Gary Patton's Land Use Reports
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Past Reports

The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP by Gary Patton, Executive Director of The Planning and Conservation League. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
 

Monday, March 6, 2006 – Condominium Conversions
Central Coast residents are painfully aware that housing costs are high. We rely upon “markets” to allocate the good things of life, which means that we live in a supply and demand world. The market “supplies” what people “demand.” Prices are determined by the balance between supply and demand. If there is more demand than supply, then the price goes up. In a market economy, the good things of life, and even necessities, are sold at the highest price that people will pay.

Housing supply here in the Central Coast is limited, and the “demand” for housing here is very great, since people from all over the world would like to live here, or at least purchase real estate here, as an investment. In this kind of economic environment, the government can act as an “honest broker,” trying to make sure that market transactions don’t undermine the integrity of the community. A good example of how that could happen is the phenomenon of condominium conversion, in which the owners of apartment buildings (who often rent to persons with average and below average incomes) convert all those apartments to ownership units, selling them off as second-home investments to the highest bidder.

If you are interested in that topic, and property owners and renters both have a stake in the discussion, think about attending the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow, where a public hearing will be held on a condominium conversion ordinance.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006 – Just One Week Ago in Salinas….
Monterey County puts a “live audio” stream of its Board meetings on the web, so I was able to listen live to last weeks’ Board meeting on the Community General Plan Initiative. Here are some things that struck me:

  • First, Supervisor David Potter was the only Supervisor who stood up for the people’s right to vote. He made a motion to put the initiative on the ballot, and no Supervisor seconded that motion. Supervisor Calcagno, specifically, did not support the motion to let the people vote. The only motion that counted last week was the motion to put the initiative on the ballot, and only Supervisor Potter supported that action.
  • Second, the Board used county taxpayer funds to hire a law firm that is on retainer to the development industry. That law firm said the Board should refuse to let the people vote. The Board followed the advice of the developers’ attorney, instead of the advice of the County Counsel.
  • Third, the whole purpose of the initiative law is to let the public do something that their elected officials don’t like, thus giving the voters the ultimate power over public policy. This right of the people is built in to the Constitution, so if the courts uphold state law and the people’s Constitutional right to vote, County taxpayers will have to pay the legal bills for the County Counsel, for the developers’ attorney hired by the Board, and for the attorneys who are now suing the County on behalf of the people’s right to vote.
More Information
Community General Plan Initiative Website – www.montereyplan.org
LandWatch Website – www.landwatch.org
Around The County Meetings - http://www.landwatch.org/pages/news06/022406breakfasts.html

Wednesday, March 8, 2006 – Coastal Access Workshop in Cambria
Here’s an item for San Luis Obispo County listeners. The State Department of Parks and Recreation will hold a public workshop this evening, to discuss public access to the newly-acquired state park coastal property north of San Simeon Point. The meeting begins at 7:00 o’clock this evening at the Cambria Veterans Memorial Building, and you are definitely invited!

The property was previously “private property,” but it now belongs to the people of the State of California. This does not necessarily mean that we can all go out there and use the property as we may individually choose. In fact, the property contains elephant seal breeding grounds, so it’s a sensitive area biologically. District Superintendent Nick Franco puts it this way: “Like any new land acquisition for State Parks, we need to gather the data to establish a balance between protection of resources and recreational use, as it relates to the needs of the land. … We are looking for public input to establish access points and what to see and do on this magnificent coastal property.”

Superintendent Ed Redig makes a very similar comment: “We are looking for the best ways for the public to enjoy this beautiful stretch of coastline while protecting the elephant seal population. … We want to see the pristine fabric of this coastal environment remain intact for generations to come.”

How about giving State Parks some assistance, at that meeting this evening?

More Information
For meeting information contact EPI – Phone: 805-781-9932; Email: GRHensley@aol.com
State Parks Department Website – http://www.parks.ca.gov/
Information on San Simeon State Park –
http://search.parks.ca.gov/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=135&EXTRA_ARG=&CFGNAME=MssFind%2Ecfg&host_id=42&page_id=5702656&query=san+simeon&hiword=san+simeon+

Thursday, March 9, 2006 – Pebble Beach at the Coastal Commission
The State Coastal Commission is holding an extremely important public hearing today at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey. For more information, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. If you can get to the meeting today, I encourage you to go there personally.

The Coastal Commission is the ultimate caretaker for the California coast. As you probably know, our state law treats the coastal zone differently from every other part of California, in terms of land use. Land use decisions in the coastal zone have to meet strict policy requirements, and there is a state level agency (the Coastal Commission) with active oversight responsibility. Everywhere else, local governments can pretty much do what they think best. In the coastal zone, they need to meet the Coastal Act test.

In this case, the Pebble Beach Company wants to cut down 17,000 native Monterey Pine trees, to construct a new golf course, some large mansions, and visitor serving facilities. The application to do this is based on “Measure A,” passed by the voters of Monterey County, after a campaign in which the Pebble Beach Company spent something like a million dollars in advertising. Ironically, the ad campaign stressed that the measure was one that would “protect the Del Monte Forest.”

In the coastal zone, even voter initiatives have to meet state policy requirements. Don’t miss your chance to participate!

More Information
Coastal Commission Website – http://www.coastal.ca.gov/index.html
Meeting Agenda - http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html
Staff Report on Pebble Beach Company Proposal - http://www.coastal.ca.gov/epacket/2006/3/Th8b-3-2006.pdf
County Information - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/major/pbc/pbc_main.htm
Coastwatcher Website - http://www.coastwatcher.com/
Save Pebble Beach Video - http://www.coastwatcher.com/savepebblebeach.mov
For information from the Sierra Club, contact – savethecoast@sierraclub.org

Friday, March 10, 2006 – Next Tuesday in Watsonville
“Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Watsonville will be conducting a series of Public Hearings on the General Plan Update, beginning on Tuesday, February 28, 2006, with additional meetings every other Tuesday, including: March 14, March 25, and May 9, 2006. These hearings will be held in the City Council Chamber at 250 Main Street, Watsonville, California, and will occur in the evening sessions after 6:30 p.m. ….”

It’s not often that I simply quote an official Public Hearing Notice, but that’s what I’ve just done. Watsonville residents, and others interested in the future of Santa Cruz County, should mark their calendars to participate in the upcoming hearings. The hearing next Tuesday will focus specifically on transportation issues, and the Economic and Historic Elements of the proposed General Plan.

Each community is required to have a local General Plan. The General Plan must meet some basic state law requirements, but the state gives a great deal of discretion to local communities. By and large, a local community can do whatever it wants, in terms of its General Plan policies. That means that the impact of community of participation can be really significant. And there is really no more important document, in terms of land use policy, than the local General Plan. It’s the “Constitution for land use” for the local community. If you want to affect the future of Watsonville, get involved now!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information
City of Watsonville Website - http://www.ci.watsonville.ca.us/
City Council Agendas - http://www.ci.watsonville.ca.us/agendas/agendas.html#coun
Proposed General Plan - http://www.ci.watsonville.ca.us/departments/cdd/generalplan.html
Public Hearing Notice on General Plan Deliberations - http://www.ci.watsonville.ca.us/public%20hearing%20notices/GeneralPlanUpdate.pdf
Land Use And The General Plan Handbook - http://landwatch.org/pages/publications.htm#generalplan