All governmental power (theoretically, at least) belongs to the people. Elected officials have power only because we, the people, have given it to them. Similarly, non-elected governmental officials only have power to the extent that our elected representatives have given it to them. When any department of government takes action, those governmental employees taking the action have to be able to point to an approval, somewhere, from our elected representatives. That’s the way it is supposed to work, and it largely does work that way, because when governmental bureaucracies start taking actions that have never been properly authorized, those actions are subject to a successful judicial challenge.

This brings me to the "Consent Agenda" system. The governing bodies of most government agencies adopt a "Consent Agenda" as one of their first actions, every meeting. Tomorrow, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has a Consent Agenda with fifty items. When it’s adopted, that means the Board will have given fifty different authorizations for the government bureaucracy to do something.

Bottom line, if you want to know what your government is doing, check the Consent Agenda. As a for instance, Santa Cruz County government is moving towards the creation of a new "Geological Hazard Abatement District" in Seascape. That will end up costing property owners some money. It’s Item #38 on tomorrow’s Consent Agenda. You might want to check that out!

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Agenda – March 11, 2014
• Consent Agenda Item #38 – Seascape Geological Hazard Abatement Distric

The Santa Cruz City Council meets at 2:30 this afternoon. Agenda Item #10 is a public hearing, and it takes twelve lines on the agenda to describe the item. Here is a shortcut: The crematory located at the Santa Cruz Memorial Park cemetery has applied to expand its facilities and to modify its location. Nearby residents on Ocean Street Extension, who would be directly affected, don’t think the City should approve the application without evaluating possible adverse environmental impacts. The City staff says there’s no problem.

As it happens, burning bodies can cause some problems. The major problem is mercury pollution. Amalgam mercury dental fillings, in some dead bodies, can release significant amounts of mercury when the bodies are burned. Mercury is, without doubt, a dangerous and toxic substance. In this case, the proposed site for the discharge would be within forty feet of the San Lorenzo River, the region's largest surface source of drinking water and home to coho salmon and steelhead trout, which are listed as endangered and threatened species.

If you care about this topic, you should show up this afternoon, or otherwise communicate with the City Council. The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, does require that a full scale Environmental Impact Report must be prepared if a proposed project "might" have a significant adverse environmental impact.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Santa Cruz City Council Agenda – March 11, 2014
• Agenda Report – Crematory Item

Tonight, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., at the Rio Theatre, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is hosting a presentation titled "Mountain Lions In Our Midst." I gather that tonight’s presentation is now a "sold out" event, but even if you aren’t going to be able to attend personally, you can go online to get more information about what the Land Trust is doing to protect wildlife, and to protect mountain lions in particular. As usual, there are links to more information at kusp.org/landuse.

UCSC Professor Chris Wilmers is making the presentation this evening. Wilmers heads the Santa Cruz Puma Project. He is a conservation biologist, and he points out that maintaining habitat "connectivity" is a key requirement for protecting wildlife. Mountain lions range throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, and to survive, in the long term, they have to be able to get across Highway 17. Wilmers says that mountain lions and other wildlife have routinely tried to cross Highway 17 at the so-called "Laurel Curve," dangerous for drivers, but even more dangerous for mountain lions and other wildlife species.

The Land Trust is now working to acquire a 10-acre property at Laurel Curve, which is right in the path to the best possible wildlife crossing. By providing a wildlife "underpass," the Land Trust can help keep Santa Cruz County safe for mountain lions and other species.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Land Trust Website
• Land Trust Program To Protect Wildlife
• Santa Cruz Puma Project
• Dr. Christopher Wilmers

At least a couple of Santa Cruz County Supervisors provide a periodic, email report to their constituents and to other interested persons. Supervisor John Leopold is one of them. Leopold represents the First Supervisorial District in Santa Cruz County, which is generally described as "Live Oak, Soquel, and the Summit." Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, who represents the Second Supervisorial District, also puts out such a periodic newsletter. His District is centered in the Aptos and Capitola area.

I have learned from the most recent edition of the Leopold Report, for instance, that there will be a meeting on March 22nd from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the Live Oak Grange, that will provide mobilehome residents with up to date information on their legal rights under the Mobilehome Residency Law. This is an important area of land use law, and one that mobilehome residents should know about. You don’t have to be from the Live Oak area to attend this meeting, and you can get more information below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Supervisor Leopold Website
• Supervisor Friend Website
• Supervisor Coonerty Website
• Supervisor Caput Website
• Supervisor McPherson Website
• Join Leopold Newsletter List
• Mobilehome Residency Law Meeting

On February 28th, I told listeners about the "Monterey Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Plan," or MTP, and the "Sustainable Communities Strategy" that will accompany it. I continue to encourage you to get involved, as this important planning process moves forward. Comments on the current draft are due on April 8th.

Santa Cruz County residents might also want to get involved in another transportation planning effort. This effort, too, is underway right now. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP, is undergoing a major overhaul. The current draft now incorporates sustainability evaluation measures. The Transportation Commission is eager to hear what local residents think about this new approach. Since the RTP is the source of local transportation projects that will be included in the MTP, the two planning efforts are very much related.

Because these plans are updated only every four years, providing feedback now is particularly important. Miss your chance today, and your next chance comes four years from now. The Draft 2014 Santa Cruz County RTP provides a full list of the local transportation projects that will be prioritized to receive funding during the next 20+ years. In this case, too, comments are due by April 8th.

You can get more information on both of these transportation planning efforts below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• February 28, 2014 Land Use Report
• 2014 RTP Website
• 2014 MTP Website