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KUSP provided a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio from January 2003 to May 2016. Archives of past transcripts are available here.
Week of November 25, 2002 to November 29, 2002
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP Radio by Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
Monday,
November 25th – Decision Time on Monterey County GPU
Tomorrow, in Monterey County, the Board of Supervisors will make
some critically important decisions about the General Plan Update.
The General Plan item is scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon at
the County Courthouse in Salinas.
The basis for the motions made tomorrow will be a staff report written personally by the County Administrative Officer. As you may know, the five-member Board of Supervisors divided down the middle when they addressed the issues last time. Supervisors Armenta and Johnsen advanced a motion to approve a long list of property owner requests that would allow future development of agricultural and open space lands. Supervisors Potter and Pennycook opposed the motion, on the grounds that these requests had been identified as fundamentally inconsistent with the principles upon which the draft General Plan Update was based. Supervisor Calcagno said he was in the middle, and was not ready to decide which way he wanted to vote. Hence the continuance to tomorrow’s meeting.
The principles have remained the same. The staff report, however, now recommends a “compromise” of those principles, approving some of the property owner requests and denying the rest. If you’ve got a preference between principles and property owners, there is still time to let your elected officials know what you think. The staff report is available on line. Click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org to get more information.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Access to the staff report and attachments -
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/news/index.htmlBoard of Supervisors Agenda -
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/
Tuesday,
November 26th – Redevelopment in Santa Cruz County
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is meeting today, at
701 Ocean Street. Agenda Item 54.1 is a public hearing on the County’s
Redevelopment Plan, and a report on the implementation of redevelopment
efforts to date.
Loyal listeners may remember an extended discussion of redevelopment on past editions of this Land Use Report. If you’re interested, you can get a copy of the Board’s agenda, for today, including a copy of the staff report, and you can view transcripts of past Land Use Reports discussing redevelopment. Just go to www.kusp.org. Send me an email, too, to let me know what you think, or to suggest a topic for review.
Under state law, once a redevelopment agency is established, and a redevelopment area identified, and a redevelopment plan adopted, implementation can begin. Almost always, that means collecting new, “tax increment” revenues, and then using this money to build projects. In Santa Cruz County, the Live Oak and Soquel areas have been particularly benefited. Affordable housing, incidentally, is a required expenditure item.
The state mandates a periodic review of what’s happening, and specifically requires a public hearing. This morning, in other words, is your legally guaranteed right to sound off about redevelopment. The Board meeting starts at 9:00 o’clock.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Access to Board Agenda -
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/
Govstream/archive/ArchiveIndex.aspPast Land Use Reports -
http://www.mclw.org/pages/KUSParchives.html
Wednesday,
November 27th – Rancho San Juan
A KUSP listener has accepted my standing invitation to suggest a
topic for the Land Use Report. In response, I want to say a little
bit about Rancho San Juan, a proposed development in Monterey County.
When the Monterey County Board of Supervisors considered its General
Plan Update yesterday, and voted on property owner requests to develop
agricultural and open space lands, many of the parcels requested
for development were in the Rancho San Juan area.
The proposed Rancho San Juan is located to the north and east of the City of Salinas. The area is hilly for the most part, and is largely used for agriculture. More than twenty years ago, Rancho San Juan was designated as an “Area of Development Concentration,” even though it is not adjacent to an existing city and does not have access to basic public services. The proposed Prunedale Bypass, a hot topic in Monterey County, would almost certainly be needed to provide physical access. In fact, opponents of the Bypass have called it the “driveway to Rancho San Juan.”
The City of Salinas has been opposing the Rancho San Juan development, because it would make demands on city services, like fire and libraries, but would pay no taxes to the city, or be under the city’s direct control. You’ll hear more about Rancho San Juan in the future, since the decision about whether to permit it to go forward, or not, will have such a profound impact on North Monterey County.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
Thursday,
November 28th – City of Salinas Creekbridge Charette
An unusual planning exercise just took place in the City of Salinas.
One of the city’s major developers, Creekbridge Homes, held
what is called a “Charette,” to do preliminary designs
for lands designated for development in the new Salinas General
Plan.
Creekbridge, which has built thousands of homes in Salinas, mostly on the model of those single-family subdivisions with sound walls that you see in San Jose, seems like an “unlikely suspect” as a planning innovator. However, Creekbridge is sincerely trying to break the mold. They’re proposing that new developments in Salinas, and in other places in the Salinas Valley, like King City, should be based on what is called the “New Urbanism.” This development model is also called “Traditional Neighborhood Design.” The “Charette” held in Salinas last week, helped get members of the public, and elected officials, involved in a new kind of planning.
“Traditional Neighborhood Design” is pedestrian oriented. It mixes uses and mixes income levels. It’s based on the idea that a complete array of services and activities should be available to residents within a fifteen-minute walk. Densities are higher than in the typical single-family subdivision, which means that scarce land is used more efficiently. More affordable housing is part of the package.
You can find out more by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
TND Development Principles -
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/
salinasgp/071702creekbridge.htm
Friday,
November 29th – The Local Government Commission
Yesterday, I mentioned the planning model called “Traditional
Neighborhood Design.” It’s also called the “New Urbanism.”
These terms describe a nationwide movement to change land use policy,
specifically including zoning codes, to facilitate development that
is different from the traditional single-family subdivision.
The benefits of this new model are significant. The problem, really, is that it is “new.” There’s not a great deal of experience, and local governments, and the people who finance developments, like banks, are very nervous. Will “New Urbanism” sell in the market? Higher densities may mean problems. It’s great to have narrow streets and a pedestrian environment, but what about fire and emergency access?
Here’s a tip. Check out the resources offered by the Congress For The New Urbanism, and California’s own Local Government Commission. Website references are available through www.kusp.org.
The Local Government Commission is of particular interest. Its statement, called the “Awahnee Principles,” has really defined what Traditional Neighborhood Design is all about. Also, the LGC is made up of local elected officials from around California, and that includes both city council members and members of boards of supervisors. Ask your elected officials to look into it. If they join up, next thing you know they’ll be local leaders in this national movement for better planning.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
The Awahnee Principles -
http://www.lgc.org/ahwahnee/principles.htmlLocal Government Commission -
http://www.lgc.org/Congress For The New Urbanism -
http://www.cnu.org/index_noJS.cfm
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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