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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, who was a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors from 1975 to 1995. Mr. Patton now practices environmental law in Santa Cruz with the Wittwer & Parkin law firm. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors. I read in the Santa Cruz Sentinel this past Saturday that Santa Cruz County Planning Director Tom Burns and two of his key staff people, Assistant Director Mark Deming and Assistant Director David Lee, are all planning to step down from their positions with the Planning Department at the end of this year. The Sentinel news story talked a bit about what a hard job it is to work for the Planning Department. That’s certainly true! Keeping everybody happy is virtually impossible, and making anyone happy is a real accomplishment. As a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors for twenty years, I did have an opportunity to see the work these gentlemen did in other positions within the Planning Department, and I’d like to give them all a personal salute, with thanks for their many years of dedicated service to the residents of Santa Cruz County. For anyone who would like to do some research on why local government planning and permit processes are so generally disliked, I refer you to a publication available on the website of LandWatch Monterey County. The LandWatch publication, Land Use and the General Plan, has a chapter on the permit process, and makes some suggestions for changes that might make that process work better for both the public and for permit applicants. There is a link in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. Just click on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information Tuesday, September 22, 2009 – Two North Coast Items There is something special about the Santa Cruz County North Coast. Tonight, the City Council of the City of Santa Cruz will be considering an item that will have an impact on the first impression that visitors entering the City from the North Coast will have about the City of Santa Cruz. The proposal is to change the use of a parcel now designated for industrial purposes, to allow the construction of a motel on the property instead. The proposed Fairfield Inn development will be considered by the City Council at 7:30 this evening. Tomorrow, at 9:00 o’clock in the morning, the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission will consider a North Coast item that might be truly significant for anyone who relies on the City of Santa Cruz Water Department for their water supply. That includes all the residents of the City of Santa Cruz, all the residents of Live Oak and Pasatiempo, some of the residents of the City of Capitola, and farmers on the North Coast. The CEMEX cement company, that used to operate a cement plant in Davenport, now closed of course, wants to expand their North Coast quarry. One of the potential impacts is on an important source of water for the City Water Service Area. The City of Santa Cruz is already facing a major water crisis, and the County’s decision on the quarry expansion could make things worse. There is a lot more information on both items in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 – Highway 156: Get Ready For Widening Caltrans is planning some sort of a project to alleviate congestion on Highway 156 in Monterey County, between Highway 101 and Castroville. Reducing congestion on that road would benefit residents living along Highway 156, and would make it easier for visitors from the Silicon Valley to get to the Monterey Peninsula. This evening, from 5:30 to 7:30, the Citizens Advisory Group for this Caltrans project will be meeting at the Castroville Library. The group will be considering a summary of the key issues raised during the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Document, and will be asked to provide input to Caltrans on what the preferred alternative should be. The group is also going to discuss next steps for the project, including funding and phasing possibilities. Tonight’s meeting is likely to be the last meeting of the Citizens Advisory Group, so a kind of celebratory atmosphere is anticipated. I suggest that North Monterey County residents might want to attend, since the ultimate decision on this is going to be important. One alternative is to widen the existing highway. Another is to build a new four-lane road, changing the current Highway 156 into a local access road for existing and future development. The environmental and growth inducing impacts of either proposal would have dramatic impacts on North Monterey County. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information: Thursday, September 24, 2009 – An Event Next Thursday in Pacific Grove One week from today, LandWatch Monterey County is going to be holding one of its “Around The County” events. The event will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, located at 165 Forest Avenue. Former Pacific Grove Mayor Dan Cort, an expert in urban renewal, will be giving a presentation based on his new book, Downtown Turnaround: Lessons For A New Urban Landscape. I encourage you to attend, and am giving you a one-week lead time to make sure you have an opportunity to schedule this event on your calendar. If you’d like more information, please click on the Land Use Report icon on the KUSP website, and track down the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. In terms of land use planning, the “new frontier” for innovative policy is definitely “inside” the line of existing development. Much of this nation’s land use history has been shaped by developments occurring on agricultural and open space lands. In the future, we’re going to be putting increasing emphasis on making more efficient use of the lands already dedicated to urban uses. Renewal and redevelopment, in other words, not further sprawl, are the watchwords for the future in land use policy. Finding out how to do that, and to make it work economically, is critical for the future economic and environmental health of our local communities, and critical as we try to achieve our housing and other social equity goals, as well. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information Friday, September 25, 2009 – The Supreme Court and Dalidio A recent court case called Citizens for Planning Responsibly v. County of San Luis Obispo is generating discussion among environmental lawyers (and probably among developer attorneys, too). This case involves the proposed development of the Dalidio Ranch. The property owner/developer has been trying for years to get approval for a shopping center and mixed-use development on what is now farmland, located next to an airport, and was successful in gaining voter approval for an initiative measure in November 2006. The initiative process, in other words, was used to support, not oppose the development. A court case attacked the legality of the initiative measure, and the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court invalidated the initiative, on the basis that the initiative was inconsistent with the state aeronautics law. The Court of Appeal, however, ruled in favor of the development. Now, the local residents who have been fighting this proposal have asked the California Supreme Court to take the case. I’ve read their brief, and I think they have a pretty compelling argument that the current Appellate Court decision actually holds that local voters can overturn state law by adopting a local initiative. If that’s true, it’s a game changer for land use policymaking. A benefit for the citizen lawsuit is scheduled for October 4th in San Luis Obispo. You can get more information in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton. More Information For more information on the October 4, 2009 fundraising event, contact Citizens For Planning Responsibly through Rosemary Wilvert – rwilvert@sbcglobal.net, or by contacting the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County (ECOSLO) - http://www.ecoslo.org/ |