Around the state, Boards of Supervisors meet on Tuesdays. Tomorrow, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is meeting, starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Government Center in Salinas. Among other things, the Board will be discussing the appointment of a new General Manager for the Water Resources Agency. That Board discussion, however, will apparently take place in a closed session. For what it’s worth, many members of the public are rather suspicious about what has been going on within the County’s Water Resources Agency, and providing increased “transparency” with respect to that Agency should certainly be considered by the Board. That said, the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state’s “open meeting” law, does give the Board permission to discuss various matters in a “closed session,” from which the public is excluded. I have placed a link to the key section of the Government Code in today’s transcript, found at kusp.org/landuse. Listeners who track down the actual language of the statute will discover that the ability to discuss matters in a “closed session,” and to exclude the public, is a matter of the Board’s “choice.” The law doesn’t “mandate” closed sessions, but it does “allow” them.

In other Board news, the Board will also be considering changes in the rules governing subdivisions and lot line adjustments. That is a very important land use policy item. It’s Agenda Item #12, and Board consideration is scheduled for 10:30 tomorrow morning.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda Materials
• Government Code Section 54957

The Santa Cruz City Council is meeting this afternoon and evening. I encourage you to track down today’s Land Use Report blog, where you will find a link to the Council’s agenda. A few items are of particular interest, but it actually never hurts to look through the entirety of the agenda of a public agency, to see what might be of interest and importance to you.

Our elected representatives are supposed to be representing us, but they won’t really do a good job of that unless they are constantly in contact with informed voters. I hate to say it, but that’s not happening nearly enough. If you’d like to be an effective part of our self-government system, you do need to be informed, and you do need to participate. That means reviewing the official documents on which your elected representatives are acting. Not everything that you might find important will be covered on the Land Use Report, or in the local media.

This afternoon and this evening (among other things), the Council will vote on the following:

• An initiative petition to enact a Charter Amendment to guarantee the voters’ right to vote on the proposed desalination plant.
  
  
• Approval of a rather dense, 19-unit multi-family condominium project, to be located across the street from the Main Fire Station at the corner of Walnut and Center.
  
  
• A direction to staff to provide the Council with options on how security deposits for residential rental properties should be handled.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda, Santa Cruz City Council Meeting – July 24, 2012
• Staff Report on Right To Vote on Desal Initiative
• Staff Report on Proposed Walnut Commons Condominium Project
• News Article on Proposed Walnut Commons Condominium Project
• Staff Report on Security Deposits for Residential Rental Properties

This afternoon, at 4:00 o’clock, the Monterey City Council will hold a special meeting, to consider alternatives for the Monterey Hotel Mixed-Use Project, to be located at 406 Alvarado Street, in downtown Monterey. You can get a link to the staff materials that Council Members will be reviewing, by tracking down today’s Land Use Report blog at kusp.org/landuse. Another item that the Council will consider, at today’s special meeting, is whether or not to proceed with a plan to provide enhanced and increased outdoor seating on Alvarado Street.

Let’s talk briefly about the first item I mentioned, the alternatives that the Council will consider for the Monterey Hotel Mixed-Use Project at 406 Alvarado Street. The Council’s consideration of this item is related to the elimination of “redevelopment” funding by the Governor and the State Legislature. The elimination of redevelopment has had a profound impact on local government financing, and in this case, the Council is going to decide whether or not to eliminate the affordable housing proposed for the project, or to use non-redevelopment funding to make it possible to retain the affordable units.

City residents, and others, really should care about the choice that the Council will make. If you have an interest in affordable housing on the Monterey Peninsula, please think about reviewing the materials that the Council will consider this afternoon, and then attend the meeting this afternoon and speak out.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey City Council Agenda For Special Meeting on July 25th
• Staff Materials on the Monterey Hotel Mixed-Use Project
• Staff Materials on the outdoor seating agenda item

I have devoted a couple of recent Land Use Reports to a proposal to widen Highway 156, and to turn it into a toll road. Links to both current and past reports are available here.

Turning Highway 156 into a toll road could finance the proposed highway widening. Over the long run, a toll road could also generate money that the Transportation Agency For Monterey County, or TAMC, could use for other projects.

In my last report, I said “TAMC plans to complete environmental review next year, and to begin construction in 2016, with the toll road to be operational by 2019.” I heard from Debbie Hale, the Executive Director of TAMC, who asked me to make sure that KUSP listeners know that no final decisions have in fact been made. I was citing to a time schedule presented by TAMC to the City of Monterey, but that time schedule is apparently only hypothetical at this stage. Construction could proceed that fast, but no decision to proceed has yet been made. All the more reason for you to get personally involved, whatever your position on this proposed project might be. A revenue study on the toll road proposal will be out this fall, and there will be both pre- and post- study meetings and workshops. I will do my best to keep you advised.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Land Use Report on Highway 156 Widening – July 12, 2012
• Land Use Report on Highway 156 Widening – July 17, 2012
• TAMC Chart Showing “Project Schedule” With Construction Complete by 2019
• You can contact TAMC Executive Director Debbie Hale at - debbie@tamcmonterey.org

Speaking of highway projects (I was speaking yesterday about a proposal to widen Highway 156 in the Prunedale area, and to turn it into a toll road), I’d like to give you a report from the Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission, which is overseeing the widening of Highway One between Morrissey Boulevard and Soquel Drive, in Santa Cruz County. Links to more information are found in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

Here’s what’s happening:

• Construction on four retaining walls located adjacent to low-lying areas is taking place during the dry summer months. This will provide better access to continue slope operations later on.
  
  
• Improvements to the path between Park Avenue and La Fonda (along the edge of the Adult School) will begin in the next two weeks. The path will be widened and repaved using a type of concrete additive from a by-product manufactured by sequestering greenhouse gas-producing carbon dioxide from a local power plant. This helps reduce greenhouse gas pollution. I have provided a link to the Calera Corporation website, where there is more information on the process.
  
  
• Finally, and most important for local drivers, demolition of the La Fonda Bridge is currently scheduled for the first week in August. That means that the highway will be closed completely for two nights in each direction between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The alternate route is via Soquel and Morrissey.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Transportation Commission Website
• Calera Corporation Website
• Soquel Drive - Morrissey Widening Project Website
• For more information, contact the Transportation Commission
  • Email: info@sccrtc.org
  • Telephone: 831-460-3200 or 831-768-8012