The Aromas Water District is located in North Monterey County, and serves 900 connections. For those who live in the District, please be advised that things are happening. There is a Board of Directors’ meeting tomorrow night, at 7:00 p.m., and you might like to check out the agenda, or even attend. You can, as usual, get more information below. The “big item” on the agenda tomorrow will be the Board’s review of a “Preliminary Draft Water Rate and Capacity Charge Study.” The study recommends a 10% increase in the fees to be paid by single-family water users, and a large increase in the fees that would be charged for new connections. As I say, District residents and customers might well want to get involved.

Like other water providers in the Central Coast Region, the Aromas Water District is facing severe water supply challenges. The District website is appealing to its customers to cut back their water use by 20%. The District relies on deep-water wells, not surface water, but the lack of rainfall in our area will, ultimately, mean less groundwater, and just as in the case of customers of the Soquel Creek Water District, declining groundwater levels can ultimately mean big trouble for those relying on the District for their water supply. Increasing water costs are just one impact.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Aromas Water District Website
• District Map

I am a big fan of public involvement in land use and planning matters. Land use planning and policy decisions have a profound impact on our local communities, with those impacts affecting the natural environment, our local economy, and even our ability to attain our social equity goals. Unless ordinary members of the public get personally involved in the planning process, these key land use decisions will largely be made by the interactions between interested applicants and the government staff people who process their applications. Elected officials, of course, generally have the “final say” on land use matters, but unless there is public involvement, what applicants and staff have “worked out” in private conversations tends to get final approval.

In Monterey County, a couple of decision making bodies are meeting this week, and listeners who wish to heed my call for their personal involvement can begin by reviewing the agendas of the Planning Commission and the Zoning Administrator. The Planning Commission will meet this Wednesday (tomorrow), and the Zoning Administrator will holding a meeting on Thursday. I have links to the agendas for both of these meetings in today’s transcript, found below.

I also have a link to the Monterey County website location for planning reports, for access to the documents that are involved in upcoming decisions. I hope you will click these links and get personally involved!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Planning Commission Agenda – Wednesday, May 28th
• Zoning Administrator Agenda – Thursday, May 29th
• Link To Monterey County Planning Reports

Let me announce a couple of upcoming meetings. One meeting is tonight, at 6:30 p.m., at the Aptos Branch Library. Another meeting will be held on Monday, June 9th, also at 6:30 p.m., at the Corralitos Cultural Center.

What are these meetings all about? They have been called by a community group called “Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community” (or NOPOC), and are focused on a proposal by PG&E to construct a major new power line project passing through Watsonville, Corralitos, Pleasant Valley and Day Valley.

NOPOC is an all-volunteer organization that believes that the power line project, as currently proposed, would destroy important community values. Dr. Thomas Barker, a founding member of NOPOC, says that it is “vitally important for residents of the affected communities to understand the harmful effects of this proposed project on wildlife, livestock, agriculture, homes, and businesses…. We must make sure that the public’s voice is heard throughout the decision-making process.”

NOPOC is consulting with power system experts, and is organizing volunteers, to try either to stop or to modify the project. The proposed project would result in the installation of dozens of massive tubular steel and wooden power poles up to 105 feet tall in rural neighborhoods. If you’d like to learn more, or get involved, think about attending the meeting tonight.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• NOPOC Facebook Page

The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a column in last Saturday’s newspaper that appeared under the following headline: “Housing can be affordable in Santa Cruz County.”

Since housing affordability is a major land use crisis almost everywhere in California, that headline attracted my attention. Peter Boutell, a local mortgage consultant, outlines in his Saturday column how people can get access to housing units made affordable by Measure J, the comprehensive growth management measure enacted by the people of Santa Cruz County in 1978.

If you are interested in reading the column, or in reviewing what Measure J is all about, see below.

One of the most important features of Measure J is the one highlighted by Peter Boutell. When a developer builds more than five units in Santa Cruz County, fifteen percent of the units are sold with a “price restriction” that makes them affordable to an average or below average income person. Measure J units are also subject to a “resale restriction,” so that the units will continue to be affordable over time. This technique is called “inclusionary housing,” and Santa Cruz County helped pioneer the technique. If inclusionary requirements were made a part of state law, tens of thousands of permanently affordable units would be added to the state’s housing stock.

If you care about affordable housing, you should read up on Measure J!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Text of Measure J
• The Story of Measure J
• Link to Peter Boutell Column
• Contact Peter Boutell

In April, I reported on a proposed development then headed to the Coastal Commission. The developer calls it an “Eco-Resort.” The development would be constructed on the ocean side of Highway One in Sand City, in the middle of what many biologists believe is the habitat of the rare and endangered snowy plover. Normally, the Coastal Commission would not look favorably on a proposal like this one, but the approval of the project was made in connection with the settlement of litigation then pending against the Commission. That was certainly a significant factor in the Commission’s approval.

At any rate, the Commission did approve the project. Recently, I saw a commentary on this approval in a blog called “Xasáuan Today,” which often provides insights into Monterey County land use issues. The blog posting is titled, “The Monterey Bay ‘Eco Resort:’ How Long Will it Last?” There is a link below.

The “How Long?” question is pertinent because the Coastal Commission has placed conditions on the project that require that the buildings be torn down as soon as the edge of the coastal bluff gets to within ten feet of the buildings. Bluff retreat is constantly occurring along this part of the coast, and rising sea levels, associated with global warming, will only increase the likelihood that the new “Eco-Resort” won’t be around for long. For the snowy plover, this may be good news. For those financing the project, maybe not so much!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Next Week At The Coastal Commission
• The Sand City “Eco-Resort”
• The Monterey Bay Shores “Eco Resort:” How Long Will It Last?