Here’s a quick rundown of some important land use policy issues coming up for discussion before the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. These elected bodies have broad discretion to determine what will happen in the unincorporated portions of these counties.

Tomorrow, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will consider new regulations on water runoff and pollution control, as well as regulations on fences and walls. In an important (though not totally land use related item), the Board will also consider an ordinance on single-use paper and plastic carryout bags.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors, meeting tomorrow, will consider both the proposed Monterra Ranch Subdivision and the large new shopping center proposed at Highway 68 and Corral de Tierra. With respect to the last item, a “Statement of Overriding Considerations” is proposed to override the adverse impacts of the proposal.

Finally, here’s an advisory about a presentation being given at UCSC today, from 12:30 to 2:00 o’clock. Julie Sze, an Associate Professor of American Studies at UC Davis, will be speaking on “Situating Sustainability Discourse in Shanghai: Global Flows and Urban Transformations in a Warming World.”

There is more information in the KUSP Land Use Report Blog.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Blog: Two Worlds
• Julie Sze Colloquium Presentation
  • Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors’ Agenda
  • Runoff and Pollution Control – Agenda Item # 40
  • Fence And Wall Regulations – Agenda Item #42
• Plastic Bag Ordinance – Agenda Item # 41
  • Monterey County Board of Supervisors’ Agenda
    • The Monterra Ranch Subdivision is Item #S-6
    • The Highway 69 Shopping Center proposal is Item #S-7

The City Council of the City of Santa Cruz is meeting this evening at 7:00 p.m., at 809 Center Street, right across the street from the downtown library. I very much encourage your attendance. The meeting will be a “Study Session” on the proposed Draft 2030 General Plan. If you are a City resident, I anticipate that you will find out quite a bit about what the City Council thinks that the future of the City of Santa Cruz should be. You can find a link to the Council agenda in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. These transcripts, by the way, now come in the form of a “blog,” maintained on the KUSP website. Just click the “Archives/Podcasts” link at the top of the KUSP home page.

No action is contemplated this evening because the Final Environmental Impact Report is not yet ready. The Council is required to consider the Final EIR before taking action on the General Plan. In the words of the City staff, the purpose of the study session tonight “is not only to inform the Council of the process and substance of the Plan, but also to reengage the public and advisory bodies in the vision and major changes proposed.”

I would like to urge you to do exactly what the City staff says, and “reengage” in this General Plan process. A city’s General Plan is its most important planning document. The process in this case has been very much delayed, but there is still time to make a difference.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Blog: Two Worlds
• February 7, 2012 City Council Study Session Agenda
• Draft General Plan 2030 (GP 2030) Study Session Materials

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission has been overseeing the development of a Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail. The Commission held a number of workshops last December, and in a recent update report the Commission says that over 200 people attended workshops in Davenport, Live Oak, or Watsonville. The proposed project merges plans for a bicycle and pedestrian trail along the existing Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line with other existing and proposed trails, so as to create a connected network. The future trail is intended to serve transportation, recreation and interpretive uses for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, families, locals, and visitors. In other words, this is a pretty exciting idea, and it’s on the way to becoming a reality. A Draft Plan should be released sometime during this upcoming summer.

The “Opportunities and Constraints” maps provided at the public workshops can be viewed on the Transportation Commission’s website. Paper maps are also available. The purpose of the maps is to translate technical information into a helpful tool to guide the identification of potential alignments. If you’d like to get involved, and I encourage you to do so, you should definitely get a copy of the maps and start thinking about what comments you might have. Both “opportunities” and “constraints” are important. There is more information in today’s KUSP Land Use Report blog.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Blog: Two Worlds
• Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Website
• Information on the Sanctuary Trail Planning Process
• Opportunities and Constraints Maps
• For more information contact Cory Caletti at ccaletti@sccrtc.org

Meetings of the Santa Cruz City Council will now be broadcast live, “online.” They will be available for replay, too. You can find a link to where that online access can be obtained by tracking down the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. In setting up this “streaming video” opportunity, the City Council is following in the footsteps of the California Coastal Commission. The ability to see the Council meeting on video, both live and in replay, obviously offers a new opportunity for City residents and other interested persons to find out what’s going on with City government.

While the City Council deserves kudos for making this new tool for participation available, I must say that I do have a mixed reaction. It is one thing for the Coastal Commission to do this, since the Commission’s meetings, usually, are held hundreds of miles away. City Council meetings, though, are right downtown, and while making it easier to access the activities of elected representatives is good, "watching" elected officials do something is different from democracy. Self-government means we have to get involved ourselves, and there really isn’t any substitute for "being there."

On Tuesday, I told listeners about a study session on the City’s Draft General Plan, and I strongly urged listeners to attend and participate. I hope that some of you did – and will – and that you won’t be engaged by just watching on video. Democracy is most definitely not a "spectator sport."

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Blog: Two Worlds
• Santa Cruz Patch Article on Streaming Video
• Website Like For Live Streaming Video

One of the major issues now confronting the City of Santa Cruz, and residents outside the city limits, too, is whether or not the City should partner with the Soquel Creek Water District to construct a $100 million dollar desalination plant to meet the need for water during drought periods in the City of Santa Cruz water service area, and to help relieve the threat of groundwater overdraft in the Soquel Creek Water District. I have a link to the SCWD2 website in the transcript of today’s Report, so you can review the arguments in favor.

There are some compelling arguments “against” the proposed desalination plant, which I have also referenced by a link to the “Desal Alternatives” website. I urge all KUSP listeners to start tracking both sides of the debate, and I want to let you know, today, about a proposed initiative measure, in the City of Santa Cruz, that would amend the Santa Cruz City Charter to provide City voters with an opportunity to vote on desalination, before any of that $100-million dollars gets spent. The idea is to let the voters make the ultimate decision, since it’s such an important one.

The text of the initiative measure is online, and the “kickoff party” for the “Vote On Desal” initiative is scheduled for this Sunday, February 12th, at 418 Front Street in the City of Santa Cruz. The party starts at 12:00 noon, and you are invited!

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Blog: Two Worlds
• SCWD2 Website
• Desal Alternatives Website
• Vote On Desal Website
• Right To Vote On Desalination Initiative Measure
• Kick-Off Party Announcement