The KUSP Land Use Report #35: Cooperative Planning and City Centered Growth

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Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County, presents the following Land Use Report. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of our sponsors.

The Salinas City Council has voted to send a sharply worded letter to the Monterey County Planning Commission, criticizing the County’s Draft General Plan. On April 10th, Mayor Anna Caballero will present that letter to the Commission. And you’re invited.

One of the complaints is about Rancho San Juan, a large development proposed by the county right outside the city limits. City Council members don’t want Salinas to have to absorb the impacts of a development over which they will have no direct authority. It’s a good point. As planners traditionally say, “Whatever is urban should be municipal.” That means no urban style subdivisions out in the county.

The Salinas City Council had another complaint, too. The Draft County General Plan suggests that there should be some limits on city growth, to preserve and protect commercially productive agricultural lands. Now, the County has a point there. If individual cities expand without limit, there can be some pretty dramatic countywide effects. And not just environmental effects, economic effects! City centered growth is good, but unlimited growth, even if centered in the cities, can definitely cause problems.

It seems that good planning requires that county government, and city governments, work together. When they fight, the good points on both sides tend to get lost.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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