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KUSP provides
a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio. Tune in every weekday at 6:33 or 8:49 am.
KUSP is at 88.9 FM in General Coverage, 105.9 FM in Big Sur Valley, 91.3 FM in
Palo Colorado Canyon, and 91.7 FM in San Ardo. Archives of past transcripts are
available here.
Week
of August 18, 2003 to August 22, 2003
- Monday,
August 18, 2003 – AMBAG Presentation Tomorrow
- Tuesday,
August 19, 2003 – Salinas Zoning Code Revision
- Wednesday,
August 20, 2003 – Supervisor Almquist in Scotts Valley
- Thursday,
August 21, 2003 – Santa Cruz County Wireless Ordinance
- Friday,
August 22, 2003 – Desalination and Other Meetings Ahead
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,
August 18, 2003 – AMBAG Presentation Tomorrow
Land use policy is a major topic of discussion at the Santa Cruz
County Board of Supervisors, and that’s been true since at
least the 1970’s. I think that this focus on land use is directly
related to the fact that Santa Cruz County is the smallest county
in the state, in terms of its physical size.
Because
Santa Cruz County is small, a large percentage of the residents
in the county will immediately see the results of the land use policy
choices made by their local officials. In larger counties, that
often isn’t true. It’s unlikely that a resident of the
Monterey Peninsula will personally see the subdivisions going up
in Salinas, Soledad, Greenfield, or North County, but when development
decisions do become visible, people do become involved. There is
a lot of debate about the KB Homes development in Seaside, and largely
because that development is so visible.
There
is another reason that Santa Cruz County has focused on land use
policy. Santa Cruz County’s nearest neighbor, the Silicon Valley,
creates intense development pressure on the Santa Cruz County side
of the hill. Tomorrow, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
will hear a presentation on an “Interregional Partnership Study,”
focusing on that land use relationship. The presentation is the
first item on the Board’s Regular Agenda, so plan to be there
at about 9:15, if you’d like to listen in.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Board
Agenda
http://sccounty01.co.santa-
cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/archive/ArchiveIndex.asp
AMBAG
Website
http://www.ambag.org/
Access
To Interregional Partnership Study
http://www.ambag.org/index.html#new
Tuesday,
August 19, 2003 – Salinas Zoning Code Revision
Last year, the City of Salinas revised its General Plan. The General
Plan is the “constitution” of land use in a local community,
and when the “constitution” is amended, other things need
to change, too. Specifically, a community’s zoning ordinance
must be completely consistent with the provisions of the local General
Plan. The City of Salinas must now change its zoning code, to reflect
its new General Plan policies.
Developers
and local residents most directly come into contact with land use
policy in the context of the zoning code. The zoning code outlines,
and usually with very great specificity, exactly what land uses
are allowed, under what conditions, on every parcel of real estate
in the community. Can your neighbor build a three-story house on
his or her lot? Can you subdivide a piece of property you own? How
big a sign can you put up, to advertise your business? Do you need
to get a permit to cut down a tree? Questions like this are all
addressed in the zoning code.
Tonight,
at 7:30, at the Salinas City Hall, the Salinas City Council will
hold a study session on its required zoning code update, focusing
on the “Design Guidelines Component” of the zoning code.
Everyone in Salinas will be affected by the decisions ultimately
made. There won’t be any decisions tonight, but those in attendance
will certainly find out what’s proposed. You’re most cordially
invited to participate.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
City
of Salinas Website
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/
Salinas
General Plan
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CommDev/CDgenpln.html
Current
Salinas Municipal Code
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/Admin/MuniCodes/CodeFiles/index.htm
Wednesday,
August 20, 2003 – Supervisor Almquist in Scotts Valley
The Scotts Valley City Council will be meeting this evening at 6:00
o’clock at the Scotts Valley City Hall. Item #1 on the Regular
Agenda is a presentation by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Jeff Almquist,
who will report on the proposed Highway One widening project.
If
you’d like to get more information on this item, please click
on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. KUSP maintains transcripts
of each one of these Land Use Reports, and those transcripts have
links to useful information. You are also invited to send me any
suggestions or comments you may have.
