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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 September 8, 2003 to September 12, 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,
September 8, 2003 – The Greenfield General Plan Update The big issue is whether to allow residential subdivisions, and associated commercial development, to pave over the farmlands that are either inside the city, or immediately adjacent to the city’s boundaries. The demand for new residential housing is definitely out there. The question for Greenfield is whether or not to accommodate that demand. The Draft Land Use Element recommends lots of new residential growth. One of the maps in the document seems to indicate that Greenfield would double its physical size within the next twenty years. That tremendous growth would almost certainly not come from new jobs located in Greenfield. Because the agricultural land around Greenfield is rather cheap, when compared to the cost of residentially designated lands elsewhere, builders want to construct houses in Greenfield for people who work in North Monterey County, or even in the Silicon Valley, and who are happy to commute to Greenfield, to get <quote-unquote> “affordable housing.” If Greenfield allows that to happen, the rural and small town nature of Greenfield will totally change. And in fact, that is what has happened throughout California. It’s known as “urban sprawl.” Within the next year or so, the City of Greenfield is going to decide whether to continue that trend, or try something different. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
Tuesday,
September 9, 2003 – Watershed Friendly Farming Tour The tour is jointly sponsored by the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the Wild Farm Alliance, the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, the Farm Bureau of San Benito County, and the Resource Conservation Districts of Monterey and San Benito Counties. This tour will show you “land use” at the granular scale, and it’s a great opportunity to find out about some of the truly innovative techniques that Monterey Bay Area farmers are using. Farming can cause erosion, destroy wildlife habitat, pollute streams and aquifers, and cause other problems. Agriculture is an “industry,” and just like other industrial operations, it can have very significant adverse environmental effects. But agriculture doesn’t have to be damaging to the environment. In Santa Cruz County, in Monterey County, and in San Benito County, individual farmers and some of the organizations that are sponsoring this tour, are making a real change in how they do business. If it’s not filled up, this is a tour not to miss! If you’d like to go on the tour, you need to call immediately. You can get the contact information at the KUSP website, www.kusp.org. Just click on the Land Use Report link and track down the transcript for today’s broadcast. You can send me an email with your comments and suggestions, as well. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
Wednesday,
September 10, 2003 – The Monterey County Housing Element Earlier in the day, you can actually see that process in motion, by attending a meeting of the Monterey County Planning Commission. At 9:45 this morning, the Planning Commission is going to receive a full presentation on the proposed Housing Element, including a review of the Negative Declaration, which has concluded that adopting the Housing Element won’t cause any negative environmental impacts. The Housing Element is a state-mandated portion of the local General Plan. Under state law, every local government in California must adopt, and then periodically update, a Housing Element that meets some rather rigorous state guidelines. Among other things, the Housing Element must demonstrate that the local agency is going to be able to accommodate its “fair share” of the future growth expected in the state. Low-income housing developers are clamoring for Monterey County to get its Housing Element submitted. It’s behind schedule, and because it’s late, they’re losing the opportunity to receive grant funds that could make more affordable housing possible. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
Thursday,
September 11, 2003 – The Rispin Mansion Project The Rispin Mansion has been vacant for almost fifty years, but instead of just tearing it down, and starting over, the proposal is to restore the Rispin Mansion according to state historical preservation standards. In fact, the Mansion is historically significant, and sits in a unique spot over Soquel Creek. Capitola residents, those interested in historic preservation, and butterfly lovers might want to put the meeting on their calendar. You might well ask what butterflies have to do with this land use application. As it happens, quite a lot! The creekside area where the Rispin Mansion is located turns out to be prime habitat for Monarch Butterflies. Any development proposal must take that into account. People do love butterflies, and it turns out that butterflies are rather sensitive to anything that impinges on the areas where they stop to rest. The persons who hope to turn the dilapidated Rispin Mansion into a visitor facility, are going to make those butterfly visitors at least as welcome as the paying guests. In fact, the developers hope to attract more guests by making the grounds of the Rispin Mansion into a “butterfly park.” For more information, take in that meeting next Thursday, at 7:00 p.m. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
Friday,
September 12, 2003 – The Fort Ord Reuse Authority Meeting Today This situation isn’t unusual, governmentally-speaking. All the lands located in a city, for instance, are also located in the state of California. Where there’s a conflict, state law prevails over the laws of the local agency. The same thing is true in the case of FORA. The land use requirements established by FORA prevail over local land use controls. Here’s where it does get unusual, governmentally-speaking. Many of the officials who are on the FORA Board are also the elected officials who run the local governments that FORA has the right to regulate. The Chair of the FORA Board of Directors is the Mayor of Seaside. His vote at FORA can result in a regulation that will limit his authority when he goes to the next Seaside City Council meeting. In a nutshell, that’s one big reason it has been so hard to get FORA to adopt strong affordable housing requirements. If you’d like to witness how the process works, FORA meets today, at 3:30 p.m. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
Archives of past transcripts are available here |
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