The KUSP Land Use Report #1: "Land Use Policy"

"Listen Live"

Land use policy is important. How we use the land has a fundamental impact on our economy, on social equity, and on the health of the environment.

Native Americans believed that they belonged to the land. Our modern conception is that the land belongs to us—and belongs to us as individuals. Our "individualistic" approach to land ownership and land use is tempered somewhat by the policies we establish as a community. When we talk about "land use policy," we’re talking about the rules we make for ourselves, acting as a community, that guide and govern the way we use the land.

This weekly land use report is going to cover the topic of land use policy along the Central California coast. There is a lot going on, from Santa Cruz County to San Luis Obispo.

In Santa Cruz County (and in Monterey County), housing policy is a hot topic—as well it ought to be. The housing policies we develop and apply have a direct impact on social equity—as well as on our economy. In Monterey County, the preservation and protection of agricultural land is probably the most important economic issue facing the community—looking in the long term. Major resort developments proposed in San Luis Obispo County will have a profound effect on the natural environment.

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