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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of July 25, 2011 to July 29, 2011
Week of July 25, 2011 to July 29, 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 25, 2011 to July 29, 2011
- Monday, July 25, 2011
Redistricting State and Local
- Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Ocean Street Area Plan
- Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Marijuana in Monterey
- Thursday, July 28, 2011
Last Ditch Effort To Save the Williamson Act
- Friday, July 29, 2011
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
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 25, 2011 Redistricting State and Local |
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If you are interested in land use, you should care about what your local Board of Supervisors is doing. Most Boards meet on Tuesdays, and tomorrow the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will be meeting in Salinas. The Santa Cruz County Board is still on its summer break. There aren’t many land use related items on the agenda of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors tomorrow, but if you assume that County government plays an important role in land use (which it really does), then how that Board chooses to do the “redistricting” required after the 2010 census is important in and of itself. The district lines drawn by the Board will define which Supervisor represents which area, and that affects the “politics” of the decision making process in significant ways. If you have been following the state’s redistricting efforts, you know that a “citizen commission” at the state level was supposed to remove much of the politics from the redistricting process. This may or may not actually be working too well. In Monterey County, the Board draws the supervisorial district lines itself. There are various possibilities, with changes in and around Salinas mostly, and you might want to take a squint at the options, and then think about testifying at the public hearing tomorrow. I have a link to the agenda in today’s transcript. The redistricting item is agenda item #S-9. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, July 26, 2011 The Ocean Street Area Plan |
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Theoretically, the key land use decisions that affect the future of our local communities come out of a thoughtful and open planning process. Most important is the General Plan, which represents a “constitution for land use” that specifies how and where and when new growth and development will occur. Every project level decision, and every public works and infrastructure project, is legally required to be “consistent” with the local General Plan. In practice, this “consistency” requirement is often avoided by processing land use projects along with proposed changes to the General Plan, so that the “consistency” comes not from making projects consistent with the plan, but from making the plan consistent with the projects. Nonetheless, while efforts are always being made to evade the requirements of the General Plan, it’s important to participate in the planning process. Almost as important as the General Plan are the “Area Plans” that communities often choose to adopt, to provide planning guidance in specific areas within the community. Tonight, the Santa Cruz City Council will consider a proposed Ocean Street Area Plan, specifying future uses within an area that encompasses the entirety of Ocean Street, as the “gateway” to the City of Santa Cruz. Environmental review still has to occur, but if you care about the future of the City of Santa Cruz, think about attending the Council meeting tonight. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, July 27, 2011 Marijuana in Monterey |
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The Monterey City Council is holding a special meeting this afternoon and this evening. You can get links to information about the meeting in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. Beginning at 7:00 p.m., the Council will be discussing whether or not to permit a Medical Marijuana Dispensary to locate within the city limits, and if so, how such a facility might be regulated through the city’s “police powers.” As with any item on the agenda of any local government agency, members of the public are absolutely entitled to speak out and to present their views to the Council, before the Council takes action. If you have any interest in this topic, you should be in attendance at the Council meeting tonight. I have included a link to the staff report in today’s transcript. It contains the following advice from the city staff: POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Clearly, the Council decision on this matter will have some important impacts. Again, if you’d like to be heard, your opportunity is tonight. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, July 28, 2011 Last Ditch Effort To Save the Williamson Act |
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CSAC is an acronym that may not be familiar. It stands for “California State Association of Counties.” Back in the day (and I mean when I was a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors), CSAC stood for “County Supervisors’ Association of California.” Either way, it’s the same organization with the same acronym. CSAC lobbies in the State Legislature on behalf of California Counties, and I still follow the legislative efforts of CSAC, to keep updated on land use and related legislation. Interested listeners could sign up for the CSAC blog. Recently, CSAC sent out a bulletin on Assembly Bill 1265, authored by Assembly Member Jim Nielsen. This bill attempts to provide life support for the Williamson Act, the state law that encourages local governments to collaborate with landowners to preserve agricultural land. The Williamson Act provides tax breaks for landowners who voluntarily limit the future development of their land, and who enter into a binding contract with local government to do that. Up until the state hit the financial wall, the cost of these tax breaks fell on state government, not local government. Now, they are a cost to local government, and many local governments can’t afford that cost. Obviously, this is a big issue in our region. Check the links in today’s Land Use Report for more information. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, July 29, 2011 The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy |
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If you are interested in land use, consider checking out the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The Lincoln Institute was established in 1974 (the year I was first elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors), and I’ve followed its work ever since. John C. Lincoln, an industrialist who was originally from Cleveland, Ohio, established the Lincoln Foundation in 1946, and it was the Board of Directors of the Foundation that created the Institute almost thirty years later. This seems like a pretty unlikely origin for an organization that now spearheads academic work on land use policy on a global basis, but such is the case. The work of the Institute includes research, training, conferences, demonstration projects, and publications, with the objective being to provide nonpartisan analysis to inform regulatory, planning, and tax policy decisions in the United States and abroad. John C. Lincoln became interested in land policy through the ideas of Henry George, author of Progress and Poverty, published in 1879. Today, the Lincoln Institute really is a leading international research organization. For KUSP listeners who want to “get serious” about land use policy, it’s a great resource. You can check out the Lincoln Institute through the link found in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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