The Board of Directors of the Marina Coast Water District is meeting this evening at 6:30, in the Marina City Council Chambers. The very first item listed under "Action Items" on the Board’s agenda is a "discussion and possible action to edit and authorize the Interim General Manager to submit a comment letter on the Monterey Downs EIR."

Peninsula residents not familiar with the proposed Monterey Downs development would be well advised to start educating themselves about what is probably the largest and most controversial development proposal now pending in Monterey County. If you want to do some research, I have links in today’s Land Use Report blog, found at kusp.org/landuse. If you check out these links, you will be able to review the draft letter that the Marina Coast Water District Board is going to discuss at its meeting. Among other comments, the draft letter states, "project water demand exceeds current available supplies and also exceeds the remaining groundwater allocation to Seaside and Monterey County. The project water demand also exceeds the amount factored into the District’s Urban Water Management Plan for the project area by approximately 114 AFY."

The way I read this, there isn’t enough water for the project. Current water users, concerned about their own supply, should pay attention!

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Marina Coast Water District Website
• June 15, 2015 MCWD Board Agenda
• Draft of Proposed MCWD Comments on Monterey Downs
• Links To EIR And Other Information on Monterey Downs
• City of Seaside – Monterey Downs PowerPoint
• Keep Fort Ord Wild – Monterey Downs Critique

Today, I am offering you an opportunity to win a prize. Really! I am not joking, and it’s a prize worth winning!

Overdevelopment is frequently mentioned here on the Land Use Report, and I am looking right now at the cover of a lovely "coffee table book" devoted to that topic. It measures something like 12" wide x 17" high x 1" thick, with beautiful, glossy photographs. Hunt up today’s blog, and you’ll be able to look at that cover, too.

Let me be clear that the "beautiful" photographs aren't always of "beautiful" subjects. The book documents the overdevelopment and overpopulation of the natural world. Read through the book and you will likely agree that an "overshoot" is taking place. We are overshooting the ability of the Natural World to sustain the world that we create, the world of our human civilization.

The book I am talking about is Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot. It has been published by a group called Global Population Speakout. Their website will help you understand the kind of organizing efforts that are accompanying the release of the book. You can also read the book online, if you'd like to do that. You can also purchase the book, of course, but I have five copies to give away free. A kind of contest is going to be involved, and I hope you’ll enter. Instructions are on the website at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Website: Global Population Speak Out
• Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot Contest Rules And Procedures

I am always happy to see interesting events publicized with the following description: "Free & Open To The Public." Today, let me tell you about just such an event, taking place this evening, Wednesday, June 17th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Police Community Room, located at 155 Center Street in Santa Cruz.

The event this evening is being advertised as "Purified Recycled Water. Why Now?"

Well, the "Why Now?" part isn’t so difficult to understand. California is experiencing the worst drought in its recorded history. There is no snowpack in the Sierras. Reservoir levels are at historic lows, most places, and groundwater levels are plummeting all over. In the Central Valley, the actual level of the ground is sinking. Recycling and reusing wastewater is an obvious way to help conserve the water resources we have.

You may notice that I said "wastewater," while the meeting announcement doesn’t mention that term. I am pretty sure that they’re going to be talking about purifying and recycling "wastewater," and if that is a topic that raises concerns (and there are lots of valid concerns about this approach), all the more reason for you to attend the presentation tonight. Speaking will be Bob Hultquist from the State Water Resources Control Board, Bruce Macler from US EPA, and Brian Good from Denver Water.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Online Announcement
• New York Times article on "Toilet To Tap"

The California State Lands Commission is the state "Lead Agency" for a proposed "DeepWater Desal" desalination project that would be located in Moss Landing. The Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary is going to be participating with the State Lands Commission in undertaking environmental review. I have a link in today’s blog posting to a "Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement," or "EIS," which is the federal equivalent to the "EIR," or Environmental Impact Report, required for state projects. A "scoping meeting" on the project was held on Tuesday, June 16th, and comments can still be submitted on the proposed "scope" of environmental review.

A good description of the proposed project can be found in a recent article in the Monterey County Weekly. The proposal is to build a reverse-osmosis desal facility, drawing 55,000 acre-feet of seawater per year from the Monterey Submarine Canyon, to produce up to 25,000 acre-feet per year of drinkable water. This is enough water to allow the construction of up to 50,000 new homes, which could be growth inducing! The project is being proposed by a for-profit business partnership, and the idea is to co-locate the desal plant with a major "server farm."

There is more information at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Public Notice – Preparation of EIS
• Monterey County Weekly Article on DeepWater Desal
• Water Education Foundation – An "Acre Foot"
• David Armanasco YouTube Presentation
• DeepWater Desal Website
• Article on DeepWater Desal And A "Data Center."

The City of Santa Cruz Parks Department is undertaking a needs assessment for the City’s Park and Recreation system. If you will point your browser to today’s Land Use Report blog, found at kusp.org/landuse, you will find a link to an online survey, and to the City’s Parks, Recreational Facilities, and Open Space Master Plan. I also link to a document outlining the survey design.

If you are a City of Santa Cruz resident, and have thoughts about what sort of park and recreation facilities the City should be providing, I think it’s probably worth a few minutes of your time to go through the survey questions, and I recommend that you do that! As you do that, and take the survey, it’s probably worthwhile to keep in mind that the survey seems mostly aimed at finding out what sort of new, physical amenities people might like. Do you think we need more ball fields, or skate parks, or tot lots?

All these are most important questions, but what about open space? One of the great things about the City of Santa Cruz is its open space Greenbelt. Unless you are thinking about open space as you take the survey, you may not think to mention it. If you value the open space resources of the City of Santa Cruz, and would like to make sure that our open space areas remain natural, keep that objective in mind as you go through the online questionnaire. You can sign up to get further information, too!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Parks, Recreational Facilities And Open Space Master Plan
• Design For 2015 Park And Recreation Survey
• Parks Master Plan Online Survey