Scotts
Valley residents who commute to workplaces in the Silicon Valley
may not think that the Highway One widening project will directly
affect them. It’s in the Aptos, Mid-County, and Soquel areas
that congestion is most notable right at the moment. However, it
may well be that widening Highway One in Mid-County will affect
conditions in Scotts Valley, and on Highway 17. It is now generally
recognized that new highway construction leads to what is called
“induced demand,” which means that once a highway is widened,
more cars start using the route. Solving congestion problems in
Mid-County could actually induce more commuters to get on the road,
and if they’re headed for the Silicon Valley, drivers in Scotts
Valley and on Highway 17 will definitely notice the difference.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Scotts
Valley Website
http://www.scottsvalley.org/
Agenda
for August 20, 2003 Meeting
http://www.scottsvalley.org/cca.PDF
More
Information on Proposed Highway One Widening Project
http://www.sccrtc.org/body.html
Thursday,
August 21, 2003 – Santa Cruz County Wireless Ordinance
Santa Cruz County has a long history of significant innovation where
land use policy issues are involved. Of course, every California
County has a significant involvement in land use policy. That’s
simply a function of the state laws that govern counties, and the
importance of land use to our local communities.
Santa
Cruz County, however, has tended to distinguish itself, through
the years, by tackling land use policy issues long before they become
topics of discussion in other counties. The size of the county is
one important factor. Because it’s small, it’s easier
for the public to learn about, and therefore get interested in,
land use decisions. The intense development pressures focused on
Santa Cruz County also help make land use policy issues particularly
important. In addition, more than half of the residents of Santa
Cruz County live in the unincorporated area, outside of cities.
That’s unusual, and means that the Santa Cruz County Board
of Supervisors has more areas under their land use jurisdiction
than many Boards do.
What
got me to think about this topic was an item on last Tuesday’s
agenda, dealing with wireless communications facilities. Santa Cruz
County has an innovative program to regulate cell phone towers.
In that area, as in so many others, Santa Cruz County really is
ahead of what most other local governments are doing. Find out more
at www.kusp.org.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Santa
Cruz County Website
http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/
Santa
Cruz County Code
http://ordlink.com/codes/santacruzco/index.htm
Board
Agendas
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/
Govstream/archive/ArchiveIndex.asp
August
19, 2003 Agenda Item on Cell Phone Towers:
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/BDSvData/
non_legacy/agendas/2003/20030819/PDF/026.pdf
Friday,
August 22, 2003 – Desalination and Other Meetings Ahead
The California Coastal Commission has recently released a draft
report entitled, “Seawater Desalination and the California
Coastal Act.” I’ve put a reference on the KUSP website.
Click on the Land Use Report link, at www.kusp.org, and look for
the transcript for August 22nd.
You
should also know that a statewide advisory group on desalination
will be meeting in Monterey County on August 26th and August 27th,
at the Monterey Beach Hotel in Seaside. The land use implications
of the proposed desalination plant in Moss Landing could be enormous,
so those who care about our coast, and about the Monterey Bay Marine
Sanctuary, should probably start reading up on desalination.
Here’s
advance warning of a couple of other meetings, too. On Wednesday
August 27th, Congress Member Sam Farr will be holding a town hall
meeting at the Watsonville City Hall, and will be prepared to discuss
affordable housing at the former Fort Ord, and efforts to provide
flood protection on the Pajaro River, to name just two important
topics with direct relevance to land use policy.
On
Tuesday August 26th, at 7:30 p.m., at the Salinas City Hall, the
Salinas City Council will hold a joint study session with the Planning
Commission, on an important study on affordable housing. Monterey
County and Salinas residents should mark their calendars.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Coastal
Commission Desalination Report - http://www.coastal.ca.gov/energy/Th9b-8-2003.pdf
For
more information on the August 26th and August 27th meeting on
desalination contact:
Tom Luster
California Coastal Commission
Email: tluster@coastal.ca.gov
Telephone: 415-904-5200
Archives
of past transcripts are available here
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