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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of August 9, 2004 to August 13, 2004
"Listen Live"
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KUSP LandWatch
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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 9, 2004 to August 13, 2004
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 9, 2004 – Upcoming Forums On The “Community GPU” |
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In June, three members of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted to “terminate” the county’s ongoing General Plan Update process and to “start over,” basing the next draft on a series of private meetings with selected “stakeholders.” This decision largely wastes the $5 million dollars spent so far, and tosses out the results of five years of community involvement. In response to this unprecedented action, more than a dozen local community organizations have decided to hold a series of Community Forums, to make sure that the public has a continued voice in the General Plan Update process. These Community Forums will work towards a new General Plan that is consistent with the Twelve Guiding Objectives developed through hundreds of hours of community workshops, and then unanimously adopted by the Board of Supervisors. These Guiding Objectives reflect the opinions of a very large majority of Monterey County residents, and will ensure that the GPU provides affordable housing for working families, preserves working farmlands, and protects Monterey County’s clean air and water and natural areas for future generations. The first “Community GPU” Forum has been scheduled for Saturday, August 21st, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the Prunedale Grange in Prunedale. If you’re a Monterey County resident, I hope you’ll attend. For more information, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Tuesday, August 10, 2004 – Wireless Communication Facilities |
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This morning at 9:00 o’clock, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be considering a “wireless communication facilities ordinance.” This ordinance would regulate the placement of facilities essential for wireless communication. The most obvious example is a cellphone tower, holding the equipment that makes cellphone communication possible. Obviously, this is a subject of significant public interest and importance. Many of us rely on cellphones and other wireless communication devices, and we want them to be reliable. Others point to the possible health impacts of continuous exposure to radio transmissions. And probably everyone would like to minimize the impacts that constructing wireless facilities might have on significant views that we currently enjoy and that could be impaired by inappropriate towers and other such facilities. For a student of land use policy, it’s interesting to watch how a local community deals with a new technology, to capture its benefits while eliminating, as much as possible, any adverse impacts. That’s what this Santa Cruz County ordinance is trying to do. Most of the attention this morning will be focused on how to protect coastal views. The Coastal Commission has made some very specific suggestions, which the Board of Supervisors will consider. If you’d like to see the details, click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. Or, attend the meeting yourself, and let your view be known. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, August 11, 2004 – The Illusion of “Consensus” on the GPU |
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As an elected member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, I had lots of opportunity to deal with contentious land use issues. Over a twenty year period, I participated in what amounted to three major revisions of the General Plan. In each case, there was a great deal of community debate, discussion, conflict and controversy. And that’s not just because it was Santa Cruz County. In fact, community debates about General Plan policies are almost always (and everywhere) full of conflict. That’s only natural. A General Plan establishes the guidelines that will steer the future development of a local community. There are different directions in which any community can go, and different ideas about what the best direction is. While the guidelines are being formulated, highly-charged controversies are to be expected. Given that situation, elected officials have a specific role to play. After the conflict and controversy has illuminated the choices, elected officials are supposed to make the tough decisions about which way to go. Unfortunately, in the case of the Monterey County General Plan Update process, the Board of Supervisors decided to “start over,” when it was clear that no “consensus” plan would emerge. Luckily, as I reported on Monday, the public is continuing to demand a fully participatory role, and won’t let five years of community effort, and $5 million dollars of taxpayers’ money, be simply thrown away.For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, August 12, 2004 – The “Plenary” Powers of Land Use Regulation |
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I like to remind listeners of the “plenary” powers possessed by local governments in the area of land use policy. “Plenary” means “full,” or “ample,” and the term does describe an important aspect of the ability of a local community to use its land use regulatory functions to achieve purposes that the community decides are important. Tuesday, I mentioned an ordinance being considered by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors that would regulate wireless communications facilities. A few weeks ago, I talked about a proposed initiative in San Luis Obispo County that would prohibit certain types of genetically engineered crops. These are topics of great public interest, but they’re “new” topics in a way, in the arena of land use policy. The technologies that are the subject of these proposed regulations didn’t even exist ten or fifteen years ago. The community’s ability to adopt land use policies to deal with new technology really does illustrate the “plenary” powers of a local community to use its land use authority to address the questions it cares about. These questions don’t have to be about “new technology.” This afternoon, for instance, the City of Monterey Historic Preservation Commission will be considering various projects seeking approval under a comprehensive set of historic preservation regulations that are in effect in that city. That’s another great example of the “plenary” scope of land use policy. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, August 13, 2004 – Schedule For The “Community GPU” |
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Dear listeners: Please get out a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. This is a serious appeal for you to “mark your calendars” for the upcoming public forums on the Monterey County General Plan Update. Anyone who cares about land use policy will find these forums worthwhile. It’s Monterey County listeners, however, who have the biggest stake in the General Plan policies that will guide the county’s future. Here’s the schedule:
You can get more information at the KUSP website, www.kusp.org. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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