For those who get their water from the City of Santa Cruz, this is a good week to focus in on issues of water policy. Tomorrow, the Santa Cruz City Council will meet at 2:30 p.m., and Items #12 and #13 on that afternoon agenda are important. Item #12 is an update from the City’s Water Supply Advisory Committee. Item #13 is the Council’s consideration of a Cooperative Water Transfer and Purchase Agreement between the City of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District. Implementation of this Agreement would begin a new era of regional water supply cooperation.

The Water Supply Advisory Committee, or WSAC, will soon provide a comprehensive recommendation to the City Council on what to do about long-term water supply challenges. WSAC will hold an Open House on Wednesday, September 9th, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., at the Louden Nelson Community Center, to give members of the public some early indication of what they will propose. On Thursday and Friday, WSAC will be meeting to make decisions on their final recommendation to the Council.

By the way, the Council is going to hold a study session on future operations at the DeLaveaga Golf Course on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. That has some implications for water policy, too. I have links to more information at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• September 8, 2015 Agenda, Santa Cruz City Council
• Proposed Agreement Between City And Soquel Creek Water District
• Staff Report On Proposed Agreement
• Staff Report For Study Session On DeLaveaga Golf Course
• WSAC Website, With Meeting Notices

Today, the Santa Cruz City Council is meeting at both 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., with water-related issues prominent on the Council agenda. Here’s a heads up about another City of Santa Cruz item that has lots of implications for the future development of the City. The emphasis here is on transportation planning.

The City is inviting the public to participate in a series of workshops to help develop mixed-use corridor zoning plans for Mission Street, Ocean Street, Water Street, and Soquel Avenue. Planning for land uses along these major transportation corridors will be accompanied by an active transportation plan for the entire city. The next workshop is going to be held tomorrow, Wednesday, September 9th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Bayview Elementary School, located at 1231 Bay Street. This workshop is going to focus on planning for Mission Street.

The workshop sessions will be led by the City’s Planning and Public Works Departments. I do encourage you to get involved. I think that the City is sincerely seeking community ideas on how best to enhance the commercial, residential and transportation experience along Mission Street, Ocean Street, Water Street, and Soquel Avenue. The City would like your ideas on how to improve the City’s bike and pedestrian system, too.

Get more information at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• City of Santa Cruz Corridor Planning Website

The City of Santa Cruz is not the only local government thinking about making significant changes to its zoning ordinance. As you may remember, I talked yesterday about a City workshop scheduled for this evening that will be focused on proposed zoning changes along Mission Street.

Well, the County of Santa Cruz is also considering major changes to its zoning ordinance, and the County, too, has a series of workshops coming up. Wouldn’t you know it, one of those County workshops is also scheduled to take place this evening. Focused on what the County is calling its “Code Modernization Project,” the workshop will take place in Bonny Doon, in connection with a meeting of the Rural Bonny Doon Association. You can get information on both the City and County workshops by going to the Land Use Report blog at kusp.org/landuse.

If you live in the unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County, and if you care about the future of your community, please get involved in the so-called “Code Modernization” project. It will have a major impact. By the way, the “unincorporated area” means any area in Santa Cruz County that is not located in the City of Santa Cruz, the City of Watsonville, the City of Capitola, or the City of Scotts Valley. The zoning ordinance is the set of rules that restricts what you (and maybe more important, what your neighbors) can do. Don’t underestimate its importance!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• County Code Modernization Website And Workshop Schedule
• City of Santa Cruz Corridor Planning Website
• More Information On “Code Modernization”

For those interested in the status of various proposed desalination facilities, please be aware that the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has recently issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project Desalination Facility. A Public Scoping meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon at the Sally Griffin Center, 700 Jewell Avenue in Pacific Grove.

An environmental review carried out under the California Environmental Quality Act, or under the National Environmental Policy Act, is always prepared in connection with a specific project. In this case, the project proposed is the desalination plant that Cal-Am wants to build near Marina, to deal with the water supply crisis on the Monterey Peninsula. The Sanctuary is soliciting information and comments related to the possible impacts of this proposed project within the Sanctuary boundaries.

If you want to review the Notice of Intent, and perhaps even comment on it, you can find the right link and instructions at kusp.org/landuse. Public comments must be received by October 2nd. Currently (as of the time I am recording this edition of the Land Use Report), only two online comments have been registered. If you care, you should definitely not hesitate to make your thoughts known!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Cal-Am Project Docket On Regulations.gov

Electronic Submissions:
Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov Docket #NOAA-NOS-2015-0105 click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the required fields and enter or attach your comments.

Mailed Comments:
MBNMS Desalination Project Lead, 99 Pacific Ave, BLDG 455a, Monterey, CA 93940

For Further Information:
Contact Karen Grimmer at 99 Pacific Avenue, Building 455a, Monterey, CA 93940 or email to: mbnms.comments@noaa.gov

There are definitely two schools of thought about the proposal to ask President Obama to establish the Coast Dairies land on the Santa Cruz County North Coast as a National Monument. Supporters say that this will confer a status and recognition for these and other lands on the North Coast that can’t help but be positive. Skeptics point out that the lands are already protected and preserved, and that the main impact of the Monument designation, if such a designation is made, will likely be to bring hundreds of thousands of additional tourists to the North Coast, causing environmental damage to the very lands that all agree are worthy of protection. Monument skeptics also point out that there are already significant parking, traffic, littering, and law enforcement problems on the North Coast, and that a Monument designation would probably make the existing bad situation even worse.

You can get more information on both sides of the controversy at kusp.org/landuse, and if you’d like to register your personal feelings, consider attending a Town Hall Meeting to be conducted by Congress Member Anna Eshoo and Congress Member Sam Farr. That meeting will take place on Monday, September 21st, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, at the Davenport Volunteer Fire Department. The purpose of the meeting is to address North Coast concerns regarding the National Monument proposal.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument
• Friends of the North Coast
  
• Rural Land Alliance

For Those Wishing To Supporting The Monument Designation:
Contact Stephen Reed, Campaign Manager by email at: monument@cotonicoastdairies.org

For Those Who Are Skeptical And Who Want To Get Involved:
Contact Ken McCrary at (831)457-5028, or by email: kenm@big-creek.com; or
Friends of the North Coast