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Listen to the reports each weekday at 6:49 am & 8:49 am To
suggest a topic for a future land use report, or to convey a comment,
please use this link.
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| Past
Reports
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP by Gary Patton, General Counsel of The Planning and Conservation League. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP You can contact Gary Patton at PCL by emailing him at: gapatton@pcl.org.
Land use and water policy need to go hand in hand. One of the main concerns about new growth in North Monterey County, as a local example, is the impact that new development might have on existing wells. And matching adequate and appropriate water supplies with proposed new development isn’t just a “local” problem. It’s a problem statewide, and the State Legislature has recognized that new developments really shouldn’t be allowed to proceed unless an adequate water supply can be shown. The Planning and Conservation League is sponsoring a piece of legislation they call the “Water Efficiency and Security Act,” to reduce the water supply impacts of new development. Find out more by clicking on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website, and track down the written transcript for today’s Land Use Report. Very briefly, AB 2153 would require new residential or commercial building projects to implement “all feasible and cost-effective water efficiency measures,” and then to go beyond this, and mitigate any additional projected water consumption by reducing other water uses, within the same hydrologic region, to achieve an overall “no new water use” standard, as projected by the local water supplier. This bill is coming up for an important vote tomorrow. It’s an ambitious but appropriate statement about what California needs to do, as it confronts the challenge of growth. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information On Monday, April 7th, and Tuesday, April 29th, I discussed “Certificates of Compliance.” I pointed out that a way to gauge how serious a local government is about land use policy can be measured by how easily the particular local government allows landowners to “subdivide” their land, or by how hard the local government fights against claims that no subdivision approval is needed. In Monterey County, the Board of Supervisors allowed the owners of the agricultural lands surrounding Spreckels to build something like 63 new homes, without any public review or new subdivision approval. The landowner said he was entitled to “Certificates of Compliance,” recognizing an “ancient subdivision,” and the Board of Supervisors didn’t fight this claim, but validated the landowner’s assertion. In Santa Cruz County, a similar claim was recently made by a landowner in the La Selva Beach area. The landowner stated that his single parcel should really be considered to be four parcels, because of an “ancient subdivision” that he wanted recognized. In this case, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors said “no,” and rejected the claim. The Santa Cruz County Board, in other words, acting differently from the Board in Monterey County, asserted the public’s right to review proposed subdivisions, in the face of the claim that no subdivision approval should be required because an “ancient subdivision” supposedly already divided the land. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information
Because I’m interested in land use issues on the Central Coast, I “subscribe” to various email alerts. You might want to get on the “mailing list” for your own City Council or Planning Commission if you want to be sure you know what they’ll be talking about and taking action on at upcoming meetings. Recently, I got a copy of the agenda of the Architectural Review Committee established in the City of Monterey. They’ll be meeting this afternoon and evening at the Monterey City Hall, and I’ve put a link to that agenda in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. What strikes me immediately about the agenda of the City of Monterey Architectural Review Committee is how “fine tuned” planning is in that city. There is going to be a full public hearing this afternoon on whether or not a new “directory sign” should be allowed at an existing commercial building at 362 Pacific Street. In the evening, another public hearing will consider a proposal for some new signs at an existing commercial building at 2110 North Fremont Street. In the City of Monterey, in other words, a business owner can put in a few new signs on his existing commercial building only if he gets public approval after a public hearing. In other jurisdictions, that might be seen as governmental “overreaching.” The point is that the “police power” that lets our local governments regulate land use can expand or contract to reflect the community’s standards and concerns. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information The Central Coast Agricultural Task Force is made up of ten agricultural organizations: the California Association of Pest Control Advisors, the Monterey Bay Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, Monterey County Cattlemen, Monterey County Cattle Women, Monterey County Farm Bureau, Monterey County Vintners and Growers, San Benito County Cattlemen, San Benito County Farm Bureau, and Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. The mission of this industry group is to monitor governmental boards, councils, commissions, and agencies and to alert Task Force members to actual or potential issues of benefit or detriment to the long-term viability of agriculture on the Central Coast. On Friday, May 30th, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., at Cabrillo College, the Central Coast Agricultural Task Force will be sponsoring a presentation titled, “What Does Ag Sustainability Mean on the Central Coast?” Speakers include Dr. Roberta Cook, a marketing economist from the University of California, Tim Garlarneau, who is a food systems education and research specialist associated with the Agroecology Center at UCSC, and Dr. Jeff Dlott, President and CEO of SureHarvest. There is a charge to attend, and you need to RSVP. If you’d like to sign up, there is more information on the KUSP website. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is carefully studying the possibility of starting a campaign to provide a permanent source of funding for open space and natural lands protection. Other counties have done this, and the benefits are clear. But you do only get what you pay for. Whether or not the people of Santa Cruz County will want to tax themselves to provide for ongoing funding for natural resource protection remains to be seen. A quarter cent sales tax increase would generate about eight million dollars per year. Because a two-thirds vote is required, the Land Trust is taking a very deliberate approach, and will probably only propose something to the voters if a broad consensus emerges. Voter approval is really only going to be practical if lots of different kinds of people agree that this is an investment that would be beneficial to all of us. If you’re interested in this topic, I have a link to the Land Trust website in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. I also highlight some upcoming outdoor events, sponsored by the Land Trust. If you’re a member, you can sign up for a very easy one-mile Bird Walk at Antonelli’s Pond, in the City Santa Cruz. That’s scheduled for Saturday May 31st. A five-mile walk in Byrne and Milliron Forests is scheduled for Sunday, June 1st. The big annual celebration, held at Swanton Pacific Ranch, will take place on September 28th. You might want to mark your calendars ahead. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information
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