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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of September 20, 2010 to September 24, 2010
Week of September 20, 2010 to September 24, 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 20, 2010 to September 24, 2010
- Monday, September 20, 2010
LandWatch Information Meeting Tonight
- Tuesday, September 21, 2010
What The Monterey County Board Is Doing
- Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Final AMBAG Planning Forum
- Thursday, September 23, 2010
Transparency
- Friday, September 24, 2010
Transparency #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, September 20, 2010 LandWatch Information Meeting Tonight |
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LandWatch Monterey County is holding a meeting tonight, at the San Benancio Middle School, located at 43 San Benancio Road in Salinas. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m., and will focus on three proposed developments along Highway 68:
The Highway 68 Coalition has been working for years to try to prevent proposed developments from having adverse impacts on the scenic (and ever more gridlocked) Highway 68 corridor. The LandWatch meeting tonight will focus on the land use review processes at the County level, and will let you know how you can participate. There is more information on the KUSP website. If you care, be there! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, September 21, 2010 What The Monterey County Board Is Doing |
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Today for sure, and next Tuesday, too, if things go according to schedule, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will hold final hearings on the proposed Monterey County General Plan Update. The Update process began in 1999, and has probably cost over $10 million dollars so far. The Board is working on a fifth draft of the proposed General Plan Update, and is expected finally to take action after closing out the current public hearing process. Every city and county must adopt a General Plan, to guide future growth and development. And cities and counties are supposed to update those plans on a frequent basis. Since the current Monterey County General Plan was adopted in 1982, you could say that Monterey County is a bit behind in complying with that requirement. Pursuant to state law, project level planning and public works decisions are legally required to be “consistent” with the adopted General Plan. The General Plan, in other words, is properly called the “Constitution For Land Use.” You could say that Monterey County has just spent the last ten years or so drawing up a new land use Constitution, and the importance of the policies contained within the General Plan can’t be overemphasized. I’ve placed links to more information about the General Plan in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. The Board meets in Salinas, starting at 9:00 o’clock this morning! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 Final AMBAG Planning Forum |
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On October 1st (that’s coming up), AMBAG, the Association of Bay Area Governments, will hold a final 2010 Community Planning Forum. AMBAG has been holding these forums, focusing on key land use and planning issues, throughout the entire past year. The last forum scheduled for 2010 will take place next Friday, at the Seaside Community Center, located at 220 Coe Avenue, in Seaside. The forum starts at 9:30 a.m., and will focus on the proposed Coastal Water Project. You can get more information by tracking down the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. Final approvals have not yet been obtained for this controversial water project, and interested listeners are encouraged to attend the upcoming forum. Land use decisions can profoundly affect our future, and water and land use are inextricably linked. In this case, the need to comply with the directives of the State Water Resources Control Board, which says that water providers on the Monterey Peninsula must stop diverting so much water from the Carmel River, have led to the Coastal Water Project proposal, a desalination project that could end up fueling new growth in Marina and in the Salinas Valley, as one of the spin off effects from a project that is supposed to be addressing water problems in a completely different location. It’s not too late to get engaged and involved. The forum is next Friday. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, September 23, 2010 Transparency |
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The management of KUSP has received complaints about some of my Land Use Reports, and wants me to provide some “transparency” on a couple of issues. This is a “consumer advisory” that expands upon the general disclaimer that appears on the KUSP website, and that you just heard. I have commented (on at least a couple of occasions) on the proposed Monterey County Community Wildfire Plan. I’ve put references in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. On August 19th, specifically, I said the following, commenting on a proposed Community Wildfire Protection Plan: One major issue … is the need for environmental review. The Monterey County Fire Safe Council is claiming that their plan can be adopted and implemented without such review, even though the proposal is to allow very aggressive land clearing on over 1.2 million acres in Monterey County, or almost 60% of the County, without any detailed environmental analysis. Many, including the Sierra Club, don’t think that’s right. What I didn’t say, but want to make clear now, is that I had an opinion about the need for environmental review partly because I had personally researched the issue, for the Sierra Club, being paid for that work, and I had prepared a letter outlining the legal requirements. I apologize to any who felt (or who feel now) that my comment was unfair. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, September 24, 2010 Transparency #2 |
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The management of KUSP has received complaints about some of my Land Use Reports, and has asked me to provide “transparency” on a couple of issues. When I first began doing the Land Use Report, I was the paid Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County, which is deeply engaged in land use policy issues. I then became the paid Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, which works on land use policy and other environmental issues at the state level. Now, I am back to Santa Cruz, and am in a paid, “Of Counsel” position with the environmental law firm of Wittwer & Parkin, LLP. As the disclaimers that accompany these Land Use Reports make clear, my opinions (when I do express an opinion, either directly or indirectly) are “not necessarily those of Wittwer & Parkin, KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.” I have expressed opinions, certainly indirectly, and maybe directly, about the proposal of the City of Santa Cruz to extend water service to currently unserved areas on the UCSC campus, dedicating the City’s last surplus water to facilitate University growth. I’ve placed references to a number of my reports in today’s transcript. To use some of President Obama’s favorite words, “Let me be clear.” The Community Water Coalition is a client of Wittwer & Parkin, and that group definitely shares the same views I have expressed. My apologies to any who have been (or who now are) offended by finding that out. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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