The KUSP Land Use Report #42: Economic Development and the General Plan

"Listen Live"

The following Land Use Report is presented 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 our sponsors.

On May 29th, the Monterey County Planning Commission will consider the Economic Development Element of the proposed General Plan Update. The hearing will be held in Salinas, and will start at 11:00 o’clock in the morning. Your testimony would be very much welcomed.

Monterey County is unusual in including a specific discussion of economic development in its proposed General Plan. This is not required by state law. We know, though, that land use decisions made in response to business proposals often have a major effect on how our communities use their land resources. It makes good sense to coordinate long-term economic development planning with long term land use planning.

The Commission that oversees the Monterey County Overall Economic Development Program has not yet weighed in with their comments. They’re sure to be interested, however, in how the proposed General Plan Update will impact future economic development. They will be particularly concerned that the General Plan Update permits the appropriate expansion of Monterey County’s most important industry—agriculture.

Next week, I’ll talk about economic development issues again, and point out how they’re related to the General Plan Update. In the meantime, if you’d like to suggest a topic for a future land use report, or want to make a comment about this or any other program, you can do so at the KUSP website, www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

[Back to KUSP News Index]