Here is a “heads up” list, letting you know about various meetings and presentations that may be of interest. To learn more, please visit the KUSP archives, where LandWatch provides transcripts of both current and past editions of the Land Use Report.

• Today, February 24th, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Grange Hall in Aromas, FarmLink will present a “Farm Finance Expo.” Small farmers should check this out!
  
  
• Today at 4:00 p.m., the Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission meets in Salinas.
  
  
• Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25th, John Andrew, the Assistant Deputy Director of the California Department of Water Resources, will speak in Room 148 at Porter College, at UCSC, on “Responses to Climate Change for California’s Water Sector.”
  
  
• Tomorrow, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will consider a controversial Carmel Valley development project, address road access issues, and vote on other important land use matters. All this at 1:30 p.m.
  
  
• Tomorrow in Santa Cruz County, at 11:00 o’clock in the morning, the Board will decide whether to call a special election, to ask voters to replace an existing service charge with a special tax to support parks and recreation. If you care about that topic, you should consider making your feelings known.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• California FarmLink Website
• Information on FarmLink Farm Finance Expo
• Monterey County LAFCO Website
• LAFCO Agenda, February 24, 2014
• Indicators of Climate Change in California
• California Climate Change Reports
• Agenda, Monterey County Board of Supervisors
• Agenda, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

Both the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be taking action today on very significant land use policy and project items.

In Monterey County, the Board will consider whether or not to rescind its former action on a controversial Carmel Valley development project. This is all part of a legal settlement. In 2012, the Board denied a combined development permit for a proposed project on Val Verde Drive in Carmel Valley. The property is almost eight acres, and thirty-one residential units were proposed. The hearing on this item will be at 1:30 p.m. in Salinas. Housing, traffic, water, and related issues, all of critical importance in Carmel Valley, are facing the Board. If you care, you can definitely testify in person. In addition to this item, the Board will also consider a controversial proposal to give neighbors an increased voice over proposed developments on private roads.

A big item in Santa Cruz County is a proposal that the Santa Cruz County Board will consider at 11:00 o’clock this morning. The proposal is to change an existing service charge into a special tax, to provide a stable funding source for parks and recreation purposes. The tax would be $8.50 per year, for improved parcels. If you have a position, let the Board of Supervisors know!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
• Staff Materials, Santa Cruz County Parks Proposal
• Agenda, Monterey County Board of Supervisors
• Materials on Monterey County Items Are Available Through the Board’s Agenda Link.

Let me alert listeners in Monterey County to a meeting of the Monterey County Planning Commission. The meeting begins at 9:00 o’clock this morning, and will be held at the County Government Center, 168 West Alisal Street in Salinas. I have placed a link to the Planning Commission agenda in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. That is available at kusp.org/landuse.

There are a couple of interesting “project” items on today’s Planning Commission agenda. For instance, the Commission will consider a proposed single family dwelling in the Coastal Zone, in Pebble Beach. The proposed house would be 5,132 square feet, with a 1,126 square foot attached garage, a 136 square foot mudroom, a 519 square foot storage loft above the garage, a 107 square foot entry portico, among other features. The proposed project would also include a 243 square foot conservatory, a 192 square foot shop, and other facilities. Staff is recommending approval.

Of more general importance are three different “policy” items that will face the Commission today. How should the County handle inactive land use permit applications? What kind of a countywide traffic impact fee might be appropriate, and what about restrictions on proposed ridgeline developments?

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• February 26, 2014 Agenda of Monterey County Planning Commission
• Staff Report on Pebble Beach Project Proposal
• Staff Report on Ridgeline Development
• Staff Report on Traffic Impact Fee
• Staff Report on Inactive Applications

Sierra Club California and other environmental groups have been working on state legislation to impose a moratorium on fracking and well stimulation. Fracking is a big issue within our Central Coast Region.

SB 1132 imposes a moratorium on fracking and well stimulation until an expanded version of a study of fracking and well stimulation is completed, reviewed, and then sent to the Governor. After he gets that comprehensive report, the Governor will have to determine if the study warrants removing the moratorium based on the information it contains about the impacts that fracking and well stimulation might have on public health, and on environmental and economic sustainability.

Check out SB 1132, and then tell our local representatives what you think. I’ve placed links to their websites below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Senate Bill 1132, As Introduced
• State’s LegInfo Website
• Website, Sierra Club California
• Sierra Club Press Statement on SB 1132
• State Senator Holly Mitchell
• State Senator Mark Leno
• State Senator Bill Monning
• Assembly Member Luis Alejo
• Assembly Member Mark Stone

There are two different, though related, ways you can get involved in land use issues. First, you can focus on specific “project” items. For instance, should Safeway be allowed to reconfigure the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center in Aptos, and vastly to increase the size of the existing store? As another example, should that proposed housing development on Val Verde Drive in Carmel Valley be given the go-ahead? These are important decisions, and they are decisions about what “projects” should be approved, or denied, or about what sort of conditions should be imposed on a project approval.

Prior to any “project” applications, however, come “policy” level decisions. Under the state’s Planning and Zoning Law, all “project” approvals must be consistent with relevant “policy” documents, the most important being a City or County General Plan. Depending on adopted “policies,” certain kinds of “projects” won’t even be considered. Good planning really depends, ultimately, on good “policies,” maintained and applied.

Right now, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments is overseeing the development of a key “policy” document, the “Monterey Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy.” I encourage you to get involved in this critical “policy” discussion. Comments are due on April 8th.

Get more information below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Metropolitan Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy