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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of December 13, 2010 to December 17, 2010
Week of December 13, 2010 to December 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 December 13, 2010 to December 17, 2010
- Monday, December 13, 2010
General Plan Consistency
- Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wildfire Planning In Monterey County
- Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Consent Agenda
- Thursday, December 16, 2010
A Celebration At San Jerardo Tomorrow
- Friday, December 17, 2010
Corral de Tierra And Public Participation
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, December 13, 2010 General Plan Consistency |
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On October 26th, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors adopted a new General Plan. Now, the Board is trying to figure out how best to implement that new Plan. That’s what Item #S-4, on tomorrow’s agenda, is all about. One of the main reasons that a local General Plan is such an important document is that state law requires that every local action affecting land use must be “consistent” with the General Plan. The former General Plan, adopted in 1982, is implemented through a host of ordinances still on the books. If the County were to approve development proposals based on current ordinance requirements those approvals might, or might not, be consistent with the new General Plan. In other words, there is a significant problem here. County staff is estimating that it may take two years to amend the current code to be consistent with the new General Plan. In order to address the problem, the recommendation is that a new, overarching requirement be put in place, through the adoption of an emergency ordinance. Under the new requirement, virtually every planning action would require a separate “finding” of consistency with the new General Plan. This demonstrates the power of the General Plan, and to the extent that the new General Plan contains good policies, the proposed ordinance, if adopted, will give local residents a powerful tool to insist on better land use decisions. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Wildfire Planning In Monterey County |
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Some time ago, on behalf of the Sierra Club, the Wittwer & Parkin law firm, with which I am associated, provided an opinion letter to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, relating to a proposed Community Wildfire Protection Plan then being considered by the County. As then proposed, it appeared that adoption of the Plan would have been considered as an authorization for significant land clearing activities throughout Monterey County. Being aware that I have had an employment-related relationship to this issue, then, let me advise you that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will be considering a proposed Community Wildfire Protection Plan on its agenda today. It’s agenda item #S-7. The Board resolution proposed contains the following language: “The approval of the Monterey County Community Wildfire Protection Plan … shall not be construed or interpreted as an approval … of any other Plan, or an authorization for any Project not otherwise permitted by law or that may require the issuance of permits in compliance with other local, state or federal laws including CEQA,” the California Environmental Quality Act. Addressing fire dangers is critically important. But so is making sure that in our efforts to solve one problem, we don’t cause others. I’m happy that the Board is going to insist that CEQA be followed. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, December 15, 2010 The Consent Agenda |
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Here’s a tip about a tricky little technique (all perfectly legal) that can be used for good or ill by those interested in having their local governments take action. It’s called the Consent Agenda process. Many of you probably understand how this works, but some may not, and if you are interested in knowing what your elected representatives are doing you do need to pay attention to the Consent Agenda. Some actions by local government can only take place after a public hearing. Those items will have to appear on the main agenda, and often are covered in newspaper articles or otherwise ahead of time, so there is a fair chance that the public will learn about them. Most actions taken by local government, however, do not require a public hearing. Many such actions are adopted on the City Council or Board of Supervisors’ Consent Agenda, and by “adopting the Consent Agenda,” one motion can make literally hundreds of decisions, and these are not necessarily “minor” decisions, or decisions that have ever been considered on the main agenda. The lesson is, read the Consent Agenda very closely, if you really want to know what’s going on with your City or County government. Yesterday, for instance, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors took action on a Consent Agenda that contained over fifty items, including action authorizing the preparation of a new Master Plan for the Poor Clares property in Aptos. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, December 16, 2010 A Celebration At San Jerardo Tomorrow |
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A public ribbon-cutting celebration is taking place at the San Jerardo Co-Op tomorrow. The Co-Op is located at 24500 Calle El Rosario in Salinas. The event is being presided over by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, so you are invited. Here’s what they are celebrating: improvements to the San Jerardo water system that will now allow residents safely to drink the water that comes out of the faucets in their homes. What most of us take for granted has been denied to residents at the San Jerardo Co-Op, and the community there has been struggling for years to make this water system improvement a reality. I was alerted to the celebration by the Environmental Justice Coalition For Water. I worked closely with EJCW when I was an environmental lobbyist for the Planning and Conservation League. As the Coalition puts it: If you’d like to get involved, comment letters are due to the Regional Board by January 3rd. There will be a hearing in Watsonville on March 17th. You can get more information in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, December 17, 2010 Corral de Tierra And Public Participation |
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I had a great visit, last Friday, at a holiday party held in Carmel Valley. A member of the Monterey County Planning Commission also happened to be in attendance, and since I had not yet heard what had happened at the Planning Commission meeting held on Wednesday, December 8th, I asked him what action the Commission took on the proposal for a large shopping center at Corral de Tierra. “Well,” he said, “that was pretty amazing. So many members of the public wanted to testify that the Commission didn’t have time to get to its own deliberations, so we’ve now continued the item for further consideration to January 12th.” I was pleased to hear that public participation is so alive and well in Monterey County. Here’s a heads up for that next hearing. It’s scheduled for January 12th! Since that holiday party, I have had the opportunity to read an Op-Ed account by Peter Andresen, published in the Salinas Californian on December 11th. Andresen is a life-long Salinas resident. He says that after decades as an observer, he has sometimes felt <quote> “the county operates … like a kleptocratic South American dictatorship. Time after time, this commission has ignored reality in favor of rewarding special interests.” I don’t think he was talking about the commissioner I met at the party, but his strong argument against the proposal leads me to believe that those who care should “be there” on January 12th. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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