I hate to compare the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to Vice President Dick Cheney, but there is a possible parallel. The Vice President claims that he is not subject to the laws applicable to the Executive Branch of government. Tomorrow, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors may claim that they’re exempt from the referendum provisions contained in the California State Constitution. In each case, the issue is whether the admitted authority of elected public officials is subject to a check and balance by other powers, powers ultimately derived from the people.

The purpose of the referendum powers of the people is to let the voters decide, directly, whether or not something that their elected representatives propose to do should, in fact, be done. The system is set up so that the ultimate power is with the people, if they go through the process. By a majority vote, the people can tell elected officials that something they planned to do cannot be done.

In Monterey County, the voters told the Board of Supervisors that GPU4, the Board’s preferred General Plan, was not acceptable. They rejected it. County Counsel has now suggested that the Board can disregard that decision, just like Vice President Cheney claims he can ignore laws mandating certain disclosures of information.

Tomorrow, members of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will have a big choice: are they going to vote for, or against, democracy?

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

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

July 10, 2007 Agenda
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/cttb/agenda071007.htm

County’s “Twenty Most FAQ on the General Plan”
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/gpu/gpu_faqs.htm

LandWatch Monterey County Website
http://www.landwatch.org

LandWatch Election Analysis
http://www.landwatch.org/pages/
issuesactions/countyplan/061707postelection.html

Salinas Californian News Story on Board of Supervisors’ Decision
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070707/NEWS01/
707070320/1002/rss

Monterey County Herald News Story
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_6320477

Land use and transportation decisions are inextricably entwined, at least in the sense that good land use planning can’t take place without good transportation planning, and vice versa. Around the Monterey Bay, transportation planning agencies are moving toward the next round of requests to the voters, urging them to approve billions of dollars for transportation projects.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, for instance, has recently released its 2006 Annual Report. The gist of the joint message from the Executive Director and the Chair of the Board of Directors is that the Commission will move to widen Highway One in Santa Cruz County as soon as “funding obstacles” are removed. That’s definitely going to require a vote of the people.

The situation is similar in Monterey County, where TAMC, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, is preparing for a tax measure to go on the ballot in 2008. If enacted, such a tax increase would help fund lots of new road developments, thus supporting (and even subsidizing) the large-scale growth favored by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.

If good land use and transportation planning actually do go together (and they ought to), what about a “joint” measure for the voters that would provide funding for transportation projects at the same time that it enacted good land use policies, to stop sprawl and save taxpayer dollars? It’s an idea, anyway!

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission
http://www.sccrtc.org/

SCCRTC Annual Report
http://www.sccrtc.org/pdf/2006AnnualReport.pdf

Transportation Agency For Monterey County (TAMC)
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/

TAMC Expenditure Plan
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/programs/
14yearplan/index.htm

The worldwide web is a great resource. It may eventually, as some predict, revivify and reinvent democracy in America. If the main problem with government is that the people at large have less power than the special interests (and that’s certainly one diagnosis), and if it’s true that “information is power,” then the information available to ordinary people, over the internet, might help redress the balance, and restore a more democratic government. That’s the hopeful possibility.

There is another possibility, too, which is less hopeful. Since democratic self-government demands that we become involved ourselves, getting powerful information to lots of people individually doesn’t necessarily lead to the kind of organized use of that information that can make political changes happen.

The “unhidden agenda” of this Land Use Report is to stimulate more direct involvement in the land use decision-making process, because land use decisions will have a determinative impact on the future of our economy and environment, and on our ability to reach our social equity goals.

Getting the right information out, at the right time, can help empower effective action. But the information doesn’t do much, frankly, without some action that uses it. Yesterday, I talked about land use and transportation. Check the KUSP website for some information resources that may help you get activated and involved.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission
http://www.sccrtc.org/

SCCRTC Annual Report
http://www.sccrtc.org/pdf/
2006AnnualReport.pdf

Transportation Agency For Monterey County (TAMC)
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/

TAMC Expenditure Plan
http://www.tamcmonterey.org/programs/
14yearplan/index.html

KUSP Radio covers the entire Central Coast, from Santa Cruz County to San Luis Obispo County, and even gets “over the Hill” to Santa Clara County. Land use issues are of significant importance throughout this region. Monterey County seems to be a current “hot spot” for land use policy debate and discussion, but there really isn’t any part of the Central Coast where land use issues aren’t “front and center,” in terms of both importance and public interest.

Today, let me highlight what’s happening in San Luis Obispo County. I visited there, recently, and was able to talk to land use activists who are trying to save farmland and get smart growth policies implemented at the county level. The event I attended was jammed with people, and reflected at least as much energy and engagement as gatherings I’ve seen in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Counties. If you’re a San Luis Obispo County resident, and want to get involved, check the KUSP website for more information.

In fact, there is an important meeting of the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission today, beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the Board of Supervisors Chambers. This would be a great opportunity for interested persons to begin learning about how “smart growth” might best be implemented in San Luis Obispo County. That’s what today’s Planning Commission workshop will focus on. There is more information at www.kusp.org.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

ECOSLO, The Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County
http://www.ecoslo.org/

July 1, 2007 Summer Fiesta Gathering
http://www.ecoslo.org/eventscalendar/
summerfiestafundraiser

ECOSLO Upcoming Events
http://www.ecoslo.org/eventscalendar

SLO Coastkeeper
http://www.waterkeeper.org/subsites/
subcontact.aspx?userid=144

The Citizens For Planning Responsibility (CPR) Lawsuit
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/
mi_km4475/is_200702/ai_n18689042

Agenda, July 12, 2007 San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission meeting
http://slocounty.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?
view_id=3&event_id=9&meta_id=56858

Planning Commission Staff Report on Land Use Policies
http://slocounty.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?
view_id=3&event_id=9&meta_id=56858

In Monterey County, development hot spots include the City of Salinas, the City of Greenfield and other Salinas Valley cities, and the City of Marina. Marina, which acts as the “gateway” to the Monterey Peninsula, is forging ahead with development projects both on and off the lands of the former Fort Ord. A lot of the proposed development, however, does center on Fort Ord, and this is a testament to the decision made by the voters of Marina to adopt an Urban Growth Boundary to direct new growth into an area already committed to an urban level of development, and thus to maximize the use of both public and private funds for “redevelopment” instead of “new development.”

If you’d like to get an update on the transformation of the former Fort Ord from an Army base to the newest development hot spot on the Monterey Peninsula, you should attend this afternoon’s meeting of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, or FORA, which is meeting today in a workshop session, starting at 3:00 p.m. The workshop will be held in the FORA Conference Facility/Bridge Center, located at 201 13th Street, Building 2925.

At the workshop, every jurisdiction with lands on the former Fort Ord will be making a presentation on the Fort Ord development projects they’re overseeing. This will include presentations, I’m sure, not only from Marina, but from the County of Monterey, the City of Seaside, and the City of Del Rey Oaks.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

FORA Website
http://www.fora.org/

Agenda for the July 13, 2007 FORA Workshop and Meeting
http://www.fora.org/Board/2007/071307agda.pdf