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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of March 10, 2003 to March 14, 2003
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KUSP LandWatch
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KUSP provided a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio from January 2003 to May 2016. Archives of past transcripts are available here.
Week of March 10, 2003 to March 14, 2003
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP Radio by Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
Monday,
March 10, 2003 – Inclusionary Housing Techniques
The Institute for Local Self Government is the “research arm”
of the California League of Cities. The Institute focuses its work
in three particular areas: land use, fiscal issues, and public confidence
in local government.
Public confidence in local government largely depends on how local governments handle land use and fiscal issues, so the Institute is obviously on to something. A local government that doesn’t do a good job in these areas will lose the confidence of local residents.
For instance, if housing prices are escalating, while local officials do nothing, the public will become dissatisfied. In some ways, it’s unfair to expect local governments to correct economic imbalances that are truly national in scope. However, the posture of “ain’t it terrible; we can’t do anything about it,” isn’t the answer for local government. To maintain public confidence, local governments need to do everything they can to help their local communities face the current housing crisis.
That’s why the Institute’s new “Inclusionary Housing Reader” is so significant. This guidebook provides a balanced overview of a controversial (but effective) way for local governments to do “something” (even if it’s not “everything”) to help address one of our most pressing land use problems.
For more information, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. Send me your comments and suggestions, too.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Institute for Local Self-Government
http://www.ilsg.org/Inclusionary Housing Reader
http://www.ilsg.org/doc.asp?intparentid=6370&strpagetype=doc
Tuesday,
March 11, 2003 – The Marina “Hot Spot”
Where land use is concerned, the Monterey Bay “hot spot”
must be Marina. There’s an awful lot happening in that small
city.
First, Marina is reviewing and revising its Housing Element. Second, it’s modifying its General Plan to incorporate the Urban Growth Boundary adopted by the voters in November 2000. Third, a major development project has been submitted for review on the Armstrong Ranch, to the north of the city. Fourth, Marina is doing an environmental analysis on a major new development called “Marina Heights,” located to the south, on the former Fort Ord. Fifth, acting through the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, Marina is about ready to go out to bid on a major new highway project. Sixth, it’s in the early planning stages for the “University Villages” area on the former Fort Ord. As politicians sometimes say, at the bottom of their endorsement ads, this is just a “partial list.”
If you’d like to get involved in the land use planning and policy debates that will determine the future of Marina, there’s a meeting tonight. It’s from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Marina Community Center, 211 Hillcrest Avenue in Marina.
You might enjoy attending a LandWatch “Around the County” breakfast, too, with the Mayor of Marina, Ila Mettee-McCutchon, presenting her thoughts on all these planning and land use challenges. That will be Tuesday, March 25th, at 7:30 a.m., at the Marina Village Restaurant, 215 Reservation Road.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
City of Marina
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/Around The County Breakfast
http://www.mclw.org/pages/calendar.htm
Wednesday,
March 12, 2003 – Monterey County Planning Commission
Yesterday’s Land Use Report provided a long list of important
land use policy issues under discussion in the City of Marina. If
you missed that broadcast, and want to know more about planning
issues in Marina, please visit the KUSP website. Click on the Land
Use Report link at www.kusp.org,
to get transcripts of these weekday reports, with background references
that can provide additional information. You can easily send me
an email, too, with your comments, complaints (if any), and suggestions
for topics I should cover. I hope you’ll do that.
Still in a list-making frame of mind, I want to alert you to the list of key policy topics that will be up for discussion at the Monterey County Planning Commission today. The Commission meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. at the Monterey County Courthouse in Salinas. Here’s what’s on the agenda:
This, too, is just a “partial list.” The Monterey County Planning Commission is meeting this morning, at 9:00 o’clock, at the Courthouse in Salinas. I can promise you an interesting meeting. And it is free!
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Planning Commission Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/CCA/PC/
03-12-03/pc03-12-03a.htmMonterey County Planning (General Information)
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/Rancho San Juan Slideshow
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/RSJ_web_files/frame.htm
Thursday,
March 13, 2003 – LAFCO Agricultural Buffer Workshop
Taking the long view, there is probably no more important land use
issue on the Central Coast than the issue of what happens to this
region’s incomparably productive agricultural land, as growth
pressures increase.
Santa Cruz County has been able to preserve and protect its agricultural lands by virtue of a two-fold approach. First, a 1978 voter-adopted referendum pretty much guarantees that agricultural lands located in unincorporated, “county” areas will be preserved. Second, the Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, has resisted efforts to annex such productive agricultural lands to cities. The Santa Cruz County LAFCO has taken a very conservative view, and has really committed itself to protecting agriculture from urban pressures. Where that kind of approach hasn’t prevailed (and you can think of Santa Clara County, Orange County, Los Angeles County, or any of the Central Valley counties), agricultural land has either disappeared, or is now disappearing at a rapid rate. LAFCOs, in other words, play a key role.
What will happen in Monterey County is not yet clear. Growth pressures on the Salinas Valley are increasing, but so is discussion about how best to protect agriculture. The Monterey County LAFCO is holding an “Agricultural Buffer Workshop” today, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the Salinas Community Center, to begin addressing this important topic. The public is invited.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County LAFCO
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/lafco/Santa Cruz County LAFCO
http://www.santacruzlafco.org/
Friday,
March 14, 2003 –Elkhorn Slough Workshop
Elkhorn Slough has been recognized as a “globally important
bird area” by the National Audubon Society. It’s truly
one of the treasures of the Monterey Bay Region. And its future
is threatened.
Land use decisions made by coastal communities can have profound, long-term consequences for any estuarine environment. Elkhorn Slough is no exception. Luckily, there are local organizations and individuals working to maintain and protect the incomparable biological treasures of Elkhorn Slough.
A local citizens’ group, Friends Artists and Neighbors of Elkhorn Slough (or FANS), are closely monitoring land use and development. The Elkhorn Slough Foundation is acting as a land trust, to provide permanent protection, as funding permits. Finally, the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve is carrying out a program of “Coastal Training,” to make sure that decision-makers have adequate access to science-based information, training, and technology.
The Goal of the Coastal Training Program is to improve decision-making related to coastal resource management. On April 7th, from 10:00 to 3:00 p.m., a Coastal Training workshop will cover “The Big Picture: Landscape-Level Conservation on California’s Central Coast.” If you’d like to find out more, and perhaps attend, check the KUSP website at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Friends, Artists and Neighbors of Elkhorn Slough (FANS)
http://www.saveourslough.org/Elkhorn Slough Foundation
http://www.elkhornslough.org/Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve
http://www.elkhornslough.org/esnerr.htmCoastal Training Program
http://www.elkhornslough.org/CTP/index.htmFor information on the workshop, and to see about attending, contact Greg Hayes - grey@elkhornslough.org
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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