 |
Home | Issues & Actions | About |
Archive Page This page is available as an archive to previous versions of LandWatch websites. |
KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of August 25, 2003 to August 29, 2003
"Listen Live"
|
|||||||
KUSP LandWatch
News |
|||||||
|
ogo.gif" width="108" height="109" border="0"> "Listen Live" |
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 August 25, 2003 to August 29, 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,
August 25, 2003 – Salinas Affordable Housing Study
Tomorrow
night, at 7:30 p.m., the Salinas City Council will hold a joint
study session with the Salinas Planning Commission. The meeting
will be held in the Santa Lucia Room of the Salinas Community Center,
940 North Main Street, in Salinas. By all accounts, this is going
to be a very well-attended meeting, and I’d advise an early
arrival, if you’d like to get a seat.
Of course, maybe I should tell you what the meeting is all about. It’s all about housing, and specifically about the feasibility of increasing the amount of affordable housing in new development projects in Salinas. At the meeting tomorrow, the City Council and the Planning Commission will review a study prepared by Bay Area Economics, a well-respected firm with an expertise in the economic and financial impacts of land use, growth, housing, and development decisions.
The study indicates that it would be feasible for Salinas to require developers to make 40% of the new housing in their developments affordable to persons with very low, low, and moderate incomes. In other words, developers can still make money, even with that 40% affordable housing requirement. For comparison purposes, Santa Cruz County currently requires a 15% inclusionary requirement. This is a big deal.
If
you’d like more information, click on the Land Use Report link
at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
City of Salinas Website
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/Agenda for August 26, 2003 Meeting
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CCouncil/CCminutes/CCmin/CCag.htmlTo find out how to participate contact Lupe Garcia
831-759-2824, Ext. 13; email
Tuesday,
August 26, 2003 – Coastal Erosion / Desalination
The land use decisions that so profoundly affect our future affect
not only the land, but coastal and marine resources as well. Regular
Morning Edition listeners hear that refrain from Captain Steph Dutton,
and from yours truly, on a pretty regular basis.
It’s also true that the ocean affects the land, and in lots of different ways. Our agricultural industry is probably based more on our local climate than on the land per se, and our climate is largely determined by the waters of the Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean, which give us those cooling fogs and winds. More directly, of course, water in motion, when it meets the coast, tends to take those lands right out from under us.
West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, and East Cliff Drive in Live Oak, bear witness to the erosive qualities of water in motion. Monterey County residents can learn a bit more about coastal erosion tomorrow afternoon, from 4:00 to 6:00 o’clock, at the Monterey City Hall. The Monterey City Council will be holding a study session on this very important topic.
And to repeat a couple of other announcements, a state government desalination task force is meeting today at the Monterey Beach Hotel in Seaside. Tonight, there’s that very important affordable housing meeting in Salinas. Get more information at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey City Website
http://www.monterey.org/Agenda, Monterey City Council Meeting
http://www.monterey.org/ccncl/agendas/2003/a030827ss.pdfCity of Salinas Website
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/Agenda for August 26, 2003 Meeting
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CCouncil/CCminutes/CCmin/CCag.htmlTo find out how to participate contact Lupe Garcia – 831-759-2824, Ext. 13;
Coastal Commission Desalination Report
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/energy/Th9b-8-2003.pdfFor 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
Wednesday,
August 27, 2003 – SLO / Seaside / Greenfield
KUSP Radio covers the Central Coast, and that very definitely includes
the northern part of San Luis Obispo County. Listeners there tune
in through KBDH, at 91.7 on the fm dial. If you want information
about land use and environmental issues in San Luis Obispo County,
please click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org for some
references that might be of help.
And…consider marking your calendar for a meeting tomorrow, beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the San Luis Obispo County Governmental Center. Thanks to Environment in the Public Interest, based in San Luis Obispo, I can tell you that a number of important land use items are going to be heard by the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission at their meeting on Thursday.
