Tomorrow, the Planning and Conservation League Foundation and the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy are holding two workshops to inform the public about a proposal to remove the San Clemente Dam, which is located on the Carmel River. Removing a dam is pretty unusual, but that is what is being proposed. I’d encourage you to attend one of the workshops, to find out more.

The first workshop will be held tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. at The Carmel Valley Community Youth Center, 25 Ford Road in Carmel Valley. The second workshop will be held at 7:00 p.m. at Mission Ranch, 26270 Dolores Street, in Carmel. At both workshops, attendees will hear from Joyce Ambrosius of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Rick Cooper of the Bureau of Land Management, Laura Engeman of the California State Coastal Conservancy, and Monica Hunter, of the Planning and Conservation League Foundation.

The San Clemente Dam is old, non-functional, and is a danger to persons and property downstream. The State’s Division of Dam Safety wants the danger eliminated, and the proposed project, instead of just “buttressing” the dam, is going to remove it, and reroute the river slightly, with very positive impacts on fisheries and the environment in general. That, at least, is the current plan. Find out more tomorrow.

More Information

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

Carmel River Watershed Conservancy Website
http://www.carmelriverwatershed.org/

PCLF Website
http://pclfoundation.org/

PCLF Central Coast Watersheds Program
http://pclfoundation.org/projects/centralcoast.html

For more information, contact Monica Hunter at Email: mhunter@pcl.org; Telephone: 805-528-4496

If there is an underlying theme to the Land Use Report, and I like to think there is, the theme is that land use decisions make a difference, and that your personal involvement in making those decisions makes a difference, too.

Most land use decisions, at both the “policy” and “project” level, are made by elected, local government officials. Those decisions are almost always made in open public meetings, and you have a right, guaranteed by state law, to speak out prior to any decision being made. If, then, you are persuaded that land use decisions will make a difference in your life, and that you can make a difference as to what decisions get made, it’s most important that you “participate” in the decision-making process. Having been an elected official myself, and having also been a kind of “community organizer” for the environment, I can tell you that public participation does change outcomes. And as I like to say, “If you really want to have self-government, you do need to get involved yourself.”

Sermon over. The first step in public participation is to know what’s about to be decided. Today, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will be making decisions on agricultural conservation easements, general plan consistency procedures, and water and sanitation issues, wearing some different governmental “hats.” I’ve put a link to the agenda in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

More Information

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

Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://publicagendas.co.monterey.ca.us/

The environmental impact review process operates on a set of very simple principles. If a governmental agency is going to take an action that might (not will, but might) have an adverse impact on the environment, the agency has to do an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, and then consider that report before acting. In other words, governments have to “think” about the environment before they take action. There is also a “substantive mandate” in state law. If an EIR shows that there are feasible ways to eliminate or reduce impacts, the governmental agency has to take those “mitigation” steps.

The structure of an EIR is also simple. The agency does a “draft.” The public gets to make comments on that draft, to ensure that issues aren’t accidentally or intentionally overlooked, and then the agency has to respond, substantively, to any significant issue raised by any public comment. Failure to do any of these things makes the EIR “inadequate,” and the courts will make the agency go back and do the EIR over, if that’s the case.

EIR’s begin with a “scoping” process, to determine the extent of the review that will be undertaken. If you care about the proposal to build a desalination plant, to serve both the City of Santa Cruz Water Service Area and the areas served by the Soquel Creek Water District, be advised that this “scoping” process is now underway. There are hearings on December 8th!

More Information

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

CEQA Website
http://ceres.ca.gov/ceqa/

Desal Alternatives Website
http://desalalternatives.org/

City-Soquel Creek Desal Project Website
http://www.scwd2desal.org/

The AMBAG “Blueprint” project is an effort to respond to the requirements of Senate Bill 375. That legislation sets up a program intended to stimulate local governments to do better land use planning to reduce VMT, or “vehicle miles traveled.” To meet the global warming emissions reduction targets in the Global Warming Solutions Act, land use policies must change. About 40% of our greenhouse gas emissions are tied to our transportation system. SB 375, and the AMBAG “Blueprint” project, hope to encourage better land use planning, to reduce future sprawl. One of the problems, of course, is our past legacy of sprawl. We have built in bad planning all over the state.

At any rate, the draft “Blueprint” document is now available for public review. It’s called Envisioning The Monterey Bay Area, and I’ve placed a link in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. The deadline for public comments is December 15th.

Here’s a preliminary comment I have: the “Blueprint” envisions reducing future sprawl from more than 40,000 acres to 20,000 acres. Instead, why not eliminate all future sprawl, by directing future development to areas already served by urban services? Santa Cruz County voters did that in 1978, when they adopted Measure J. Maybe it’s time for the rest of the Region to catch up.

More Information

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

Envisioning The Monterey Bay Area
http://www.ambag.org/programs/blueprint/blueprint/index.html

AMBAG Website
http://www.ambag.org/

The Soquel Creek Water District and the City of Santa Cruz are “scoping” out the extent of the EIR they are planning to prepare on their proposed desalination plant. The comment deadline is January 10th. If you’d like to get involved, consider attending one of the two workshops that will discuss the scoping process. Two meetings will be held on Wednesday, December 8th. The first will be from 12:00 Noon to 2:30 p.m., at the First Congregational Church, located at 900 High Street, in Santa Cruz. The second meeting will be from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the New Brighton Middle School, located at 250 Washburn Avenue, in Capitola.

The proposed “desal” plant is a very big deal, with major economic and environmental impacts likely. I do encourage you to get involved, and getting “informed” is the first step towards effective involvement. You can find some relevant links by clicking on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website. One link is to a group called “Desal Alternatives,” which is going to be actively involved as the project review process goes forward. Feasible “alternatives” must be taken seriously, so one pertinent question is whether it would be “feasible” for us simply to use our existing water supplies more “efficiently.” If you think that’s an option you’d like, you might want to take the “Desal Pledge” to use less water yourself.

More Information

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

Desal Alternatives Website
http://desalalternatives.org/

City-Soquel Creek Desal Project Website
http://www.scwd2desal.org/