These Land Use Reports are pre-recorded, so it’s hard to be on top of a breaking news story. My topic today is “The State Budget and CEQA,” and it may be that everything will have been decided by the time you hear this Monday.

But maybe not! California requires a two-thirds vote to enact the state budget, so a minority can prevent action that a majority wants to take. That anti-democratic provision also virtually guarantees a delayed budget. As I’m recording this, the budget is delayed because Republican State Senators refuse to vote for the budget unless the California Environmental Quality Act is modified.

The Republicans are actually saying that our most important environmental law should be modified to eliminate any analysis of or mitigation for the global warming impacts caused by new development. Do that, they say, or we won’t vote for the budget!

In fact, by making this demand, Republicans are really carrying water for large development and business interests. You can get a full understanding of the proposal by finding today’s transcript on the KUSP website. It has a link to the developers’ proposal, and my rebuttal.

Demands like this one make a person think that maybe we should have a majority, democratic vote after all, instead of the minority veto system we do have.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Fighting back against the business attack on CEQA
http://www.pcl.org/newsroom/062707bizattackonceqa.html

Yesterday, I mentioned that development interests in California are trying to persuade the State Legislature to amend CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, to eliminate any requirement that CEQA consider the adverse impacts of development projects, in terms of what they might mean for increased global warming.

This is truly an outrageous proposal. What seems most to have angered the developers is that Attorney General Jerry Brown has insisted, in court, that global warming is, in fact, a major adverse environmental impact that needs to be addressed. Most of us would say “duh!” That’s obvious. But the developers want a “free ride,” so that they don’t have to consider how they can reduce or eliminate the global warming impacts of their development projects. The idea is that the implementation of AB 32 should take care of everything. Check out the transcript of today’s Land Use Report to get a link to a letter making the business argument, and a copy of my letter in response.

In the meantime, if you are concerned about global warming, and what it might mean to our environment, you should start factoring in what it might mean for “public health.” A compelling workshop, focusing on just this issue, will be held on July 30th, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Cal-EPA Headquarters, in Sacramento, and the workshop will also be available as a webcast. There is more information below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Fighting back against the business attack on CEQA
http://www.pcl.org/newsroom/
062707bizattackonceqa.html

The workshop, entitled “Global Climate Change and Public Health: The Health Impacts of California Heat Waves,” will be held on July 30, 2007, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Byron Sher Auditorium, Cal-EPA Building, 1001 I Street, Sacramento.

Cal-EPA Climate Change website
www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cc.htm

Workshop agenda
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cc.htm#july30

The webcast will be available at:
www.calepa.ca.gov/broadcast/?BDO=1

“Smart Growth” development may be an oxymoron. It may not, in fact, be “smart” to continue to “develop” our planet at all. A pretty good case can be made that leaving our natural systems alone, and learning to live within their limits, might really be the “smart” thing to do.

That said, there is something called “smart growth,” and it’s characterized by new land use development patterns that focus development within areas already committed to urban uses. Higher densities are required, to reduce the per unit demand on our natural resources. Typically, “smart growth” projects also include not only residential units, but also commercial and even manufacturing uses, right at the same location. The idea is to minimize the need for commuting. Cutting down on “vehicle miles traveled” is one of the best ways to reduce our impacts on the natural environment. At least as compared to a typical sprawling development, “smart growth” projects do make sense, and deserve that “smart” accolade.

The City of Santa Cruz will soon be discussing a major “smart growth” proposal, to be located on the City’s Westside. Redtree Properties is proposing to develop twenty acres at 2120 Delaware Avenue with mixed uses including small apartments, business spaces, and cafes and retail shops. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the first public reactions were good. This proposed development will be worth following, if you’re a Westside resident.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Sentinel coverage of proposed new Westside development
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/
2007/July/17/local/stories/02local.htm

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/
2007/July/19/local/stories/04local.htm

Land use decisions are, essentially, democratic decisions made by our governmental institutions (and hopefully advancing the public interest). Such land use decisions affect our communities in profound ways, not only at the level of environmental impact, but also with respect to public health, the health of our economy, and our ability to reach our social equity goals. To make our system of self-government work the way it should, we definitely need to get involved, ourselves, in the land use decision-making process.

An increasingly important tool used by planners and developers is called “GIS,” or “Geographic Information Systems.” Locally, we have a “Central Coast Joint Data Committee,” which coordinates the work of local governmental agencies, and various private groups, to make maximum use of this powerful technology in the public interest. The CCJDC is meeting today, at the Moss Landing Harbor District, and I’ve put information in the transcript for today’s Land Use Report.

The California Environmental Dialogue, a statewide consortium of business and environmental leaders, has also made GIS a top priority. They have urged, among other things, that the State establish a California GIS Network that integrates all available GIS data, regardless of agency or jurisdictional boundaries.

To get involved yourself, check out Google Earth, a GIS tool that is available free to all of us.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

What is GIS?
http://www.gis.com/

US EPA GIS Website
http://www.epa.gov/geospatial/

Central Coast Joint Data Committee (CJDC) Website
http://www.ccjdc.org/

Google Earth Website
http://download-earth.com/

California Environmental Dialogue Website
http://www.cedlink.org/

Santa Cruz County GIS Information
http://gis.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/

Anyone interested in receiving a full copy of the CED statement on GIS should email Gary Patton at gapatton@pcl.org.

My “day job” is to lead the Planning and Conservation League as its Executive Director, so I spend lots of time focused on what the State Legislature, the Governor, and various state agencies are doing about land use policy.

Usually, what they’re doing isn’t all that good. Absent the kind of engaged citizen participation that can make our politicians pay attention, elected officials at all levels tend to get distracted by those who can pay to have lobbyists visit them, and who can contribute to their campaign coffers. It’s a lot easier to stimulate the engaged citizen participation that we need when we’re operating at the local level. Sacramento is a long ways away!

That said, politicians in Sacramento are feeling the heat radiating from California communities, as more and more people understand that our basic land use systems subsidize sprawl, and destroy not only our natural environment, but our chance to improve public health, stimulate healthy local economies, and to reach our social equity objectives.

If you’d like to help “keep the heat on” for good land use policy, please let me know. Senate Bill 375 will probably become a battleground test when the Legislature returns from its recess in late August. This bill ties transportation funding to better land use practices. You can get lots of information on SB 375 by clicking on the links below.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

PCL Website
www.pcl.org

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