On Thursday, April 30th, a public hearing and workshop is scheduled at the Oldemeyer Center in Seaside. The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. The proposed Monterey Downs “Horse Park” development is the topic to be discussed. In attendance will be the Seaside City Council, the City’s Board of Architectural Review, and the City Planning Commission. Just maybe, you will be in attendance, too! I certainly encourage all of those concerned about the future of Fort Ord to show up for this workshop and public hearing. As usual, I have more information at kusp.org/landuse.

The April 30th meeting may be particularly interesting because it appears that questions are now being raised about the status of a contract between Monterey County and the Monterey Downs developers. I am a bit confused, to be candid, since I haven’t seen the legal agreement involved. I can report, however, that activists working for an “open space” future for Fort Ord (a completely different idea from the intensive development option of Monterey Downs) think that there is a new opportunity to discuss the open space option, and are encouraging those who want more discussion of that option to attend a meeting of the Monterey County Fort Ord Committee. That meeting is scheduled for today, Monday, at 11:00 a.m., at the County Government Center, 168 West Alisal Street in Salinas. I have a link to meeting information in today’s transcript.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Oldemeyer Center Website
• City of Seaside Website
• Seaside City Website – Monterey Downs Proposal
• Public Notice For April 30, 2015 Workshop
• Meeting Schedule, County Fort Ord Committee

Tonight, at 7:00 p.m. Neighbors Organized To Protect Our Community, or NOPOC, will hold a meeting at the Corralitos Grange Hall. NOPOC is a community group that was formed after the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (or PG&E), announced a plan to construct a major new power line running from Minto Road in the Watsonville area to Freedom Boulevard in Aptos. PG&E announced its plan in January of 2012. The proposed project was called a power line “reinforcement” project, since it would have resulted in the construction of a second 115,000-volt transmission line, stretching about 7.1 miles. The project would have affected Aptos, Corralitos, and Watsonville.

NOPOC has good news for those who would have been affected (and probably for all PG&E ratepayers). Thanks to NOPOC’s efforts, the California Public Utilities Commission has dismissed the application for this proposed new power line. It appears that no such “reinforcement” is actually going to be needed for at least the next ten years. The meeting tonight is not only going to provide a kind of success story report, but will also outline what might happen next.

NOPOC’s success demonstrates that citizen involvement really does work. As regular listeners know, that’s what I have been telling you. Check out that NOPOC meeting tonight, if you’d like to learn from some people who have definitely provided a “proof of concept.”

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Map To The Corralitos Grange Hall
• NOPOC Website

As I said yesterday, with reference to the work of NOPOC, Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Community, community participation in land use related matters can actually make a big difference in what governmental agencies do.

To be successful, with respect to any community-based effort, concerned members of the community do have to “get organized,” and they have to be willing to go to meetings, and to educate and inform themselves about the various governmental processes that can so profoundly affect our future. But if they do that, the results are often quite striking. Your participation can, in fact, make a difference. Self-government actually does work, but as the term so clearly states, we don’t get self-government as a gift from someone else. If we care about self-government, we do need to get involved ourselves.

Stimulating such organized community participation in land use matters is, of course, the “unhidden agenda” of the Land Use Report. Yesterday’s meeting of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors provided another indication of the impact of such community participation with respect to land use policy.

Agenda Item #8 on the Board’s Agenda yesterday was a consideration of various General Plan changes that came out of a lawsuit against the County. That’s part of self-government, too. Sometimes, after all the participation, you do have to go to court!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Board of Supervisors Agenda Website
• LandWatch Monterey County Website

I guess this is “Community Participation Week” here on the Land Use Report. If you care about what your government does (and you ought to, if you care about the future of the community in which you live) you need seriously to contemplate making “self-government” a real part of your life, which means getting involved yourself!

Today, I want to pass on some good advice on this topic from the Carmel Valley Association. The CVA has been stimulating community participation in land use matters affecting Carmel Valley for over sixty years. The CVA is “organized,” which means that it brings “continuity” to the community participation process. It also gets its members involved in the sometimes hard work of study and research that makes all the difference in the effectiveness of our community participation efforts.

Most recently, with specific reference to a proposed Canine Sports Center, the CVA published a guide on how interested persons might most effectively comment on ANY Environmental Impact Report, or EIR. I have a link to the CVA’s helpful set of instructions in today’s Land Use Report blog. You can find that online at kusp.org/landuse.

Whether it’s the proposed Canine Sports Center, or Monterey Downs, or any other proposed project, the CVA has provided a good guide to your effective participation!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• The Carmel Valley Association Website
• The Carmel Valley Association – How To Comment On An EIR
• Canine Sports Center on County Website
• Canine Sports Center DEIR
• February 15, 2015 CVA Newsletter

Yesterday, I mentioned a helpful set of instructions from the Carmel Valley Association, outlining how interested persons might most effectively participate in the environmental review process that is mandated for projects that might have a significant adverse impact on the environment. I am placing a link to those instructions in today’s transcript. Check them out at kusp.org/landuse.

I also have a link to a brand new Draft Environmental Report that analyzes a project being proposed by the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency. The agency is calling the project the “Pure Water Monterey Groundwater Replenishment Project.” In other words, treated sewage will be used to replenish groundwater in the Seaside groundwater basin. There are definitely some possible benefits of this proposed project, but there are undoubtedly some who might think that calling this proposal a “Pure Water” project is somewhat disingenuous.

If you want to comment, the public review period on the Draft EIR runs for forty-five days, beginning April 22nd, and ending June 5th. A copy of the Draft EIR is available online, as indicated earlier, and at the agency’s Administrative Office, and at most public libraries. Meetings will be held in Seaside on May 20th and in Salinas on May 21st.

I encourage your participation!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• The Carmel Valley Association – How To Comment On An EIR
• Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency
• Groundwater Replenishment Project Draft EIR