Tonight, at 6:30, there is a special Planning Commission meeting in Marina. The Commission’s written Agenda begins with both a “Vision Statement” and a “Mission Statement,” so let me report on those first, before telling you what the Commission will be considering during its specially-called public hearing.

The “Vision Statement” for Marina says that Marina “will grow and mature from a small town bedroom community to a small city … [and] will develop in a way that insulates it from the negative impacts of urban sprawl.” The “Mission Statement” says that “the City Council will provide … leadership in protecting Marina’s natural setting while developing the City in a way that provides a balance of housing, jobs and business opportunities…”

With those objectives presumably in mind, the Planning Commission will be deciding whether or not to recommend what appear to be some pretty significant changes to the Marina General Plan, including changing the designation of land located on the north side of Reservation Road east of Salinas Avenue from “Habitat Reserve and Other Open Space” to “Office/Research,” to facilitate the future development of that parcel.

I’m always somewhat suspicious of what’s going on when special meetings are called during Holiday periods. If you are a resident of Marina, you might want to check out this meeting tonight. You can get more information from the transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

More Information:

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

City of Marina Website
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/

Agenda for November 22, 2010 Special Meeting
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/Archive.aspx?ADID=2961

An unusual meeting took place on Sunday, November 20th at the University of California at Santa Cruz Cervantes/Velasquez Conference Room, located above the Bay Tree Bookstore. The meeting was convened by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the documented descendants of Missions San Juan Bautista and Santa Cruz Indians. The descendants of these native inhabitants of the region in which we now live are not only still here; they are also thinking about the future, and not just the past.

The conveners issued their call for the meeting with a description of the biological and ecological wealth that was once present in the entire Pajaro River Watershed. They followed this description with a lament that “today, it is rare to see a fish or turtle within these waters. The river and creeks have been blocked by dams; the lakes have been drained by canals; the water table has been drawn down by pumps; while levees align the waterways preventing the wetlands from being replenished, and denying … wildlife their natural habitat.”

The hope of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is to “develop a comprehensive coalition of cities, counties, conservation groups, water districts, land trusts, and more to come together to reclaim the Pajaro Watershed.” I wasn’t at this meeting, but I may end up working on this project, so I’ll keep you posted.

More Information:

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

Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Website
http://www.icimedia.com/costanoan/donations.html

Santa Cruzans For Responsible Planning is a local community group that follows planning issues affecting the City of Santa Cruz and surrounding areas. The group’s acronym, SCRP, means that the group is popularly called “SCRAP,” which does seem to fit what is sometimes their “scrappy” willingness to take on local government agencies in the name of what they believe good planning requires. If KUSP listeners want to get involved themselves, I’ve placed contact information for SCRP in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

The latest bulletin I’ve received from SCRP highlights some upcoming meetings that SCRP believes are important, in terms of their possible impact on land use planning. As I give you the list, please recognize that these dates may change, so you’ll need to double-check nearer the actual date, just to be sure. Here is a “heads up” list, however, from SCRP:

·       On December 14th, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is currently planning to hear a proposed vacation rental ordinance. This may be of particular interest to Live Oak residents and property owners.

·       The deadline for public comment on the City of Santa Cruz Draft Climate Action Plan is January 7th.

·       The deadline for written comments on the Notice of Preparation of the proposed Santa Cruz City/Soquel Creek Water District desalination plant is January 10th. Two scoping meetings will be held before then, both on December 8th.

More Information:

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

Contact SCRP at – scrpsc@gmail.com

Past news about SCRP
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/15934/index.php

Happy Thanksgiving to KUSP listeners! Today is a day in which “food” plays a key role, which makes me think that this might be a good time to raise the issues of “food safety” and “food justice.” If you haven’t heard about these issues yet, you probably will shortly. Modern commercial agriculture grows, processes, and ships meat, vegetable, and other food products all over the world, and once in a while there is some sort of an incident in which food contamination occurs, with hundreds or thousands of persons being affected. When I say “affected,” incidentally, this not only means that a consumer might get a minor touch of “food poisoning,” it means that people’s actual lives are put at risk.

“Food safety” is the name used to describe our efforts to ensure that such incidents of contamination never occur, and that the food moved in commerce is “safe” to consume. Here’s one problem: the large corporations that dominate our system of food production and distribution, helped by government, often come up with “solutions” to ensure “food safety” that put smaller, and organic growers at a disadvantage, or even drive them out of business. That’s just not “fair,” of course, which is where efforts to ensure “food justice” come in. Obviously, these issues have a real tie to land use, particularly for our Central Coast Region. You can get more information from the links I’ve provided on the KUSP website.

More Information:

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

Food Justice Website
http://www.justfood.org/food-justice

Agricultural Justice Project Website
http://www.agriculturaljusticeproject.org/

ALBA Website
http://www.albafarmers.org/

ALBA’s Food Systems Website
http://www.albafarmers.org/programs/food_systems.html

Today, I’d like to elaborate on one of the “heads up” messages I mentioned on Wednesday. As KUSP listeners probably know, the City of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District are planning to construct a desalination plant, to provide drought protection and to provide for additional water supplies for new growth.

To be fair, let me say that the City of Santa Cruz, in particular, might take exception to this description, claiming that the water from desal is for “drought protection” only. I think I’ve got the better case, but whatever the truth might be, whether or not to construct a desalination plant will have mammoth environmental and economic impacts within the Soquel Creek Water District, and within the City of Santa Cruz Water Service Area, which includes not only the entirety of the City of Santa Cruz, but also parts of the City of Capitola, and all of Live Oak and Pasatiempo. The City system also serves farmers on the Santa Cruz County North Coast. Lots of people have a big stake in what happens.

Because that’s true, lots of people ought to be getting involved right now in the Environmental Review process. Two “scoping meetings” will be held on December 8th. One is scheduled from 12:00 Noon to 2:30 p.m., at the First Congregational Church, 900 High Street in Santa Cruz. Another is scheduled from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the New Brighton Middle School, 250 Washburn Avenue in Capitola.

More Information

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

Desalination Program Website
http://www.scwd2desal.org/

Santa Cruz Desal Alternatives Group
http://desalalternatives.org/2010/09/16/hello-world/