KUSP LandWatch News
May 11, 2015 to May 15, 2015

Last Wednesday, I noted that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is apparently ready to scuttle a settlement with two environmental organizations that had filed legal challenges to the County’s state-mandated General Plan. If you have any interest in this matter (and if you live in Monterey County you probably should have an interest in it) then you should be aware that the Board is going to consider its action on the settlement at the meeting that the Board is holding tomorrow. Check Agenda Item #10, scheduled at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon.

Why should County residents care? Well, as taxpayers, it is pretty clear that if the Board of Supervisors now decides to repudiate the tentative settlement it made with the two environmental groups, more costly litigation will be in the offing, so deciding to scuttle the settlement will cost the taxpayers money. Second, on the merits, the repudiation of the settlement will mean that the agricultural industry will not have to do as much to take account of erosion from steep slopes, the protection of wildlife corridors, and the need to match water supplies to the development that depends on the availability of water.

In short, repudiating the settlement is repudiating some "pro-environment” provisions, at the request of the County’s biggest businesses. It might well be that the ordinary residents of the County would be better off with a more environmentally protective plan.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Land Use Report Blog – What Happened To That Settlement?
• Monterey County Agenda Website
• LandWatch Monterey County Website
• Monterey Bay Partisan Analysis
• Monterey Herald News Story
• Monterey County Weekly News Story

Santa Cruz County has an ordinance specifically permitting short-term vacation rentals. The City of Santa Cruz does not. At today’s City Council meeting, during the 2:30 afternoon session, the Council is going to consider an amendment to the City’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (or ADU) ordinance that would prohibit ADU properties from being used as short-term or vacation rentals. If you have an interest in this topic, you can get more information by using the links in today’s Land Use Report blog.

There is another item of interest on today’s agenda of the Santa Cruz City Council. This item is going to be considered during the Council’s evening session, beginning at 7:00 o’clock at City Hall. The Council will be reviewing the City’s Capital Improvement Program, and there are lots of things to be interested in. Bike Santa Cruz County, for instance, the pro-bicycle group, is urging concerned persons to attend the meeting this evening, and to ask for more funding for bike lanes, and for "green striping” bike lanes, in particular.

In general, the City’s Capital Improvement Program outlines the significant new infrastructure investments that the City is proposing to make over the next several years, including road, fire department, and water department infrastructure. How scarce dollars are spent on infrastructure will determine just what sort of City we will have in the future. You might just want to get involved!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• May 12, 2015 Santa Cruz City Council Agenda
• ADU/Short-Term Rental Issue – Agenda Report
• Capital Improvement Program Update – Agenda Report
• Bike Santa Cruz County Website
• Green Lanes For Bicycles!

The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, gives members of the public a real chance to have an impact on proposed projects. If a proposed project "might” have an adverse impact on the environment, the governmental agency responsible for the project is legally required to prepare an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR.

There are two ways that CEQA, and the EIR process, give power to members of the public. First, the EIR process demands the preparation of a "Draft” EIR. The public gets to comment on that Draft, and then the governmental agency in charge of the project MUST respond, substantively, to any comments received. If you have ever testified at a public hearing, you know that your two or three minutes of testimony are often ignored by the elected officials. Well, if the local agency ignores your comments on a Draft EIR, or just "blows them off,” the courts will make the agency go back and respond on the substance.

Second, when the Final EIR comes before the decision making body, the governmental agency proposing the project MUST eliminate any impacts identified, to the greatest degree feasible.

A Canine Sports Center is being proposed in Carmel Valley. A Draft EIR is circulating. I have links at kusp.org/landuse that will assist you, if you’d like to comment.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Draft EIR On The Proposed Canine Sports Center
• Land Use – Carmel Valley Master Plan Supplemental Policies
• CVA Bulletin With Advice on "How To Comment on EIRs”

When a vacancy occurs on the Board of Directors of a public agency, the law often allows the remaining Board members to fill that vacancy. In other words, if you are appointed, you don’t need to run for the office. At least not initially.

With that preamble, let me tell you that the Carmel Area Wastewater District has a vacancy on its Board of Directors, and the District is inviting interested persons to apply for appointment to the Board.

There are five Board members, and members are elected to serve four-year terms of office. The person appointed to fill the vacant Board member position will remain in office until December 2, 2015, and must stand for election in the District's general election on November 3, 2015 if he or she wishes to continue to serve on the Board for a subsequent full term. Any other qualified candidates may, of course, also seek office in the November election.

Candidates for appointment must be residents of the District, citizens of the United States, and of voting age. Applications, including biographical information, will be received until 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26th. All candidates will be invited to make an oral statement, or answer questions in support of their application, at a meeting to be held on Wednesday, May 27th.

There is more information at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Carmel Area Wastewater District Website

For more information, contact the CAWD at 831-624-1248 or stop by the office at 3945 Rio Road, Carmel. An application may also be requested via email from downstream@cawd.org.

The transcript of today’s Land Use Report has links to information about a special meeting of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency. That meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26th, at 9:00 a.m., in Meeting Rooms A & B of the Monterey County Office of Education, 901 Blanco Circle in Salinas. This is a "heads up” announcement. I am giving you plenty of time to put this meeting on your calendar.

The official notice for the meeting (a copy of which can be obtained through a link at kusp.org/landuse), says that one of the purposes of the meeting is to <quote> "clarify” the findings of a recent report on the "State of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin.” I also have a link to the actual report.

When public agencies need to set up special meetings to <quote> "clarify” what their reports actually mean, that’s a hint that important and controversial materials are found in the report, and that affected members of the public need to be paying attention. The report says that there is a continuing overdraft, and that the basin is out of balance, and that seawater intrusion is occurring. That is all bad news, and if the news is indeed bad, it is important that the agency take appropriate corrective action. Any effort to "clarify” that there isn’t any problem at all would seem contraindicated, so think about attending that meeting on May 26th.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Water Resources Agency Website
• Public Notice of the May 26, 2015 Special Meeting
• State of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin Report