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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of July 11, 2011 to July 15, 2011
Week of July 11, 2011 to July 15, 2011
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 July 11, 2011 to July 15, 2011
- Monday, July 11, 2011
Big Day Tomorrow In Monterey County
- Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Vacation Rentals At The Coastal Commission
- Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Corralitos Land Split
- Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tell Me Again: What Is An RTC?
- Friday, July 15, 2011
Green Transportation And The True Cost Of Driving
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, July 11, 2011 Big Day Tomorrow In Monterey County |
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Tomorrow is a big day for those following land use issues in Monterey County. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors will be meeting in Salinas, and two major land use project proposals will come before the Board. First, the Board will make a final decision on the so-called “Whispering Oaks” project. If approved, this misnamed project would authorize the Monterey Salinas Transit District to cut down 4,400 oak trees on lands of the former Fort Ord, and to replace those trees with a business park and bus maintenance facility. On June 14th, members of the Board (Supervisor Jane Parker dissenting) indicated their intention to provide final approval for this project tomorrow. Until that approval actually occurs, of course, the Board can still change its mind. So if you care, you should probably be at the meeting. Second item: the Board will consider the latest version of a proposed Corral de Tierra Shopping Center. This proposed development would be located at the intersection of Corral de Tierra with Highway 68. Last month, the developer proposed a 116,000 square foot shopping center, and the Board said that was too big. Tomorrow, the developer is going to propose something on the order of 100,000 square feet. That’s still big, and the traffic and viewshed impacts would essentially be the same. Again, if you care, don’t miss the meeting. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Vacation Rentals At The Coastal Commission |
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Tomorrow, the Coastal Commission meets in Marin County and will be considering a proposal to establish a regulatory system for vacation rental properties in Santa Cruz County. If you care about this issue, you can watch the Commission at work in a real time webcast, available on the Commission’s website. Or, you could use this item as an excuse to visit the truly impressive Marin County Governmental Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s a pretty spectacular building, and that is where the Commission is going to be hanging out this week. The vacation rental ordinance was somewhat controversial when considered at the local level by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, and it is getting some pretty close scrutiny by the Coastal Commission. Why, you might ask, is the Commission even getting involved? An ordinance relating to the regulation of existing properties, determining when or if they can be used to provide vacation accommodations (which is what the ordinance is all about) doesn’t seem like the kind of “development” that the Coastal Commission is supposed to review. Well, the Coastal Act requires the Commission to ensure “access” to the coast, and when local governments start regulating whether or not there will be rentals available for visitors, the Commission swings into action. A very thoughtful staff report, analyzing the ordinance in detail, will be considered by the Commission, before the Commission takes its vote. A link is available in the transcript of today’s Report. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, July 13, 2011 Corralitos Land Split |
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Measure J, adopted by a vote of the people in 1978, articulates six basic growth management principles that the County government must follow as growth and development occur. Measure J, in other words, is not a complex set of regulations. It states very clear, and simple, policy objectives, which the Board of Supervisors is then supposed to follow in every planning decision that the Board makes. Specifically, Measure J requires (1) that commercially viable agricultural land be used for agriculture; (2) that future growth be discouraged in rural areas; (3) that the County provide needed infrastructure within urban areas, where growth is encouraged; (4) that the County set a “growth goal” each year, after hearing from the public; (5) that at least 15% of all new housing be priced to be affordable to persons with average or below average incomes; and that (6) the division and development of lands containing natural resources shall not be allowed. I saw in a recent “Clearinghouse Newsletter” published by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, or AMBAG, that the County will soon be considering a proposal to divide a 306-acre rural parcel in the Corralitos area in Santa Cruz County into seven new parcels. On the face of it, this doesn’t seem to conform to the Measure J requirement to discourage growth in rural areas. Listeners may want to follow up, and learn more. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, July 14, 2011 Tell Me Again: What Is An RTC? |
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The RTC is one of those acronym agencies. RTC stands for “Regional Transportation Commission.” There is an RTC in Monterey County, actually called TAMC (another acronym, standing for “Transportation Agency for Monterey County”). There is a separate RTC in Santa Cruz County called the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission. Because its abbreviation, SCCRTC, is essentially unpronounceable, the Santa Cruz County RTC is usually just called “the Transportation Commission.” Transportation and land use are definitely linked, so I follow the work of both Commissions pretty closely. Just last week, I had an opportunity to sit down with the Executive Director and a Senior Transportation Planner from the Santa Cruz County Commission, and I told them that I would try to raise the visibility of what the Commission does, as opportunity presents. As in every other aspect of government, if we want a governmental agency to respond positively to what the public wants and needs, we need to get involved ourselves. I left the meeting last week with an armful of information, and a heads up that I can pass on to KUSP listeners. The next Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission workshop session, on August 18th, will focus in on the proposed Highway One widening project, so those interested in that project should plan to attend. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, July 15, 2011 Green Transportation And The True Cost Of Driving |
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Last week, I met with the Executive Director and a Senior Transportation Planner from the Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission. They gave me lots of printed materials, and I think you could probably get copies, too, by contacting the Commission. There is a link to the Commission’s website in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. One document I reviewed was titled, “Green Transportation Initiatives.” This is a three-page listing of things that we can do to reduce our emission of the greenhouse gases (mainly CO2) that are putting our human civilization in peril. Not particularly highlighted, but present on the list, is the idea that we should change our land use policies, and build our land use future utilizing compact, pedestrian-friendly patterns of development, to minimize the VMT, or “vehicle miles traveled” that are a prime generator of greenhouse gasses. I also suggest that you track down and read “The True Cost of Driving,” a copy of which was given to me last week. What is the “true cost of driving?” According to this analysis, which I think holds up, someone who drives 13,000 miles per year, incurs $11,219 in direct expenses, to which amount must be added $4,277 of societal costs, for a total of (wait for it) $15,496 total, or $1.19 per mile. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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