I generally pre-record these Land Use Reports on Saturday, and before going to the KUSP studio, I try to find out what’s coming up at the local government level. Local government decisions, on both policy and project matters, are almost always the most important way that our communities make up their mind about land use issues.

Local governments are pretty accessible, too. With a little effort, you can almost always talk personally with a County Supervisor or City Council member. If you get organized, with other like-minded people, you can end up having a big impact on the local government land use decisions that affect you most. LandWatch Monterey County, local branches of the League of Women Voters, and the Monterey and Santa Cruz County Farm Bureaus are all groups that have been quite successful in giving voice to important land use concerns. Think about activating yourself on land use issues! You might find you like it!

Tomorrow, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will consider a number of important land use items. I may be there personally, in fact, addressing Agenda Item #23, the proposed new “private road” policy, though I haven’t actually been hired to do as I am recording this Report. That’s just a full disclosure comment. Check out Agenda Item #23, and Agenda Items #21 and #22, too, and see what you think. There is more information at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda Website
• LandWatch Monterey County
• Find A Local League of Women Voters Chapter
• Monterey County Farm Bureau
• Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau

Local government agencies sometimes hold “Special Meetings,” and when they do that, they do need to provide special public notice. Public participation is at the heart of local self-government.

If you are a resident or business owner in the Soquel Creek Water District, get ready for an important “Special Meeting” tonight! At 6:00 p.m., at the Capitola City Council Chambers, the Board of Directors will discuss its “Conservation Plus” program and (even more important, I’d say) the District’s “Back Up Supplemental Water Supply Options.” I have put a link to a full copy of the Agenda Packet below.

It would be hard to overemphasize the importance of the decisions that the Board of Directors might make this evening. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported on Saturday that the groundwater overdraft situation in the District might not be as bad as previously thought. That late-breaking news may affect what happens. On the agenda is a proposal for the District to start working towards the construction of a local, “District only” desalination plant, or to contract to receive water from a proposed “Deep Water Desal” plant in Monterey County, or to start using “recycled water,” or to impose long-term mandatory water rationing. Other options are on the table, as well.

Think about attending that “Special Meeting” tonight!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Soquel Creek Water District Website
• Board Packet – Special Meeting on August 26, 2014
• District Website on Back-Up Supplemental Water Supply Options
• Sentinel Article On “Brighter Picture” For Soquel Creek Groundwater

The Highway 156 CAG is the “Community Advisory Group” providing input on the proposal to widen Highway 156, from Highway 101 in Prunedale to Highway One in Castroville. The impacts of this proposal, if it comes to pass, would be very significant. You might want to get acquainted with the project, and with the members of the Community Advisory Group.

The last meeting of the Highway 156 CAG was scheduled for Monday, August 25th, but that meeting was canceled. Instead, a Highway 156 informational workshop will be held this morning, during the Board of Directors meeting of the Transportation Agency For Monterey County, or TAMC. The TAMC Board meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Agricultural Center Conference Room, located at 1428 Abbott Street in Salinas. You are definitely encouraged to attend, and links to more information, including to the CAG membership list, are below.

Highway widening proposals are always controversial (and for some very good reasons, including cost, environmental impact, and the issue of whether or not they will make any real difference in congestion). In the case of Highway 156, the proposal includes the possible transformation of this highway into a toll road. That would be a new one around here. Consider getting involved now!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• TAMC Website
• TAMC Agendas
• Highway 156 Widening Project
• Highway 156 CAG Website
• Highway 156 Toll Road Study
• List of Highway 156 CAG Members

For more information contact Grant Leonard at TAMC:

• Direct Phone:  831-775-4402
• Email: mailto:grant@tamcmonterey.org

The Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors met Tuesday, to consider how best to deal with the District’s very significant groundwater overdraft problems. Since this Report is pre-recorded, I can’t tell you what happened, but I if you don’t know already, I think you should try to find out, especially if you live in the District. The options considered by the District Board will have a lot of future impacts.

Another groundwater related item is the state’s effort to develop model groundwater monitoring criteria, to gauge the impacts of oil and gas extraction activities on groundwater. The state held a workshop on this matter on August 25th. The future of “fracking” in our region may depend on how seriously the state takes the impacts of proposed fracking operations on groundwater.

The Salinas Californian is reporting that momentum is growing to control groundwater pumping in the Salinas Valley. Whether or not new and effective groundwater pumping regulations are imposed will have a big impact on the future of agriculture in Monterey County.

Also important will be what the State Legislature does. Two bills are pending right now, Senate Bill 1168 and Assembly Bill 1739. If enacted, they would represent the first serious effort, ever, to deal with groundwater overdraft on a statewide basis.

More information on all these topics is available below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• District Website on Back-Up Supplemental Water Supply Options
• Sentinel Article On “Brighter Picture” For Soquel Creek Groundwater
• Salinas Californian Article – Momentum To Limit Salinas Valley Pumping
• State Website on Groundwater Monitoring Program For Oil And Gas Production
• Video – Economic Impacts of Fracking
• Senate Bill 1168
• Assembly Bill 1739

Regular listeners may remember many past Land Use Reports, advising listeners that the City of Capitola was getting ready to amend its General Plan. The City finally did do that, thus enacting a new “Constitution For Land Use” in the City of Capitola.

The community’s General Plan is always the most important land use policy document governing local land use decisions, and its importance consists in the fact that virtually all land use decisions, on proposed projects and on various policy matters, must be “consistent” with the Community General Plan. That’s what the law says. If you would like to study up on how this process works, you can find a helpful link in today’s transcript. LandWatch Monterey County has published a “Best Practices Guide” called Land Use And The General Plan. It’s well worth reading.

Now that the City of Capitola has adopted a new General Plan, the City is going to have to modify its implementing ordinances to be consistent. The City’s “Zoning Code” provides specific development designations for specific kinds of properties, and outlines general rules as well. Changes to the Zoning Code are definitely coming! If you would like to be involved, the City is asking you to take a survey related to the City’s Zoning Code Update. It’s quick, and I encourage your participation. Find the link below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• LandWatch Monterey County Website
• Land Use And The General Plan
• Online Zoning Code Survey