I have talked about the Santa Cruz County LAFCO quite a bit, since that LAFCO has been reviewing (for the last four years) a proposal to extend both sewer and water services to the UCSC North Campus, to facilitate campus growth. The law firm with which I am associated represents the Community Water Coalition, which is opposed to the service extension. Everyone thought that the “final decision” from LAFCO might be made this Wednesday, but the Environmental Impact Report for the service extension was held to be legally deficient by an appellate court. LAFCO cancelled its December 5th meeting. Presumably, we will hear more in January.

Meanwhile, the Monterey County LAFCO is meeting today, and will consider a proposal by the City of Soledad to extend sewer service to some farmworker housing located 2.5 miles North of the City Limits. Here’s the problem: service extensions have consequences. There is a lot of prime farmland between the City Limits and the Camphora Apartments, and that land will potentially become developable if LAFCO allows the sewer line to be extended.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Santa Cruz County LAFCO
• Monterey County LAFCO
• December 3, 2012 Monterey County LAFCO Agenda
  • Item #8(d) is the Soledad sewer service extension item

The United States Forest Service supervises most of what we think of as “Big Sur” through the Los Padres National Forest Monterey Ranger District. The Ranger District is currently asking for public comments on a Strategic Community Fuelbreak Improvement Project. This is, in fact, a “big deal” for Big Sur. Plans are to publish a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in November 2013. The Ranger District is asking for preliminary comments now, and I urge interested persons to get involved in the process early.

The Ventana Wilderness Alliance has sent me a copy of a detailed letter from the Ranger District, indicating that the proposal is to reestablish and maintain 24.1 miles of historically used fuelbreaks. 7.5 miles would be within designated wilderness, and 16.6 miles would be outside designated wilderness. I have put contact information in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. I bet the Ventana Wilderness Alliance would send you a copy, too.

A public meeting is scheduled for this evening, at 7:30, at the U.S. Forest Service office at 406 Mildred Avenue in King City. Another public meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 6th, at the U.S. Forest Service Big Sur Station, 47555 Highway One in Big Sur.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Wildfire Protection Plan (2010)
• Monterey Ranger District Website
• Ventana Wilderness Alliance Website
• VWA Discussion Forum on Fuelbreaks
• Contact VWA for Ranger District Letter
• Email For Comments To Monterey Ranger District

The Land Use Report has no hidden agenda. I am “upfront” about trying to get KUSP listeners to participate, themselves, in the public meetings that ultimately lead to the land use, transportation, and water policy decisions that can have such a determinative impact on the future of the Central Coast. I also try to build familiarity with the acronyms that identify the public agencies that make those decisions. Today’s acronym is “RTC.” Does anybody know what “RTC” stands for? I will reveal the correct answer tomorrow. Or, you can visit the Land Use Report blog, at kusp.org/landuse. The correct answer appears at the very top of today’s transcript.

Here’s a hint: the RTC in Monterey County is called TAMC. TAMC is meeting today, and I have a link in today’s transcript to their very festive-looking agenda, adorned with a picture of green holly and a red bow. The TAMC meeting will be held this morning, starting at 9:30 a.m., at the Agricultural Center Conference Room, located at 1428 Abbott Street in Salinas. You are definitely invited. You might well want to testify at their public hearing, to get input on unmet transit needs. Or, you can find out about a project to bring commuter rail to Monterey County.

Tomorrow, I will provide the answer to my “pop quiz.”

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• TAMC Website
• TAMC Agenda for Wednesday, December 5, 2012

In yesterday’s Land Use Report I used two acronyms that I did not really “spell out.” The first was “RTC,” meaning “Regional Transportation Commission. The second was “TAMC,” meaning “Transportation Agency for Monterey County.” TAMC is the RTC for Monterey County, and TAMC met yesterday.

Today, the RTC for Santa Cruz County is meeting. In this case, the RTC is most often called “the Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission,” or even just “the Transportation Commission.” In fact, however, although the Commission tries to shorten it down, to make it easier to say, the Commission’s full and “official” name is “Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission. Sometimes, the Commission even adds on its concurrent title, and you can find agendas that identify the agency as “The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and Service Authority for Freeway Emergency (SAFE).”

Today’s meeting of the Transportation Commission is being held in the Chambers of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, beginning at 9:00 o’clock this morning. There are not a lot of big policy decisions on the agenda, but there will be lots of informational items, and “hellos” and “goodbyes,” too. If you want to get involved in transportation issues, in Santa Cruz County, just “being there” is important. You could start today, at 9:00 o’clock.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Santa Cruz County Transportation Commission Agenda
• SCCRTC Highway 17 Safety Corridor Project
• SCCRTC Website

If you’d like to start participating in the land use policy arena, and of course I do encourage that, you should definitely be keeping tabs on your local planning commission. Every city and every county has a planning commission. “County” planning commissions make land use policy decisions that affect what are called “unincorporated” areas; that means areas that are outside of incorporated cities. Obviously, city planning commissions handle items that are within city limits.

In Santa Cruz County, slightly more than half of the population lives outside of an incorporated city. If you live in Live Oak, or Aptos, or Soquel, or Ben Lomond, or Freedom, or La Selva Beach, or Pasatiempo, or Boulder Creek, or Felton, you need to pay attention to what the County Planning Commission is doing. While the ultimate responsibility for land use and planning decisions outside the boundaries of cities is with the Board of Supervisors, the Board often defers to what the Planning Commission does, or recommends.

So, here is a “heads up.” The Santa Cruz County Planning Commission is going to hold an evening study session on Wednesday, December 12th, next week, at 6:30 p.m. The study session will focus on a proposed “Transit Corridors Plan for Sustainable Communities.” Unincorporated areas in mid-county would be directly impacted.

Mark your calendar for next Wednesday’s meeting.

More Information:

• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Transit Corridors Plan Website
• Santa Cruz County Planning Department Website
• Commission Agenda for December 12, 2012 Meeting