For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 – Latest Decision of the Monterey County Board
Two weeks ago, I noted that decisions by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors were almost certain to cause confusion to voters going to the polls in June.* I’m happy to say that the Board of Supervisors recognized this, and promptly scheduled a time to discuss what they should do about it. During their meeting last week, on March 13th, the Board did, in fact, address the problem. Their decision, however, was not to eliminate the confusion, but to perpetuate it.

Because of action by concerned voters, both an initiative measure and a referendum measure are now going to appear on the June ballot. The Board did everything it could to prevent the voters from getting to the ballot with the initiative and referendum, but they lost that battle. The Constitutional right of the voters to use their initiative and referendum powers ultimately prevailed.

Faced with that reality, the Board placed its own measure on the ballot, and that is where the confusion comes from. The Board’s measure asks voters if they want to “repeal” the Board’s GPU4 Plan (which isn’t even in effect, because of the referendum). On the other two measures, “Yes” means “Yes,” and “No” means “No,” but the Board’s measure is structured so that a “No” vote is a vote in favor of the Board’s plan.

Because of the Board’s action, part of its continuing battle to make sure that the voters don’t get a fair chance to decide what they want, those supporting the Community General Plan are going to have to go back to court.

More Information
*You can review the transcript of the March 5, 2007 Land Use Report at –
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/kusp2007/030507kusp.html#monday

Monterey County Website – http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/
County of Monterey General Plan Update - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/gpu/
LandWatch Monterey County Website - http://www.landwatch.org/
Community General Plan Website – http://www.montereyplan.org/

Voter confusion is not just a “hypothesis.” The “Big Question” a recent edition of the Salinas Californian asked, “Do you find the three general plan measures on June’s ballot confusing?” While the sample size was small, the results were clear: 85% of the respondents said “YES.” -
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/NEWS01/703010319/1002

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 – A Tale of Two Neighborhoods
Citizen activism on land use matters is a “taken for granted” reality in the City of Santa Cruz. As you can imagine, I think that’s a great thing, and one of the best things about living in Santa Cruz. Every community should be so lucky!

I first got involved in citizen activism as a member of the Save Lighthouse Point Association, back in the early 1970’s, and from that time to this, local residents in the City of Santa Cruz have regularly become involved, directly, in the land use and related decisions that so profoundly affect their future. My weekday Land Use Reports are an invitation for you to get involved in your local community (no matter where you live), and to see if you don’t agree that one of the most satisfying experiences we can have in life is joining together with friends and neighbors to help make the future be what we think it should be, instead of letting things just “happen to us.” I can get almost rhapsodic about the joys of “self government,” the kind of government in which we get involved ourselves.

If you are a resident on the Eastside of the City of Santa Cruz, you should know that concerned residents, calling themselves the Seabright Neighbors, are working hard to expand the Frederick Street Park. If you live on the Westside of the City, you may be interested in “Friends of the Westside,” a group that is working against a large new Bus and Maintenance Yard, proposed on Swift Street.

More Information
Seabright Neighbors Website - http://www.rootaction.org/170FrederickSt.html
More information on the Frederick Street Park issue from – spitzer@cruzio.com

Bus Yard Petition – http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/smart_planning_now/
More information on Friends of the Westside - neighbors@westsidefriends.com

Thursday, March 22, 2007 – The PCL Symposium
These Land Use Reports focus on the Monterey Bay Area and the Central Coast, providing a “heads up” on significant land use items. My “day job,” however, finds me not on the Central Coast, but in Sacramento, where I head the Planning and Conservation League. PCL works on all sorts of environmental issues at the state level.

Today, I thought I’d provide you with a special invitation to attend PCL’s 2007 Environmental Legislative Symposium, scheduled for Saturday, April 14th, at the Sacramento Convention Center. You can get full information on the Symposium by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.

The PCL Symposium is not just for those who follow state level issues. Quite the opposite. PCL is truly a League” of local environmental organizations, and the Symposium is our annual statewide “get together,” where local groups share their experiences and efforts, and learn from each other. This year, the Symposium is entitled, “How To…Win The Environmental Battles That Test This Generation.”

Workshops will include instruction on how to enforce legal rights and government obligations under California’s “Government in the Sunshine” laws, how to run a community initiative, how to use the California Environmental Quality Act, and how to run a successful referendum. Attorneys can even get MCLE credit!

More Information
The Planning and Conservation League Website – www.pcl.org
The 2007 Symposium Program - http://www.pcl.org/projects/2007symposium/agenda.html
Online registration for the Symposium - https://secure.ga1.org/05/07symposium

If you would like to become a subscriber to the PCL “Insider,” a weekly bulletin on key environmental issues, written from the State Capital, visit our website at - http://action.nwf.org/pcl/home.html

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.