Further north, there is an important Planning Commission meeting in the City of Seaside, and that’s this evening. At 7:00 o’clock, at the Seaside City Hall, the Seaside Planning Commission will take public comments on a proposed new General Plan. The General Plan adopted by any local community will have an extremely large impact on the future of that community. For Seaside residents, the time to get involved is now.
That’s true for the residents of Greenfield, too. The Greenfield City Council will be holding a public hearing on its proposed new General Plan, tomorrow evening at 6:30. Find out more at the KUSP website.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
San Luis Obispo County Website
http://www.co.slo.ca.us/Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County
http://www.special-places.org/Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
http://www.coastalrcd.org/Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County
http://www.ecoslo.org/Greenspace – The Cambria Land Trust
http://www.greenspacecambria.orgSLO Organization Guide
http://www.sloguide.org/index.cgiEnvironment in the Public Interest – Phone: 805-781-9932; FAX: 805-781-9384; Email: grhensley@aol.com
Seaside City Website
http://bbs.ci.seaside.ca.us/Seaside General Plan Information
http://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/general%20plan/gp.htmCity of Greenfield Website
http://www.greenfield-ca.com/
Thursday,
August 28, 2003 – Marina Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
The City of Marina is often called the “Gateway to the Monterey
Peninsula.” That has often meant that you pass through Marina,
on the way to where you really want to go. Somewhat surprisingly,
however, this small city has been doing some rather innovative planning,
and the future of Marina may be quite different from its past. Some
pretty exciting things are going on in Marina.
In terms of citizen participation, the City of Marina is the only city in Monterey County with a voter-approved Urban Growth Boundary. Measure E, adopted by the voters in November 2000, has steered the future growth of Marina into its existing city limits, and has specifically focused new growth onto the lands of the former Fort Ord. Stopping sprawl is just one good thing that has happened in Marina.
The city is also attempting to design its new growth to reflect the very best urban planning concepts. From 6:30 to 8:00 o’clock tonight, the Marina Planning Commission will hold a study session to review a proposed Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan for Marina. Dan Burden, a nationally-known expert, will be presenting his innovative design and policy recommendations. This is a great opportunity to witness the results of some “state of the art” urban planning. It’s also the time to provide some final public input, before the final draft document goes to the City Council for possible adoption.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
City of Marina Website
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/Planning Commission Agenda
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/planning/new2003/PC20030828.agd.htm
Friday,
August 29, 2003 – Rancho San Juan Field Trip
Here’s a chance to take a trip. No cost. Nothing you need to
contribute but your time. And the trip might be illuminating.
Next Wednesday, September 3rd, the Monterey County Planning and Building Department is proposing to conduct a field trip to the proposed Rancho San Juan development. The field trip is scheduled to leave from the Monterey County Governmental Center, which is located in Salinas, at about 10:00 o’clock in the morning next Wednesday. It would actually be best to confirm the details with county staff. You can find out how to do that by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
The proposed Rancho San Juan development is certainly the largest development proposal in Monterey County in the last twenty years. Though it’s close to Salinas, it’s not, really, an example of the “city-centered” growth that is advocated in the County’s draft General Plan. So, it’s controversial. Very significant traffic and water issues are raised by the proposal, and the development is strongly opposed by the City of Salinas, which does advocate the “city-centered” growth idea. Salinas would see an approval of the Rancho San Juan development as a kind of county-approved sprawl.
This very important development proposal will soon be heading into the public hearing and environmental review stage. If you’d like to get involved, taking a field trip to the site might be a good way to begin.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Monterey County Planning Department
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/Rancho San Juan Specific Plan Main Page
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/major/rsj/rsj_main.htmRancho San Juan Specific Plan Text
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/major/rsj/rsj_draft_main.htmInformation on the field trip from Bob Schubert – Telephone: 831-883-7522; Email: schubertbj@co.monterey.ca.us
Archives of past transcripts are available here
|
CONTACT 306 Capitol Street #101 PO Box 1876 Phone (831) 759-2824 Fax (831) 759-2825 |
|