The local elections scheduled for tomorrow may have big impacts on land use policy. In Santa Cruz County, where two incumbents have chosen not to run for reelection, we know for certain that there will be two new members of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, starting next year. We may know exactly who those two new persons are going to be, by about midnight tomorrow.

In Monterey County, all currently serving members of the Board are running for reelection. There are very spirited contests in three of the Supervisorial districts, however, so significant changes might be in the offing. Again, we will all know more by Wednesday morning.

Wednesday, by the way, is a big day in its own right. On Wednesday, the Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, is scheduled to consider the applications of the City of Santa Cruz and the University of California at Santa Cruz. The City and UCSC want LAFCO to approve an extension of the City’s highly stressed water supplies to the UCSC North Campus, to permit the construction of over 3,000,000 square feet of new buildings. Both the City and UCSC have threatened to sue LAFCO, if things don’t go just the way they want. I represent the Community Water Coalition, which is deeply involved in the controversy, so I do have a dog in this fight. You’re invited to come watch and participate. The LAFCO meeting begins at 10:00 am on Wednesday morning.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• LAFCO Agenda, June 6, 2012
• Santa Cruz County LAFCO (Where Agenda Materials Are Available)
• Notice of LAFCO Closed Session, to consider City and UCSC threats of litigation

You are invited to a meeting on Thursday, June 7th, in Watsonville, and I’d suggest you mark your calendar. The meeting will be held in the Community Rooms located on the fourth floor of the Watsonville Civic Plaza. The meeting starts at 1:30 p.m., and is scheduled to end at 4:30 p.m., and this meeting may be the last meeting of the Pajaro River Watershed Council. If so, that’s a shame. It’s hard to imagine a more important long-term assignment than the protection and restoration of the watershed of the Pajaro River.

The Pajaro River watershed encompasses something like 1,300 square miles, located in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Santa Clara counties. The meeting on Thursday will focus on the valuable ecological and agricultural resources of this important, 1,300 square mile watershed. Presenters will include Dawn Mathes of the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, Tanya Diamond of Connectivity for Wildlife, and Sasha Gennett, from the Nature Conservancy. These presenters and other participants will discuss some of the impressive efforts that are currently underway to ensure both environmental and agricultural sustainability throughout the watershed.

The Pajaro River Watershed Council has been sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. I hope this meeting isn’t really the last one, but it’s one you shouldn’t miss.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Santa Clara Valley Water District Website
• Pajaro Watershed Information Center
• Meeting Announcement, June 7th Meeting

KUSP’s spring supplemental pledge drive starts tomorrow morning. It will continue until Monday morning, June 11th, and you can actually do something about that pledge drive right now, by directing your browser to the KUSP website. I donate to KUSP because I just love that Land Use Report thing. Well, and all that other great programming, too! The address you are looking for is www.kusp.org. Check out the Land Use Report blog after pushing that “donation” button.

Here’s another “heads up.” I don’t talk too much about air quality issues here on the Land Use Report, mostly because our air quality is so good. However, one of the reasons that our air quality is so good is that we work at it. The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District implements local rules that are part of an overall “State Implementation Plan,” or SIP. This SIP, in turn, implements standards set by the federal Clean Air Act. I invite listeners to find out just how the process works by attending an APCD Advisory Committee meeting tomorrow, at 1:30 p.m., at the offices of the Air Pollution Control District, 24580 Silver Cloud Court, in Monterey.

There is more information at kusp.org/land use. And don’t forget that “donation” button on the way.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District Website
• Advisory Committee Agenda, June 7, 2012 Meeting

The Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority is trying to build a so-called “plasma arc” incinerator in Gonzales, a Salinas Valley community with a large farmworker population. Proposing this garbage burning facility in Gonzales has raised concerns about “environmental justice.” Demands for “environmental justice” are typically demands that poor communities, and communities of color, not be preferentially targeted for what are sometimes called LULUs. “LULU” means “Locally Undesirable Land Use.” In other words, even if this garbage burning idea were a good idea (and that is highly debated), locating a new garbage-burning incinerator in an economically disadvantaged community like Gonzales has environmental justice implications. Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, and Asamblea Poder Popular de Gonzales are all environmental justice groups working on this issue.

Most recently, the Solid Waste Authority has been trying to get “renewable energy status” for what could be the first plasma arc garbage incinerator in the country. The state agency called CalRecycle has reversed its initial decision to qualify the proposed facility for renewable energy credits, but the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority, which is pushing the project, is asking Governor Brown to intervene.

There is more below.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority Website
• Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
• Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
• Letter objecting to CalRecycle initial interpretation of state law
• Information on plasma arc technology
• Plasco Energy Group Website
• Gonzales Tribune Article, November 2011

The California Coastal Commission is meeting next week, in Huntington Beach, and I have made an initial reconnaissance of the Commission’s upcoming agenda, to see if there are items of particular interest to those who live and work in the Monterey Bay Region. There are, indeed, a number of such items. Here’s a “heads up” on items that will be addressed by the Commission next Friday, one week from today. I’ve put links to the Commission’s agenda in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report, which is available in blog form at kusp.org/landuse.

Next Friday, the Commission will consider Santa Cruz County Code revisions that allow planning staff to make minor exceptions to County rules. The Commission will also consider a final sign off on the Del Monte Forest LCP Update and the Pebble Beach Company Concept Plan.

Here’s the item I found most fascinating: the Commission is going to consider whether or not to revoke a previously approved coastal development permit for the San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Works for the Los Osos Wastewater project. This is a project that has been incredibly controversial in the community of Los Osos in San Luis Obispo County. The staff report on this item will really help you understand how the permit revocation process works. In summary, it’s very difficult to get the Commission to revoke an already-issued permit. As I say, I found this item fascinating.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Coastal Commission Website
• Agenda, June 2012 Coastal Commission Meeting
• Staff Report on Santa Cruz County Minor Exception and Garage Standards
• Staff Report on Del Monte Forest LCP Update and Pebble Beach Company Concept Plan
• Staff Report on Los Osos Wastewater Project Revocation Request