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KUSP LandWatch
News
November 14, 2011 to November 18, 2011
November 14, 2011 to November 18, 2011
KUSP provided a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio from January 2003 to May 2016. Archives of past transcripts are available here.
November 14, 2011 to November 18, 2011
- Tomorrow At The Monterey County Board
Monday, November 14, 2011
- Today At The Santa Cruz County Board
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
- Sustainable Transportation?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
- Urban Sprawl Is A Ponzi Scheme
Thursday, November 17, 2011
- The Watsonville General Plan Update
Friday, November 18, 2011
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.
| Tomorrow At The Monterey County Board Monday, November 14, 2011 |
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Landowners and developers often complain about how long it takes to obtain a permit for some land use related proposal, and they also complain about the cost. These complaints are often quite legitimate. Usually, the problem is made worse when the local government agency (usually a city or a county) sets up its rules to provide applicants with maximum flexibility. The more flexibility that the agency provides at the permit level, the longer and more complex the permit process becomes. If an agency is willing to make up its mind about what sort of land uses it wants at a “policy” level, as opposed to deciding every issue individually, at the “permit” level, things can go faster and costs will be reduced. There is a link to an article that discusses the differing approaches in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. Tomorrow, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is discussing a related issue: if a permit applicant files an application, but then doesn’t actively pursue the permit process, how long should it be before the applicant will need to refile, and start over? The County has some “inactive” discretionary permit applications that have been in the system for years – and not because the County has delayed! There are some important policy and fairness questions involved. If you think that this topic is important, or that you might be personally affected, don’t miss the Board meeting tomorrow. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Today At The Santa Cruz County Board Tuesday, November 15, 2011 |
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The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is meeting today, and lots of land use related items are on the agenda. You may already know that the Board is again considering the topic of medical marijuana dispensaries. Fairly recently, the Board established a pretty comprehensive scheme to manage the location and operation of such facilities, but it now looks like the Board is going to have to suspend its program, even before it has really begun. The federal government claims that federal law preempts state laws, where the regulation of marijuana is involved. The item is Item #40 on the Board’s agenda, and the Board should get to it shortly after nine o’clock this morning. The Board will also get a report on a lower income housing development that would be constructed on Atkinson Lane, on property immediately adjacent to the City of Watsonville. Probably most importantly, from the perspective of land use policy, the Board will consider a recommendation from its Planning Director that the Board modify the County’s Coastal Zone policies. The idea is to give the Board the ability, on a project by project basis, to allow “lower priority” uses on properties located in the Coastal Zone that have been designated for uses that the Coastal Act says are “high priority.” The Planning Director, in other words, wants to add “flexibility” at the “permit” level to change the “policy” priorities that the Board has set in the Local Coastal Program. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Sustainable Transportation? Wednesday, November 16, 2011 |
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The Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission is now officially posing this question: How can we best achieve “sustainability” in the next edition of our Regional Transportation Plan? The Commission invites you to a workshop to discuss this question on November 17th (that’s tomorrow), from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Live Oak Senior Center. At this workshop, participants will discuss how to evaluate “sustainability” in the next Regional Transportation Plan, and will also provide feedback on sustainability objectives, and learn how the Sustainable Transportation Analysis Rating System, or STARS, can provide guidance for developing a “sustainable” Regional Transportation Plan. The STARS system is not unlike the LEED system, which may be familiar to some listeners. LEED is used to evaluate building design features. STARS is used to evaluate transportation systems. Once a system for integrating “sustainability” into the Transportation Plan has been identified, the Commission will then use that system to develop draft goals and policies, and these goals and policies, in turn, will guide which projects are included in the Regional Transportation Plan ultimately adopted. Projects can include, for instance, road improvements, transit service, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The workshop is tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m., at the Live Oak Senior Center, 1777 Capitola Road in Santa Cruz. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Urban Sprawl Is A Ponzi Scheme Thursday, November 17, 2011 |
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I have signed up for various listserve lists, so that informative articles about land use policy wind up in my email inbox. Just recently, a column by Kaid Benfield caught my eye. Benfield works for the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, which is one of the nation’s largest environmental organizations. His job assignment is land use policy, and he regularly writes and speaks on “smart growth” topics. Atlantic Cities, which is affiliated with The Atlantic magazine, and which allows interested persons to subscribe, free, to articles on the theme “Place Matters,” is where I found Benfield’s article: “How Suburban Sprawl Works Like a Ponzi Scheme.” I have put a link in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. Benfield notes that “getting out of [our current economic] mess … will require a basket of solutions, including a serious look at the way we have been growing our cities and towns.” Benfield then discusses how suburban sprawl is basically a Ponzi scheme, in which municipalities expand infrastructure hoping to attract new taxpayers that can pay off the mounting costs associated with the last infrastructure expansion. Citing to a substantial new report published by the nonprofit group Strong Towns, Benfield argues that we must change our development approach if we wish to end the current economic crisis. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| The Watsonville General Plan Update Friday, November 18, 2011 |
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The City of Santa Cruz, the City of Capitola, and the City of Watsonville are all located in Santa Cruz County, and they are all in the midst of updating their General Plans. Today, let me tell you about an upcoming Community Meeting on the Watsonville 2030 General Plan Update. The City’s current Update process is focused on potential growth areas near the Watsonville Airport, but will also address other issues, as required by a court decision that invalidated an earlier General Plan Update effort. Wittwer & Parkin, the law firm with which I am affiliated, represented the parties that successfully challenged the earlier General Plan, and the firm’s clients continue to be involved. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, November 30th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Topics to be addressed will include Airport Land Use Alternatives, Air Quality, and Regional Traffic Impacts. The workshop is scheduled for the Watsonville Civic Plaza Community Room, located at 275 Main Street, on the 4th Floor. All members of the public are absolutely invited to attend and participate. The City also plans another workshop, to present a Summary of 2030 General Plan issues, and to focus on the EIR and General Plan Update process. The date for that workshop is yet to be determined. I hope that Watsonville residents, and other interested persons, will get personally involved. A City’s General Plan is its most important planning document. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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