The private housing market operates according to the well-understood principle that when people sell things they try to obtain the highest price possible. This means that housing prices in the private housing market are not “restricted” in any way. Since the Central Coast region is an extremely attractive place to live, and to invest in, potential buyers for real estate often come from outside the local community. A Monterey County worker who wants to buy a home, will have to compete against workers from Santa Cruz County and Santa Clara County, where wages are higher, and will also have to compete against out of county, out of state, and even out of the USA real estate investors. The law of supply and demand drives the price of housing beyond what local families can afford. The root of the current affordable housing crisis is found in the ordinary dynamics of the private market.

Local governments can do something about this. In effect, they can establish “price restrictions” over a portion of the new housing created within a community. Usually, such programs are called “inclusionary housing programs.” Tomorrow, the Monterey City Council is considering strengthening its affordable housing program, to increase the number of new units that will be “price restricted,” thus giving local buyers a better shot at the American Dream. There’s more information at www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

City of Monterey Website
http://www.monterey.org/

City Council Agenda (See Item C3)
http://www.monterey.org/ccncl/agendas/2004/a040921.pdf

Providing housing for lower income families is critically important to our economic and social future. Today, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will discuss a proposal to weaken a past commitment to very low and low income households.

In 1994, the Board approved a controversial development known as “Moro Cojo.” This was a largely single-family subdivision located in a rural area, nearby but not in the community of Castroville. The Moro Cojo development was just the opposite of directing new growth into existing urban areas, which is the essence of good planning. However, the Board did approve the development, essentially because the new single family dwellings were going to be 100% affordable to families with very low and low incomes. This meant that farmworker families, among others, would have a chance to own their own home. A key condition was that 175 of the new homes would be permanently affordable to low income households. That means households earning 80% or less of the median income.

Today, the Board is being asked by its staff to renege on this promise, and to change the restriction so that future homebuyers can actually earn more than the median income, and still qualify for these homes. In effect, this would mean that no farmworker family would be able to afford a home at Moro Cojo, though that was the reason for the development in the first place.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Monterey County Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/

Board of Supervisors Agenda (See Agenda Item S-9)
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda.htm

Lots of important information is available through the internet. At www.kusp.org you’ll find not only a written transcript of my remarks, but also links to various items of information that connect up with whatever topic I’m discussing.

Today, I want to highlight a website that is particularly good at providing a graphic representation of urban growth patterns throughout the United States. When we make a decision to convert farmland or natural resource lands to urban uses, that decision is usually irreversible. One of the most important indicators of good land use is whether land is being used “efficiently.” Urban sprawl means that we aren’t using it efficiently. Compact, urban-centered growth patterns means that we are. In 1999, LandWatch found that for every 1,000 new people added to the population of Monterey County, 159 acres of farmland or natural land were converted to urban use. In Santa Cruz County, only 40 acres of non-urban land were converted to urban uses for each 1,000 new people added to the population. If Monterey County were to achieve the same land use efficiency as Santa Cruz County, thousands of acres of prime farmland would be saved.

To see an interesting depiction of urban growth patterns throughout the United States, check the KUSP website.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

LandWatch Report, State of Monterey County, 1999
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/publications99/
Stateofcounty1999/index.htm

Land Use Efficiency Findings
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/publications99/
Stateofcounty1999/302landuse.htm

Urban Growth Patterns Website
http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/2004/circ1252/

A LAFCO, or “Local Agency Formation Commission,” is found is every California County. LAFCO is one of the most important governmental agencies dealing with land use, and is specifically charged to fight urban sprawl. I served on the Santa Cruz County LAFCO for many years, and was also a member of the Board of Directors of the California Association of LAFCOs. I was proud to wear the official CALAFCO t-shirt, which proclaimed “sprawl busters” across its chest.

Monterey County listeners might want to visit the Monterey County LAFCO during its next meeting. There’s a particularly important item coming up, and I’m giving you lots of advance notice. The Monterey County LAFCO will next meet on Monday, September 27th, at 3:00 p.m., at the Salinas County Courthouse.

On the LAFCO agenda will be consideration of a formal request by Monterey County that LAFCO not approve any more annexations of Salinas Valley farmland until the LAFCO has adopted a comprehensive new set of “Spheres of Influence” for the Salinas Valley cities. This request, to stop piecemeal annexations, is very much consistent with good planning practice. Salinas Valley farmland is probably the most economically productive agricultural land in the state, and even in the nation, and its piecemeal loss puts the economy of Monterey County at risk.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

CALAFCO Website
http://www.calafco.org/

Santa Cruz County LAFCO
http://www.santacruzlafco.org/

Monterey County LAFCO
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/lafco/

Agenda for September 27, 2004 Monterey County LAFCO Meeting
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/lafco/agenda.htm

The San Jose Mercury News recently carried a big article on transportation. The headline said: “Backups Are Back.” The gist of the article was that traffic jams and gridlock on the highways of the Silicon Valley seem to be increasing, even though job figures don’t show lots of new employment growth. Where are all those cars coming from, the article asks?

Well, this phenomenon isn’t really a puzzle. Traffic engineers now know that building wider highways doesn’t usually reduce traffic congestion, at least over the long run. Hundreds of millions, and perhaps even billions of dollars have been spent on highway widening projects in the Silicon Valley. But here’s the catch: once the new capacity is in place, additional drivers, attracted by more favorable driving conditions, start using the roadway. In other words, the new capacity “induces” new demand, and the result is that you have spent millions or billions on new roads, and have radically altered the environment (usually for the worse), and then end up with the same kind of congestion as before, but with even more cars stuck in the jam.

The issue is particularly pertinent for Santa Cruz County voters, who must decide in November whether to impose a 30-year increase in their sales tax, to widen Highway One. The costs would be stupendous, the environmental effects would be significant, and the question is, will it actually reduce congestion? The Santa Clara County experience suggests that it probably won’t.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Mercury News Article, “Backups Are Back”
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/9677252.htm

Campaign For Sensible Transportation
http:// www.no-on-j.com