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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 Monday, February 9, 2009 – Hearings on the Monterey County GPU It looks like the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will soon be taking final action on a General Plan Update. I’ve had four different jobs during the time that the Board has been working on this project; it’s literally been ten years! Listeners who wonder why it has taken the Board so long to get to the decision point should realize that the problem hasn’t been “getting to the decision point.” The problem has been making a decision, once that point has been reached. This is GPU version #5, which means that the Board has come to the decision point four times before. Here we are again! One of my favorite songs from the sixties is that great lyric from the Lovin’ Spoonful: Did you ever have to make up your mind? Well, the essence of being an elected official is that you do have to “make up your mind.” The decisions you make will be popular with some, and distressing to others, but that’s what you’re there for! Hopefully, this time around, the Board will make up its mind about whether Monterey County should continue past land use practices, leading to more sprawl and the loss of agricultural land, or whether the County will move towards a land use system that is based on “smart growth” principles. Hearings at the Planning Commission begin at 1:30 p.m. this Wednesday. There is more information in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. More Information You can get a copy of the public hearing notice for the February 11, 2009 public hearing at the county website noted above. Tuesday, February 10, 2009 – Water Shortage Contingency Planning If you live in the City of Santa Cruz, I’d like to alert you to an interesting 94-page report, and let you know about a public hearing this afternoon. The report is entitled, “Water Shortage Contingency Plan.” It’s the first update of the Water Contingency Plan since the early 1990’s, and is available on the City’s website. I’ve placed a link in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. The public hearing is Item #20 on the Council’s agenda, and will be held sometime after 3:00 o’clock this afternoon at the Santa Cruz City Hall. The hearing will give concerned residents an opportunity to learn more, and to make comments. One thing I’d like to learn more about is the “will serve” letter recently issued by the Director of the Santa Cruz City Water Department. He has told the Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission (or LAFCO) that the City of Santa Cruz “will serve” a very large proposed expansion of the University of California’s Santa Cruz campus. UCSC is planning to construct over 3,000,000 square feet of new development on its upper campus. This is currently a natural area, and the University is not currently entitled to get water from the City to develop it. LAFCO will decide whether or not to allow an expansion of the City’s water service area, and City elected officials are leading the charge in favor. The Council has officially told the Water Director to give this “will serve” letter to LAFCO, even in advance of environmental review. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information The Draft Water Shortage Contingency Plan is available on the City’s website. So is the Agenda for the City Council’s February 10th Meeting. Wednesday, February 11, 2009 – Water and Monterey County As reported yesterday, the City of Santa Cruz is updating its water planning. The City is also moving ahead on a proposed desalination plant, and if you’re interested in a tour of the “pilot project” facility, you might actually be able to take such a tour this morning, at 10:00 a.m. The tours are on a “space available” basis, so there probably isn’t any space left for today, but if you’d like to check, and generally get more information, I’ve put some informative links in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. Water planning efforts in Monterey County are also proceeding. A three-volume Environmental Impact Report reviewing potential sources of water for the Monterey Peninsula was released about two weeks ago, and public meetings to discuss the options will begin soon. The first meetings will be held at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on March 2nd, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Seaside. Another meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on March 3rd, at the North County Recreation Center in Castroville. Finally, a meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on March 4th, at the Rancho Cañada Golf Course in Carmel Valley. Land use planning helps shape our future. And our land use plans are directly related to the kind of water supply systems we design and build (and ultimately on the availability of water itself). I encourage you to get involved in water supply planning, on both sides of the Bay. More Information: Monterey Herald article on water planning - http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_11598150?nclick_check=1 Monterey Peninsula Water Management District –http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/ The Lombardo & Gillies law firm is generally seen as one of the “go to” law firms for big developers in Monterey County. Law firms do have their specialty areas. For a divorce, you might go to one law firm; for a new subdivision, you’re probably heading somewhere else. A number of Monterey County law firms do a lot of legal work for developers, and Lombardo & Gillies is definitely on that list. This is not only because of the firm’s long experience with development applications, but also because of the personal relationships that the firm has developed with the people who make the decisions (and that means both staff and elected officials). Several years ago, it was revealed that a number of the staff reports presented to the Monterey County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors were not actually written by the County staff, but by Lombardo & Gillies. And with respect to elected officials, the Monterey County Weekly newspaper did an article based on an examination of the calendars of members of the Board of Supervisors, and documented extremely frequent meetings between Lombardo & Gillies attorneys and members of the Board. This kind of “access” leads to favorable treatment, which is why ordinary citizens need to get more involved in the political process. Most recently, it appears that Lombardo & Gillies has expanded its horizons to San Benito County, on behalf of a developer that has a major project proposal there. You can get the interesting details on the KUSP website. More Information Friday, February 13, 2009 – Something For Sunday: Kudos to Jane Parker If you care about land use policy, and you’re not a developer with the ability to hire one of the development oriented law firms, you need another strategy. To get to the most important thing first, there just isn’t any substitute for personal involvement. But it’s also important to work with others who share your concerns, and not try to do everything yourself. That much-cited Margaret Mead quote is right on target: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Citizen-based self-government really does work. Unfortunately, the governmental agencies that should be inviting community participation often don’t make it all that easy for ordinary people to get the information they need to be effective. In Monterey County, there is now some hope on the horizon. Fourth District Supervisor Jane Parker has just initiated a new, regular meeting, to inform interested persons about what the Board of Supervisors will be doing during its next meeting. Every Sunday before a scheduled Board meeting (which is usually held on Tuesday), Supervisor Parker is going to hold an open public meeting at Mountain Mike’s in Marina, at 5:00 p.m., to provide advance information on upcoming agenda items, and to get public feedback. The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday February 22nd, since there is no Board meeting on this coming Tuesday. Congratulations to Supervisor Parker! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information Mountain Mike’s is located at 266 Reservation Road #D, Marina, CA. You can get more information from Supervisor Parker, whose contact information is below:
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