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Monday,
January 6, 2003 – Marina Heights Hearing Tomorrow
The Marina City Council will meet tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., and will hear
public comment about the proposed Marina Heights Project. Development
on the former Fort Ord is finally getting underway, and this is the first
major residential project in Marina.
Last December, the Marina City Council started up the environmental review
process. The Council seems to have assumed that the "project"
to be reviewed would be the project described in an Option Agreement between
the City and the developer. Normally, that would make sense. In this case,
however, the Council promised the public to consider possible changes
to the project outlined in the Option Agreement.
The most important topic for discussion is how much, if any, affordable
housing should be included. As described in the Option Agreement, the
development will require tearing down existing housing, and then constructing
about 1,000 units of new housing. None of that new housing is proposed
to be affordable to a person with an average or below average income.
None of it would necessarily go to Marina residents.
Members of the City Council promised the public that changes could be
made to the proposed project. The question for tomorrow’s meeting
is whether those changes should be considered now, before the EIR process
begins, or considered later. If they’re not considered now, and changes
are made later, the EIR process might have to be done over.
More Information:
City of Marina - http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/
Analysis of Proposed Development - http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/MarHeightsCityPlanComparison.htm
LandWatch Letter on Marina Heights Project – http://www.landwatch.org
Tuesday, January 7, 2003 – Carmel Housing Element Hearing
This Thursday, the Carmel City Council will hold a public hearing on its
proposed Housing Element. State law requires every city and county have
an integrated, internally consistent General Plan, addressing seven mandatory
topics: land use, circulation, open space, conservation, noise, safety,
and housing. There are some pretty specific requirements with respect
to what the Housing Element has to do, and because the General Plan has
to be integrated and internally consistent, all the other parts of the
local plan have to reflect the policies contained in the Housing Element.
If you’re getting the picture here, this is one way that the state
government tells local communities how to grow, even though the basic
idea is that each locality gets to decide for itself what its General
Plan should say. Because the Housing Element represents a kind of state
intervention into local planning, it’s often controversial. The state,
as you might guess, wants to prevent local communities from taking exclusionary
actions to forbid affordable housing within their jurisdiction. When land
costs and housing prices are high, as they are in a place like Carmel,
this sometimes makes things difficult. Where there’s a will there’s
a way, however, and there may be some innovative provisions suggested
for the Housing Element in Carmel. If you’re interested, the Council
meeting will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 9th, at the Carmel
City Hall.
More Information:
City of Carmel Website - http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/
Agenda For January 9, 2003 Meeting - http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/
Wednesday, January 8, 2003 – The Coastal Commission Decision
KUSP listeners can let me know what they think about this Land Use Report,
and can make suggestions for topics I should cover, by going to the KUSP
website, at www.kusp.org. You can also get a transcript of these broadcasts,
and some references to additional information.
One listener wanted me to highlight the recent decision by an appellate
court, holding unconstitutional the composition and operation of the California
Coastal Commission. This is a serious matter. Members of the Commission
are appointed by the Governor, the President Pro Tem of the State Senate,
and by the Speaker of the Assembly. Since the Commission is in the "executive"
branch of government, charged with "executing" the provisions
of the Coastal Act, the court found that this way of appointing Commissioners
violated the so-called "separation of powers" provisions of
the constitution.
The constitution requires that the executive, legislative, and judicial
branches of government be separate. It’s not proper for a legislator
to exercise executive powers. And in the case of the Coastal Commission,
that’s exactly what’s happening, according to the recent decision.
Unless the State Supreme Court reverses that decision, or unless emergency
legislation is quickly put in place, to correct the problem, our coast
will be open season for federal offshore oil development, and there will
be a host of other effects.
If you’d like the state to correct this problem, contact your state
representatives.
More Information:
Coastal Commission Website – http://www.coastal.ca.gov/
Assembly Member John Laird – http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a27/
State Senator Bruce McPherson - http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/15/
Thursday, January 9, 2003 - CFN Growth Guidance Framework
Growth management is "old news" in Santa Cruz County. In 1978,
Santa Cruz County voters adopted an innovative growth management system,
often called "Measure J." Measure J requires that new growth
be directed into existing urban areas; that lands that are commercially
productive for agriculture be maintained in agricultural use; and that
at least 15% of all new housing be made affordable to persons with an
average or below average income. Measure J doesn’t solve every problem,
but it has been very effective in preventing urban sprawl in Santa Cruz
County.
The same principles contained in Measure J are now recognized as defining
what is called "smart growth." While growth management is "old
news" in Santa Cruz County, other parts of the state are just starting
to focus on the issue. The best solution would be a statewide system.
The problem with local measures is that they often end up "displacing"
growth in a way that actually isn’t very positive. But until there
is a statewide system, the best or only recourse for those concerned about
the impacts of growth is to act at the local level.
Help may be on the way towards a statewide growth management system. A
group called the California Futures Network is now seeking comment on
what they call a "California Growth Guidance Framework." I’ll
keep you posted as events unfold. There may actually be some proposed
state legislation introduced this year.
More Information:
CFN Website - http://www.calfutures.org/whoweare.html
Friday, January 10, 2003 – FORA Meeting Today
"What is FORA?" That’s the answer to a Jeopardy question
that asks, "What state-created regional entity oversees land development
on a 28,000-acre former Army base located in Monterey County?" The
Army base, of course, is the former Fort Ord, and FORA stands for "Fort
Ord Reuse Authority."
The FORA Board of Directors includes representatives from the cities of
Carmel, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Sand City, Marina,
and Salinas, plus three Members of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.
FORA has been charged with transferring Fort Ord lands to the various
local jurisdictions that have parts of the former Fort Ord within their
boundaries. This includes specifically the County of Monterey and the
cities of Del Rey Oaks, Seaside, Monterey, and Marina. FORA must also
insure that the land use planning efforts of these jurisdictions conform
to an overall "Fort Ord Reuse Plan." Lately, FORA has also promised
Congress Member Sam Farr to increase the amount of affordable housing
built on the former Fort Ord.
That topic will be on the FORA agenda at its meeting today, in connection
with the proposed Marina Heights development project. The FORA meeting
starts at 4:00 p.m. at the Conference Room located at 102 13th Street,
Building 2925, in Marina. Take the 12th Street exit off Highway One. It’s
right there.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
FORA Website – http://www.fora.org/
City of Marina - http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/
Analysis of Proposed Development - http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/MarHeightsCityPlanComparison.htm
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