The Monterey County Board of Supervisors meets tomorrow in Salinas. During the afternoon session, in particular, the Board will confront several important land use items. Let me highlight three of them.

In connection with Agenda Item #18, the Board will address code enforcement issues. I often point out that the “laws” and the “regulations” governing land use are not like “natural laws.” We make up our own land use regulations, and we can change them. But if the laws and regulations adopted by our local government officials aren’t actually enforced, they aren’t worth much. As many have experienced, it is often very hard to get county officials actually to take action when someone builds something without a permit, or refuses to implement a required condition of a project approval. Tomorrow, the Board will consider changes that the staff thinks would result in “a more diligent approach to the use of administrative citations and follow-up with collections,” i.e., better enforcement.

Item #16 proposes to change the rules relating to the public ownership of desalination plants, a key issue. Item #17 is about changing the regulations related to agricultural wells.

As ever, if you care, be there! You can find a link to the Board’s agenda below.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Board Agenda Materials

The Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County meets today in Santa Cruz. This evening, the Board will be joined by a few other persons, and will meet in Watsonville, starting at 7:00 p.m., as the Board of Directors of Zone 7 of the County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

Most listeners probably know that members of the Board of Supervisors end up wearing a few other “hats,” besides their “Board hat,” as a result of serving on the Board of Supervisors. Their membership on the Board automatically places them on the Board of Directors of other governmental agencies, with such agencies usually having a very specific and limited set of governmental responsibilities. While limited, the responsibilities associated with these other assignments are often very important. In the case of Zone 7, the governing body includes not only the five members of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, but also two voting members from the Pajaro Valley, which is where Zone 7 is located. The Zone 7 Board is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the Federal flood control project on the Pajaro River and Salsipuedes Creek. It’s hard to think of a more important job. Tens of thousands of lives, and millions of dollars in property (not to mention the natural environment) will be affected by the decisions of the Zone 7 Board.

Think about attending the meeting tonight, to find out about flood issues in the Pajaro River watershed.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Santa Cruz County Board Agenda, October 16, 2012
• Agenda Item #53 – Zone 7 Meeting (in Watsonville)
• LAFCO Service Review Chapter on Flood Protection and Stormwater Services

I think it is probably accurate to characterize the former Fort Ord as the current “ground zero” for land use controversy in Monterey County. There are links to information about the current controversies in my KUSP Land Use Report blog at kusp.org/landuse.

Today, I thought I would alert you to an upcoming deadline. The City of Seaside is planning to do an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, to evaluate a Specific Plan that would govern the future development of what is called the “Monterey Downs Horse Park” and the proposed Central Coast Veterans Cemetery. Both of these would be located on the former Fort Ord. The City would like the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, to allow Seaside to annex the property involved, and before they can get permission from LAFCO to take change of land use planning in the area, the city needs to have “Specific Plan” for how development would proceed, and must have evaluated possible environmental impacts.

As stage one in the preparation of the EIR, the City of Seaside has published what is called a “Notice of Preparation,” outlining how they plan to do their environmental review. If anyone wants to comment on the Notice of Preparation, the deadline for such comment is October 22nd.

The public is definitely engaged, already, in this planning process. Really, it is just beginning. I encourage your personal involvement.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Herald Article on Tree Clearing
• Monterey County Herald Article on Cemetery Site
• City of Seaside Website on Fort Ord Development
• Keep Fort Ord Wild Website
• LandWatch Monterey County Website

John Leopold represents the First Supervisorial District on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. He publishes a regular email newsletter that alerts his constituents to important land use and other issues. If you live in the First District, I certainly encourage you to sign up for Supervisor Leopold’s newsletter. In fact, if you care about County government in general, signing up for the Leopold Newsletter would be a good idea.

In his most recent newsletter, Supervisor Leopold highlights a new planning process for one of the longest transportation corridors in the County - Soquel Drive. The planning process is to help County government envision future development along that corridor, but the effort will also address sustainable development along 7th Avenue, 17th Avenue, 41st Avenue, Portola Drive, Brommer Street, and Capitola Road.

The idea is to plan for the next generation of sustainable housing, economic development and necessary transportation improvements, and Supervisor Leopold is encouraging local residents to get personally involved. Let me second that motion.

If you care about this important planning process, come to a “Visioning Workshop” to be held this evening at the New Brighton Middle School, located at 250 Washburn Avenue in Capitola. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. this evening, and is scheduled to end at 9:00 p.m.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Transit Corridors Plan Website
• Click this link to contact Supervisor Leopold, to ask to receive the Leopold Newsletter

The Ventana Wilderness Alliance will present its first “Wild And Scenic” Film Festival at the Del Mar Theatre next Thursday, October 25th. The Del Mar is located in downtown Santa Cruz. The Festival will get underway at 7:00 p.m., and will end no later than 10:00 o’clock. I definitely encourage you to attend, and I can promise you that I’ll be there. I am slated to act as a kind of “Master of Ceremonies” for the evening.

You can get more information, and buy a ticket (which is only $10.00), by clicking on the links I provide in today’s transcript. The Festival is a benefit for the Ventana Wilderness Alliance. If you join, at the $25 level, a free ticket comes along with your membership. The ten films that will be shown reflect the environmental challenges and successes familiar to residents of California’s Central Coast. According to Bruce Bratton, who has reviewed a lot of films in his career, these films are “stunning, impressive, [and] important.”

No kidding, this really is a great opportunity to see some powerful films, and to help protect public lands in the Big Sur and Ventana region. The Wild And Scenic Film Festival, originally conceived by the South Yuba River Citizen’s League, is intended as a call to action. The films illustrate the Earth’s beauty, the conservation challenges we face, and the innovative tactics that many communities are using to make a difference. 

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Ventana Wilderness Alliance Website
• Buy Tickets To the WVA “Wild And Scenic” Film Festival
• For more information call the VWA at 831-423-3191