The KUSP Land Use Report #6: "Infrastructure Fees"

"Listen Live"

This is Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County, with a Land Use Report for KUSP.

Good land use planning builds better communities. We achieve a better future when we make key decisions on a community-wide basis—and in advance. The alternative is to let the future be determined by a series of individual decisions, which can add up to a result that none of us has planned for, and that none of us likes very much.

As we do plan for the kind of communities we want, we need to "put our money where our mouth is." We should pay for—and actually construct—the infrastructure required by the developments we allow. If we can’t pay for needed infrastructure, then we probably shouldn’t let the developments proceed. Good communities need secure water supplies; they need roads; they need schools, libraries, and fire stations. When developments are built without these things, our quality of life declines.

The Transportation Agency of Monterey County—"TAMC"—is attempting to address this problem with respect to roads. TAMC wants developers to pay more for regional highway and street projects. The idea is to finance—and then actually construct—the roads and highways needed by new development. The TAMC plan is not likely to popular with developers. It would be implemented by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, and by each one of the cities in Monterey County. If you live in Monterey County, now would be a good time to let your local elected officials know what you think.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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