I like to remind listeners about that somewhat “weird” public agency called LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission. Every county in the state has a LAFCO, and the Monterey County LAFCO will be meeting this afternoon, at 4:00 o’clock, in the Board of Supervisors Chambers in Salinas.

LAFCOs have been created by state law, and they really aren’t “weird,” of course. It’s just that most people don’t know anything about LAFCOS, and their “mission” is very specialized. LAFCOs supervise boundary issues, and decide whether or not governmental agencies should be allowed to come into existence. Should there be a new city created in Carmel Valley? Or in Aptos? LAFCOs play a key role in deciding “yes” or “no” when questions like these come up. The membership of LAFCO is pretty unusual, too. The agency is created under state law, but the members are mostly local officials, two from the County Board of Supervisors, two representing special districts, two representing cities, and one public member.

This afternoon, the Monterey County LAFCO will be talking about municipal services in the Castroville area. To find out more, look below.

You can also find out more about a meeting this evening at Highlands Park in Ben Lomond. Starting at 6:30, the Coastal Watershed Council will be hosting a forum on the future of the San Lorenzo River.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County LAFCO Website
• March 24, 2014 Agenda, Monterey County LAFCO
• CALAFCO Website
• Coastal Watershed Council Forum – March 24th

Lots of important governmental decisions are made on the “Consent Agenda.” City Councils use them, and so do Boards of Supervisors. If you would like to keep up with what your local government agencies are doing (about land use items and other issues) you should always review the Consent Agenda. Quite often, since they have limited time and space, newspapers and other media outlets will only discuss items that are on the Regular Agenda. You can get ahead of the curve by paying attention to Consent Agenda items.

If you examine today’s Consent Agenda of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, you will find that the Board is planning, on the Consent Agenda, to enter into a formal Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Gonzalez, supporting that city’s expansion onto surrounding agricultural lands. If you think that’s fine, then no problem! If you have some questions about whether or not this is really such a good idea, maybe you’d like to show up at the Board this morning and ask the Board to discuss this matter on its regular agenda, since the impacts for the future of Monterey County do seem significant.

Today’s Consent Agenda also sets a public hearing to talk about the Mills Act Property Tax Abatement Program, to help preserve historic properties. Plus, the Board is certifying how many miles of roads the public is maintaining in Monterey County. How many? 1,234.25 miles!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Board Agenda – March 25, 2014
• Draft MOA on Gonzales Expansion
• Information on the Mills Act
• For Road Mileage Certification See Consent Agenda Item #23

The Santa Cruz County Commission on the Environment meets this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, located on the Fifth Floor of the County Government Center, 701 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz. You will find links to the agenda of today’s meeting at kusp.org/landuse. The Commission will talk about water and watershed issues, the San Lorenzo River, climate action, and will also hear a report on what’s happening in the State Legislature.

The first item on the Commission’s agenda is a presentation on the 2014 Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP. This is the long-term plan that will guide transportation investments in Santa Cruz County for the next twenty years or so. If you care about the future of Santa Cruz County, and future land use, specifically, then finding out more about the RTP would be a very good idea. The meeting this afternoon is open to the public. It’s free, and you are invited!

I imagine that much of the discussion on the RTP will focus on proposed “sustainability principles” incorporated into the Draft RTP. Highway widening or new highway construction would have mammoth environmental impacts, and the everyday use of our transportation system results in very significant emissions of greenhouse gases, and is a major contributor to global warming. Is there a way to do better? Check out that meeting this afternoon!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Information on Commission on the Environment
• March 26th Agenda, Commission on the Environment
• Information on the 2014 RTP
• RTP Executive Summary
• DRAFT 2014 Regional Transportation Plan

State law has directed the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, or FORA, to “prepare, adopt, finance, and implement a plan for the former Fort Ord, including land use, transportation systems, conservation of land and water, recreation, and business operations.” There is a link to the FORA website in today’s transcript. You can get lots of information about FORA right there.

In a way, FORA operates much as the Coastal Commission does. FORA does not have direct land use permit authority with respect to the lands of the former Fort Ord, but it does have a Base Reuse Plan, to set out general principles, as a way to ensure that its state law mission is accomplished. FORA requires local governments that have permit authority over lands within the former Army Base to structure their local land use plans to be “consistent” with the FORA Base Reuse Plan.

Recently, on a split vote, the FORA Board of Directors denied a request from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors that FORA find that provisions in the County General Plan, affecting lands on the former Fort Ord, were consistent with the Base Reuse Plan. The big issue was whether or not the County’s General Plan had sufficient protections for open space and conservation. Essentially, FORA said “no.” After the FORA vote, it looks like the County is going to have to do more work to protect open space resources on the former Fort Ord!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• FORA Website
• LandWatch Monterey County Website
• LandWatch Monterey County Report on FORA Action
• LandWatch Letter to FORA, Opposing Consistency Finding

I don’t know how long it’s been since I started talking about the Capitola General Plan Update, here on the Land Use Report. I do remember many times, though, over the last several years, that I have advised listeners that the City of Capitola is in the process of updating its General Plan, and that business owners and residents should be getting involved.

A general plan is a city or county’s most important planning document, sometimes called a “Constitution for land use.” State law requires every city and county to have a general plan, addressing key planning issues specified in state law; state law further requires, once a general plan has been adopted, that each permit and planning decision of that jurisdiction be “consistent” with the General Plan. If you care about land use, you need to care about the provisions found in your city and county General Plan. Many people get interested in land use policies only when a specific project is proposed. By then, the basic principles have already been established in the general plan, and it may be too late to make changes.

Bottom line: get involved when general plan policies are being considered. For business owners and residents in Capitola, that time is now! Your final chance to weigh in will come during a public hearing scheduled before the Capitola City Council on Thursday, April 3rd, at 7:00 p.m. There is more information below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• City of Capitola Website
• Current Capitola General Plan
• Capitola General Plan Update