Last Monday, I talked about evangelical environmentalist J. Matthew Sleeth. If you’d like to hear Dr. Sleeth, he’s speaking in Monterey this evening at 7:00 o’clock, at the First Presbyterian Church of Monterey, located at 501 El Dorado Street.

In Sacramento, today is a big day for land use policy. Two important bills will be heard in the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, which is chaired by Senator Joe Simitian, the State Senator who represents a good part of Santa Cruz County. Senate Bill 303, authored by State Senator Denise Ducheny, and Senate Bill 375, authored by State Senator Darrell Steinberg, will both be discussed. You can get the text of the bills, and more information about them, by clicking on the links below.

Senator Ducheny’s bill is intended to help housing developers, because it constrains the ability of a local government to “downzone” a property, once a developer has filed an application. It also requires a more rigorous effort to zone land for housing development. SB 375 is much more experimental; it seeks to establish a new, incentive-based system for transportation planning, that will provide money for expenditure on transportation projects only to those jurisdictions that have an effective “smart growth” plan in place, to reduce vehicle miles traveled, or “VMT.”

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Sleeth Speaking Tour Dates
http://www.beatitudessociety.org/calendar/
dr_j_matthew_sleeth_northern_ca_speaking_tour

Sleeth Website
http://www.servegodsavetheplanet.org/

You can contact J. Matthew Sleeth through his wife, Nancy Sleeth. Email – sleeth4@windstream.net

Senate Bill 303
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?
bill_number=sb_303&sess= CUR&house=B&author=ducheny

Senate Bill 375
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?
bill_number=sb_375&sess=CUR&house=B&author=steinberg

Legislative Information
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/

Today, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be discussing whether or not the Board should change the minimum parcel size for rezoning properties into the “TPZ,” or Timber Production Zone” district.

Back in 1978, the Board established a minimum parcel size of five acres for lands to be designated for timber production. This standard tends to encourage timber harvesting. The thought was that timber harvesting was a better environmental alternative than residential subdivision. Furthermore, until state legislation preempted local control, the Board could exercise direct supervision over proposed timber harvests, and in fact had a county forester on staff. Thus, the Board was able directly to regulate the negative impacts of timber harvesting.

The situation has now changed. The Board has no direct ability to control the negative impacts of timber harvesting. However, the Board can decide “where” timber harvesting will be allowed, and thus can limit the environmental impacts of timber harvesting through the use of its zoning powers. An “expansive” zoning for TPZ would make it harder for the County to exercise controls over timber harvests. That’s the background for the decision before the Board today. Requiring a larger minimum parcel size will limit the areas where timber harvesting can take place. The staff is recommending a 20-acre minimum.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Santa Cruz County Website
http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/

April 24, 2007 Board of Supervisors Agenda
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/
ASP/Display/SCCB_AgendaDisplayWeb.asp?
MeetingDate=4/24/2007

The staff report on the TPZ item is quite clear, and readable, and I suggest that KUSP listeners do read the staff report, if they’re interested in this issue. The Timber Production Zoning Item is found online at
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/Govstream/
BDSvData/non_legacy/agendas/2007/20070424/PDF/032.pdf

Monterey County listeners have probably noticed that there’s a big election coming up in June. In fact, I bet most sentient beings throughout the entire Central Coast Region have gotten the idea that significant land use issues are going to be up for a vote in Monterey County. Despite the best efforts of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to prevent a vote, the June election will let voters decide four important land use questions:

1. First, should the Community General Plan initiative be adopted?
2. Second, should the Board’s version of a General Plan Update (GPU4) be approved?
3. Third, should GPU4 be repealed? (This is confusing, admittedly); and
4. Fourth, should the Rancho San Juan/Butterfly Village project be approved?

The first, second, and fourth measures listed are all on the ballot because local voters put them there, using their initiative and referendum powers. The Board of Supervisors put the so-called “repeal” of GPU4 on the ballot. Intentionally or not, it tends to confuse what is otherwise a clear choice. For those wanting to participate, here are some key dates:

• May 21st, close of voter registration.
• May 29th, last day to apply for an absentee ballot
• June 5th, Election Day.
• June 26th, certification of results.

I encourage all Monterey County voters to get involved.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

“Yes on A” Websites, supporting the Community General Plan Initiative

• http://www.montereyplan.org/pages/yesonA.html
• http://www.landwatch.org

“No on A” Website, opposing the Community General Plan Initiative
http://www.montereycountyfarmbureau.org/

Friends of the River was founded in 1973, and is one of the most effective environmental organizations at work in the State of California. FOR is dedicated to preserving and restoring California's rivers, streams, and their watersheds, as well as advocating for sustainable water management. The organization provides public education, citizen activist training and organizing, and expert advocacy to influence public policy decisions on land, water, and energy management issues.

The transcript of today’s Land Use Report has information about what Friends of the River is doing right here in the Central Coast Region, where they are spearheading a “Ventana Wild Rivers Campaign.” To learn more, consider signing up for one the spectacular hikes that will be coming up soon:

• Sunday, April 29th, San Carpoforo Creek
• Saturday, May 5th, Big Creek
• Sunday, May 6th, Arroyo Seco
• Saturday, May 12th, Willow Creek
• Sunday, June 3rd, Carmel River
• Sunday, June 17th, Church Creek to Tassajara Creek.

For more information on how you can “take a hike” with FOR, contact Hannah Schoenthal-Muse at 831-535-8304, or at the email address found in the links below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Friends of the River Website
http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/PageServer

You can contact Hannah Schoenthal-Muse by email at Hannah@friendsoftheriver.org

The little town of Castroville is not actually a “town” because Castroville is “unincorporated.” Whether or not a community is “incorporated” or “unincorporated” is often critically important, and it’s not always obvious, as you drive by or through the various communities in the Central Coast Region. Capitola is incorporated. Aptos and Live Oak are not. Scotts Valley is incorporated, but Felton and Boulder Creek are not. Castroville, though it seems like a “stand alone” town, is not incorporated, and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors calls most of the shots about the future growth and development of Castroville.

In terms of calling the shots, the Board of Supervisors recently adopted a community plan that doubles the size of Castroville, promising more roads, more housing, and more economic development. If you’ve ever driven on Highway 156, or Highway One, in the Castroville vicinity, you might question the wisdom of such large-scale growth for this area. However, that is what the Board of Supervisors decided. If you’d like to review the documents, you should visit the KUSP website at www.kusp.org, and track down the transcript of today’s Land Use Report.

You should also know that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors may not, after all, have the final say, since the California Coastal Commission will get a chance to review the plan. I’ll keep you posted.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Castroville Redevelopment Website
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/housing/castrov.htm