The City of Santa Cruz is contemplating a very significant set of changes to its zoning designations, focusing on Mission Street, Ocean Street, Water Street, and Soquel Avenue. These streets handle large volumes of traffic, including bicycle traffic, and it seems that traffic (and traffic congestion) have been increasing. I use the Water Street corridor, for instance, to get from my home to the downtown, and I now find that this is not a simple, five-minute trip by car, as it used to be.

State law requires the City to make sure that its General Plan and zoning designations are consistent, and the latest version of the City’s General Plan suggests that the City should not only accept but accelerate the commitment of its major transportation corridors to high-volumes of traffic. One way to accomplish that is by increasing heights and densities along those key corridors. A workshop series underway is intended to let members of the public know what is likely to be proposed, and to give their input. Multi-story buildings, right on the street, containing higher-density residential uses, mixed with commercial uses, are being suggested for these corridors.

If you want to be involved, there is a workshop tomorrow, Tuesday, September 15th, focusing on the Ocean and Water Street corridors. The workshop runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Branciforte Small Schools facility, located at the corner of Water and Branciforte.

More Information:

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

Usually, these Land Use Reports focus on our human-created environment. Today, let me give listeners a heads up on an upcoming meeting that is definitely focused on the World of Nature. On Thursday, September 17th, the Ventana Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Ventana Wilderness Alliance are jointly sponsoring a "Wilderness Protection Summit." The Summit will take place at the Live Oak Grange, located at 1900 17th Avenue in Santa Cruz. The Summit will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The Central Coast Region is blessed with nearly 300,000 acres of public lands. Unfortunately, the agency entrusted with the protection and management of most of these lands, the US Forest Service, is chronically under-funded and under-staffed. That’s why organizations like the Sierra Club and the Ventana Wilderness Alliance are meeting the challenge with outreach programs and advocacy efforts to protect the wilderness character and biodiversity of this amazing region.

On Thursday, you will learn how you can get involved to help protect the wilderness lands that make the Monterey Bay Region such a wonderful place to live. Find out more at kusp.org/landuse. You can also click through to my personal "Two Worlds" blog, which provides a daily reflection on how our human-created world is related to the World of Nature, upon which all life ultimately depends.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Ventana Wilderness Alliance Website
• Sierra Club, Ventana Chapter Website
• Sierra Club, Santa Cruz Regional Group Website

I have been presenting these weekday Land Use Reports for about the last fifteen years. Every year, I think, I have announced the annual EcoFarm Conference, held in January at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove. EcoFarm will hold its 36th Annual Conference this coming January, from January 20th through January 23rd, 2016. The theme of the conference next year is "Regenerating Our Lands And Water." This is always a really huge event, and I am truly giving you an "early warning." Conference registration opens on October 28th, and if you are interested in attending the EcoFarm Conference, I suggest that you make a note of that date, so you don’t miss out on your opportunity to secure a place at EcoFarm.

In today’s Land Use Report blog, I have links to various videos that document past EcoFarm events. Would you like to know how to can/ferment/jar/freeze/dry, or otherwise preserve chilies? EcoFarm has your back. The EcoFarm video library also has a compelling video on how soil management can help combat climate change. As you can see, there is a wide range of compelling information available in the EcoFarm video library.

Regenerating our land and water resources is an imperative of our time. Mark your calendars!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• EcoFarm Website
• Conference Announcement
• EcoFarm Video Library

I am quite a fan of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, which invites you to explore Elkhorn Slough, and to get involved in various educational and stewardship activities. The Foundation works closely with the The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, a federal agency.

Most of the activities sponsored by the Elkhorn Slough Foundation are aimed at members of the public in general. That most definitely includes activities for both young and old. However, the Foundation also has a Coastal Training Program, aimed at environmental professionals. This program is definitely not a program for just anyone, and, in fact, the Coastal Training Program costs money. But for listeners who are environmental professionals, let me provide an alert about a couple of upcoming educational trainings sponsored by the Foundation’s Coastal Training Program.

On October 22nd, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Foundation is presenting a program on "Managing Habitats for the California Red-legged Frog." On November 6th and 7th, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, the Foundation is presenting a program called "Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)." I encourage members of the public in general, and those who might be interested in these two professional trainings, to check out kusp.org/landuse, where there are links to a lot more information.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Elkhorn Slough Foundation Website
• Coastal Training Program Website
• Registration Information For Upcoming Workshops

On Tuesday I mentioned the US Forest Service. Yesterday, I mentioned the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. Both of these are federal agencies, not highly visible to most of us, but with incredible responsibilities over key environmental resources. Today, let me mention another federal agency with a hugely important environmental assignment; this is an agency that I bet listeners may think about quite frequently. I mean the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Again, this federal agency has oversight responsibilities for natural resources that are critically important to our Central Coast Region. I don’t talk about the Sanctuary much here on the Land Use Report because the focus of these weekday program is on land use, and the Sanctuary’s basic assignment is to take care of marine resources.

I felt I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t alert listeners to the Sanctuary’s pending review of its management plan. There will be a meeting on this topic on September 23rd, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Louden Nelson Community Center in Santa Cruz. This is a "scoping meeting" for the Environmental Impact Statement that will accompany the management plan revision. My comment is that the health of our marine environment depends on good land use practices. If you want to make a comment, visit kusp.org/landuse to find out how you can do that!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Website
• Sanctuary Regulations Website

The meeting schedule and instructions on how to make comments are available through the Sanctuary Regulations Website .