The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors generally meets on Tuesdays. Not, however, when Monday is a holiday. There is no Board meeting tomorrow. The reason behind this rule is that the Board wants to make sure that members of the public, and Board members themselves, can ask questions of county staff about items on the agenda. The agenda comes out late in the week, usually on Thursday, and it might well take a day or so to read it. Thus, Board members and members of the public can use Monday to ask questions, in advance of the Tuesday meeting. It’s a pretty good rule, aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of public participation, and helping Board members to be in charge of the bureaucracy, rather than the opposite. Not all public agencies, however, follow this rule. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors, for instance, is meeting tomorrow, as is the Santa Cruz City Council. You can get links to their agenda materials at kusp.org/landuse.

Let me highlight some important items on tomorrow’s agenda of the Santa Cruz City Council. Afternoon Agenda Item #10 is an ordinance to speed permits for residential rooftop solar systems. Item #11 is about planning for the possibility of an El Niño storm event. Item #13 addresses short term rentals of Accessory Dwelling Units. At 7:00 p.m., the Council will hold a study session on its Parks Master Plan.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda Website
• Council Agenda, City of Santa Cruz, October 13, 2015

Listeners may remember my mention of a book called Step Into Nature. I mentioned this book on the Land Use Report back in June. It’s by Monterey County poet and author Patrice Vecchione, and each chapter of the book contains items for inspiration and inquiry, plus suggestions, activities, and resources. “Stepping into Nature,” as I said then, is great advice. I’ll second the motion!

If you’d like to follow up, you might want to track down today’s Land Use Report transcript, at kusp.org/landuse, where I have a link to a recent article in the Monterey Herald, authored by Patrice Vecchione, and documenting her own recent “Step Into Nature” experience on the former Fort Ord. Vecchione took a walk specifically to examine the site of the proposed Monterey Downs project, and you might want to follow her footsteps. If you do, I’m pleased to report that a member of the Carmel Valley Association will be leading an excursion to the site on Saturday, October 17th. The hike is going to take two hours, and the leaders of the hike will meet participants at 1:00 p.m. at the corner of 8th and Gigling.

There is more information in today’s transcript. Getting personally involved in the major land use project decisions that will affect our region is always a good idea. So, “Step Into Nature” before you get to one of those important indoor meetings!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• June 22, 2015 Edition Of The Land Use Report
• Monterey Herald Article By Patrice Vecchione
• Reserve a spot on the October 17th hike:
  • Email to kecline@sbcglobal.net
  • Telephone: 831-899-7934

Here’s a question for Monterey County listeners. Are you excited about the opportunity to raise your sales taxes to fund new highway and other transportation projects? If you direct your browser to kusp.org/landuse, you will find some links to information about Senate Bill 705, gutted and amended in the last three weeks of the legislative session to allow TAMC, the Transportation Agency For Monterey County, to raise the current 2-percent state cap on local sales taxes, and to increase sales taxes in Monterey County, for transportation purposes. TAMC is going to have to get the voters’ approval, however, so if you are not a big fan of new tax increases, or of the kind of highway widening projects that some of the funds will go for, you will have an opportunity to weigh in.

Raising taxes is almost never really popular, but it is true that sales taxes imposed on purchases in Monterey County end up collecting money from the many visitors who come to Monterey County, so it’s actually a relatively cheap way for local residents to raise money that will hopefully improve their lives, while making sure the expenses are at least partly borne by non-residents. It’s also fair to say that some of the County’s biggest transportation problems are directly related to visitors, so having them shoulder part of the tax burden needed to address the problems is actually quite equitable.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Weekly Article on SB 705
• Monterey County Weekly Article on TAMC Ballot Measure Plans
• Copy, Senate Bill 705
• TAMC Website

Santa Cruz City residents, and those who work in downtown Santa Cruz, and those who shop in downtown Santa Cruz, and those who are in business in downtown Santa Cruz, may be getting a little bit panicked about parking. A recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel indicates that the City has oversold its available downtown parking spots. According to the article, there are 1,642 spots available for permit parking, and the City has issued 1,831 permits for those spots. Oh! That’s why you can’t find a spot, even if you have paid for it in advance.

Regular parking spots (the kind you don’t pay for in advance) are also hard to find. And you increasingly have to pay for them. They are no longer free. In fact, the City is currently getting ready to convert one of its last free parking lots to a paid parking lot.

If you are panicked about parking in downtown Santa Cruz, or if you are otherwise interested in this topic (panic not being the only way to react to parking in downtown), you’ll be pleased to know that there is a meeting tonight that will address parking issues. The City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission is holding a joint meeting with the City Downtown Commission. It’s at 7:00 p.m. tonight at the Police Community Room, located at 155 Center Street. There are links to more information at kusp.org/landuse. Think about attending!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agenda Joint Downtown Commission / Planning Commission Meeting
• Santa Cruz Sentinel Article on Downtown Parking

If you were listening to the Land Use Report on Tuesday, October 6th, you will remember me saying that you should never assume that the name given to a project reflects the reality.

I was talking, then, about the so-called “Pure Water Monterey” project, which aims to turn treated sewage waste into drinking water. Here’s another example. A proposed development project near Greenfield will transform a 9.5-acre piece of agricultural land into a conventional subdivision, consisting of 43 residential lots, a .2-acre percolation basin, a .45-acre park, leaving .18 acres of open space. The name the developer has given to this proposed project is “Apple Row.” I took a look at the project site on Google Maps, and apple trees do not seem to be located in the vicinity.

This proposed project will only proceed if the Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, approves the annexation of the land to the City of Greenfield, and if the City of Greenfield approves the annexation and what is called a “Vesting Tentative Map.”

If you would like to comment on the fact that the City does not intend to do an Environmental Impact Report on this proposed project, you need to get involved prior to October 30th. I do have some information in today’s Land Use Report transcript at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Google Maps
• For more information, contact Mic Steinmann
  • Telephone: 831-674-5591
  • Email: msteinmann@ci.greenfield.ca.us