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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 December 23, 2002 to December 27, 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,
December 23rd – City-County Cooperation
Never let it be said that there are no benefits to attending planning
meetings. On Wednesday December18th, representatives from the Monterey
County Board of Supervisors and from all of the cities in the Salinas
Valley, plus the City of Marina, met to discuss city-county cooperation,
and city-centered growth. All those in attendance, including members
of the public, were treated to a really excellent dinner!
Of course, the meat and potatoes part of the meeting was the discussion, not the dinner. Monterey County is developing a new General Plan, and the draft plan says that new growth should be directed into existing urban areas. This is good planning. However, county government faces a state level requirement that it accommodate a significant amount of new growth within its own jurisdiction—in other words, in the unincorporated part of the county. That part of the county is not, at least for the most part, already urbanized. Finding a way to reconcile these somewhat conflicting objectives and demands and was the motive for the meeting last Wednesday.
Tomorrow, I’ll give a continued report. In the meantime, you might want to mark your calendars for Monday, January 13th and Wednesday, January 22nd. Those dates have been mentioned as the next opportunity for this discussion to continue. The public will be invited, though I can’t actually promise you another dinner!
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County GPU Website -
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Tuesday,
December 24th – More on City-Centered Growth
The essence of “smart growth” is to direct new development
into existing urban areas. “City-centered” growth is smart,
because it places development where infrastructure already exists.
That cuts costs. Furthermore, it helps save open space and farmlands.
So what’s the problem?
First, there is a kind of political problem. When growth is directed into one area it is automatically discouraged from going into another. The whole idea of setting a policy is to make a choice about what’s best. But what is best from a public policy perspective may not be best from a private interest perspective. If you’re a large landowner in a rural area, a policy favoring city-centered growth means that your land is a lot less likely to be developed. Great for the public, perhaps, but not for you as an individual landowner.
But there’s another problem, too. State law requires that every city and county accommodate what the state calls its “fair share” of future growth. Counties with large rural areas have to accommodate their share in the land they control, and that is not land that is already urbanized. This was the problem discussed last Wednesday at the city-county meeting involving the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, the Salinas Valley cities, and the City of Marina. What was most interesting was the cities’ willingness to help out. There will be more tomorrow on the Land Use Report.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County GPU Website -
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Wednesday,
December 25th – Christmas Gift of Good Planning
What a wonderful Christmas present it would be to have good planning
principles adopted for all of our communities. Land use policies
largely shape our economic, environmental, and social future. Good
land use policies would be what Dylan Thomas called one of the “useful
gifts.”
A week ago, representatives from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, and from the cities of Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield, King City, and Marina, gathered together to see if they could give us a gift of some good land use policy. What was most notable was the willingness of the Salinas Valley cities to help direct future growth into existing urban areas. That’s the definition of “smart growth,” and would help cut taxpayer costs, and save precious farmlands and open space.
The cities can’t solve the political-type problem involved in setting “smart growth” policies. The County Board of Supervisors will have to determine for itself whether it’s willing to tell rural landowners that good public policy says that new growth should go to the cities, and just isn’t favored in rural areas.
But the cities were willing to help address the state requirement that the County accommodate a “fair share” of new growth in the unincorporated area. The Salinas Valley cities offered to take a very significant part of the County fair share allocation, and build that new growth inside the cities. That’s a kind of Christmas present in advance.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County GPU Website -
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Thursday,
December 26th – The Housing Element for King City
Christmas and holiday greetings to KUSP listeners throughout the
Central Coast! I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday
season, and that the New Year will be a good one, one that is both
peaceful and productive.
Land use policy issues will be front and center as the New Year begins. I’ve already alerted listeners to a series of meetings between Monterey County and the cities of the Salinas Valley, to focus on city-centered growth. Another important meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 14th. On that day, the King City City Council will receive comments on its draft Housing Element. The meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. at the City Council Chambers, at 212 South Vanderhurst Avenue in King City.
State law requires each city and county in California to have a comprehensive General Plan. One of the mandatory elements in that General Plan must be a “Housing Element.” You can get information on the state law requirements at the KUSP website, at www.kusp.org. Click on the Land Use Report link.
The Housing Element is the place in the General Plan where programs to provide affordable housing ought to be specified. Making sure that there is a local commitment to such programs is where the opportunity for public comment is greatest. I hope those in the King City area will attend that public hearing on January 14th.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
King City Website -
http://www.kingcity.com/index.shtmlKing City Housing Element -
http://www.kingcity.com/housing_element.htmlState Planning Law and Housing Element Requirements:
Friday,
December 27th – The Smart Growth Network
Directing new development into existing urban areas, and particularly
into the cities, is one of the key components of what is called
“smart growth.” Without doubt, land use policies that
succeed in this effort lead to better, more vital, and more prosperous
communities.
Taxpayers save money when existing infrastructure is used to its maximum. Economically productive farmlands are protected, too, by smart growth policies. So are the natural resources of what is often called “open space.” It’s no wonder that there is a nationwide movement to establish “smart growth” principles at the local level. “Think globally, act locally” well describes the effort—and describes the magnitude of the effort. Victories in the smart growth arena need to be won in each local community; there’s no “one size fits all” solution that can be applied from the federal level. Nonetheless, while all the battles end up being local, it is both helpful and important to see what’s happening around the country.
To do some research on smart growth efforts nationally, go to the Land Use Report link on the KUSP website. That’s www.kusp.org. In the transcript for this broadcast, I include a link to the Smart Growth Network. There is a host of information available there, and I hope that some listeners will want to follow up. I hope you’ll feel free to send me your comments and suggestions, too.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Smart Growth Network -
http://www.smartgrowth.org/Default.asp?res=1024
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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