The Monterey County Board of Supervisors is meeting tomorrow, and if you want to know about plans that the City of Salinas has, to create a vibrant downtown, in the heart of Salinas, plan to attend that Board of Supervisors’ meeting.  No need to visit City Hall!

Same thing if you want a peek at the future development plans for CSUMB. You can get the benefit of a comprehensive presentation on proposed campus development by attending that Board meeting.

The City of Salinas Downtown Vibrancy Plan will be presented to the Board at 10:30 tomorrow morning. The CSU Monterey Bay Comprehensive Master Plan will be presented to the Board at 1:30 in the afternoon. I have links in today’s Land Use Report blog that will get you to the agenda of the Board of Supervisors. The Salinas Downtown Vibrancy presentation is Agenda Item #17. The CSUMB Master Plan is Agenda Item #18. There are links in the Board’s agenda to extensive materials, in both cases.

The Board of Supervisors has no decision making authority over what happens in Salinas (except as to what the County does with its own properties), and the Board also has no direct control over future land uses on the CSUMB campus. But planning together is better than planning separately!

Get more information at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

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

The Governance Committee for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project is meeting on Wednesday, August 26th, at 2:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Conference Room of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. I suggest that listeners might like to track down agenda materials, and maybe even attend the meeting. There are links to agenda materials and other information at kusp.org/landuse.

The composition of the “Governance” Committee” includes a representative of California American Water Company. Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett is also a member, representing the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority. Supervisor Dave Potter, representing Monterey County, and Robert Brower, representing the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, are also members.

The “Governance Committee” title is a bit misleading, in that the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project is not under the direct control of the group I just named, but is in fact under the control of the California American Water Company. This reflects the fact that the main water provider for the Monterey Peninsula is not a public agency, but Cal-Am, which is a for-profit corporation. Official governmental supervision of Cal-Am comes from the California State Public Utilities Commission, or PUC.

The meeting tomorrow should be an informative and interesting one. I encourage you to get involved!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda For Governance Committee Meeting
• Governance Committee Website

At 9:00 o’clock this morning, the Monterey County Planning Commission will hold a hearing on a “Canine Sports Center,” proposed to be located on a 43-acre site near Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley. The Carmel Valley Association, and others, have been following the project closely, and some Carmel Valley residents are obviously concerned about potential impacts of what would be a major new activity center in the Valley.

Links in today’s Land Use Report blog will take you to more information, including to the County’s official information page, which will let you review the Environmental Impact Report. The staff report for the Planning Commission recommends approval of the project, including a recommendation that the Commission adopt a “Statement of Overriding Considerations, “allowing the project to go ahead, even though the Environmental Impact Report for the project has identified significant adverse impacts that cannot be feasibly mitigated or eliminated.

One of the difficulties faced by the Commission is that the project applicants include the Chairperson of the Commission, who of course will have to step down as the Commission considers the project. There are lots of pros and cons of this proposed project, and while the Planning Commission hearing this morning may not be the last public hearing on the project, if you care, you should definitely be there!

The meeting is at the County Government Center in Salinas. Links are at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey Herald Article On Dog Park Hearing
• County Planning Information on Canine Sports Center
• Supplemental Agenda, for August 26th Planning Commission Meeting
• Agenda Packet, August 26th Planning Commission Meeting
• Planning Commission Staff Report

The City of Marina Planning Commission is meeting this evening, and will hear a presentation on the proposed “Regional Urban Design Guidelines” that will apply to future developments on Fort Ord.

The meeting begins at 6:30 this evening, in the Marina City Council Chambers, located at 211 Hillcrest Avenue in Marina. Listeners who live on the Monterey Peninsula might want to attend and find out more about these guidelines. The guidelines will affect future development on Fort Ord generally, not just developments located in Marina. Road design standards, setbacks, building heights, landscaping requirements, signage and other matters relating to the possible visual impacts of proposed projects will be significantly affected by what these guidelines ultimately say.

There is a more Marina-specific item on the agenda, too; namely, the proposal by Shea Homes to cut down two healthy cypress trees. The Planning Director said that was “ok.” The Marina Tree Committee said it was “ok,” and now the Planning Commission will consider the issue on an appeal. From the City of Santa Cruz to the City of Marina, public officials are usually willing to sacrifice trees to aid the desires of the developers. If you care about this issue, check out the agenda materials. Links can be found at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda Packet, Marina Planning Commission
• Materials On Fort Ord Regional Urban Design Guidelines

I notice that the items I have talked about this week are almost all of primary interest to Monterey County listeners. Here’s an item that should be of interest on both sides of the Bay; namely, pending state legislation relating to the placement of wireless communication facilities.

As listeners may know, federal law has largely preempted the field of wireless regulation, and this federal preemption has made it quite difficult for local governments to have any say on the location of these facilities. For instance, while the health impacts of wireless facilities are of concern to many local residents, federal legislation has pretty much made it impossible for local governments to regulate wireless facilities based on health concerns.

The visual impacts of such facilities, and other land use impacts, are still a basis for local regulation. However, there is a bill now being considered in the California State Legislature that might undermine such local regulation. Assembly Bill 57, now in the State Senate, would provide that proposed wireless facilities will be “deemed approved” if not acted upon within either 90 or 150 days. I note that Assembly Member Mark Stone voted “no” on this bill in the Assembly. Assembly Member Alejo is recorded as “not voting.”

You can get more information in today’s Land Use Report blog at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• San Francisco Chronicle Article on AB 57
• Assembly Bill 57
• Senate Analysis of AB 57
• Assembly Vote Tally on AB 57