which key lands are actually “purchased,” using both private and public monies, and desired land uses are then achieved without the need to “regulate.” This is the kind of approach utilized by land trusts, and if you’d like to see how it works, think about attending that celebration on Sunday. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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