There are multiple proposals to deal with the water supply problems on the Monterey Peninsula, and the Carmel Valley Association has just published a brief overview. You can find a link at kusp.org/land use. Projects being considered include the People's Desal Project, the Deep Water Desal Project, alternative well locations within the boundary of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, and a desalination project proposed by CalAm.

Because the California Public Utilities Commission is going to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, on the CalAm project, all of these various alternatives should now be studied on an equal footing. Both the California Environmental Quality Act (the state law), and the National Environmental Policy Act (the federal law) do require that a reasonable range of alternatives be compared with respect to their environmental impacts. I am sure you will hear from me in the future, with an exhortation that you get personally involved in the environmental review process.

Neither federal nor state law requires that the upcoming environmental review include a financial analysis that makes an “equal footing” comparison between all the various projects, in terms of their financial impacts. The Carmel Valley Association wants to make sure that such a financial comparison is actually carried out, and are suggesting that this is something that the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District should do.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Carmel Valley Association Water Update
• Carmel Valley Association Water Policy

This morning, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will consider a new “Public Safety Facility” on the corner of Chanticleer Avenue and Soquel Avenue. Buildings currently on the site would be reconfigured to provide new office space for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff, including administrative workspace, evidence and property storage, a forensic medical facility, a crime lab, and a multi-purpose meeting room. This is an important item.

The agenda item I found most fascinating, however, is a report back to the Board on Aptos land use planning and development. On August 7th, the Board told the Planning Director to provide the Board with <quote> “options for the Board to consider that will enable the County to ensure that additional development [in the Aptos area] is coordinated and well planned.” <unquote>

Today’s response says that the Board shouldn’t worry about that kind of “proactive” approach to planning, and that a “status quo” approach is just fine. Here’s the Planning Director’s response:

…Under the ‘status quo’ approach the County will continue carrying out the scope of work for the Transit Corridors Plan for Sustainable Communities, and property owners/developers will submit development applications at times determined appropriate by them.

This is what I call “planning by project,” where the initiative is all with the developers, not with the public. That isn’t what the Board asked for on August 7th. I’ll be interested to see what the Board’s reaction is this morning.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Board of Supervisors’ Agenda, October 30, 2012
• Agenda Item #41 – Public Safety Building
• Agenda Item #29 – Aptos Planning

Tomorrow night, at 6:00 p.m. (that’s Thursday, November 1st), a public workshop will be held in the San Benito County Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, located at 481 Fourth Street in Hollister. The purpose of the workshop is to discuss a proposed oil and gas drilling ordinance for San Benito County. The ordinance is aimed at providing some rules to govern any “fracking” operations that may be proposed in San Benito County. “Fracking” is short for “hydraulic fracturing,” a new technique of oil and gas recovery that is spreading rapidly, and without much effective regulation.

The draft ordinance that will be discussed tomorrow night was presented to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors on October 16th. Getting feedback from the public, at the workshop tomorrow, is the next step towards adoption. After the workshop, a committee will seek to hammer out the final details of the ordinance, for subsequent Board consideration and approval. The committee will consist of representatives from the county, the oil industry, and Aromas Cares About Our Environment, or ACE, a community group that has been pushing this issue.

The state of California currently has no regulations directly dealing with “fracking,” so the proposed San Benito County ordinance could end up being a model. A link to more information, including the ordinance draft, can be found below. I hope interested KUSP listeners will be able to attend tomorrow night.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• San Benito County Board of Supervisors Agenda – October 16, 2012
• Aromas Cares For Our Environment (ACE) Website
• ACE “Fracking” Information Page
• Proposed Ordinance

If you would like some information about the proposed Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network you might want to direct your steps to the Watsonville Civic Center this morning. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission will be meeting in Watsonville this morning, starting at 9:00 o’clock, and one of the items on their agenda will be a presentation about this exciting new trail proposal.

Alternatively, check out today’s Land Use Report Blog, which you can find at kusp.org/landuse. I have provided a link to the Draft Master Plan, which you can either download or read online. Comments are definitely in order. The Commission wants written comments to be submitted by December 21st. Thereafter, the Commission will be considering possible changes, based on the comments received.

The purpose of the Master Plan is to establish an alignment and a set of design standards for what will be a “network” of trails, all based on the Coastal Rail Trail spine, but including associated spur trails. Planning for the Trail Network is being done within the context of existing physical constraints of the railroad, potential rail service, coastal access requirements, and highway and public street rights-of-way. The Draft Master Plan identifies planning issues associated with the trail’s construction, and presents possible solutions for its design, implementation, and long-term operation and maintenance.

More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
November 1, 2012 Transportation Commission Agenda
DRAFT Plan - Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network
For more information contact Cory Caletti, Senior Transportation Planner:
Email – info@sccrtc.org
Telephone – 831-460-3200

The elections this year will have a big impact on land use. Land use decisions, remember, are made mostly at the local level. If you care about the future of Fort Ord, or about water policy in Monterey County, you should care about who gets elected to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. In both the Fifth Supervisorial District (covering the Peninsula and Big Sur) and in the First Supervisorial District (centered in Salinas), long time incumbents are facing tough challenges. The choices made by the voters in these races will have a huge impact on the future land use policies of Monterey County. Elections in Seaside and Marina are going to be pretty important, too.

In Santa Cruz County, what the voters decide in the Fifth Supervisorial District will definitely impact Santa Cruz County land use policy. The Fifth District includes the San Lorenzo Valley, and a part of Scotts Valley, and a part of Santa Cruz. It’s an open seat. The choice is between a local, “born in the San Lorenzo Valley” candidate and someone who was elected multiple times to the State Legislature. Make no mistake; the choice will make a difference!

I have links to more information below. Sometimes, elections aren’t that important where land use policy is concerned. This election will be important, so get ready to vote!

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Board of Supervisors
  • Fifth District – Supervisor Dave Potter
  • Fifth District – Challenger Marc Del Piero
  • First District – Supervisor Fernando Armenta
  • First District – Challenger Tony Barrera
• Seaside Mayor’s Race
  • Mayor Felix Bachofner
  • Challenger Ralph Rubio
• Marina Mayor’s Race
  • Mayor Bruce Delgado
  • Challenger Steve Emerson
• Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
  • Fifth District - Eric Hammer
  • Fifth District - Bruce McPherson