Tonight, if you’re looking for a place to go, and particularly if you are a resident of the City of Santa Cruz with some interest in what’s happening on the San Lorenzo River, within the City, think about attending this evening’s meeting of the City’s Public Works Commission.

The Public Works Commission will be meeting in the Santa Cruz City Council Chambers, beginning at 7:00 p.m., and San Lorenzo River related items are the main order of business. The Commission is going to get an update on the San Lorenzo River Flood Control Project from Redevelopment Agency staff, and will also consider the San Lorenzo River Multipurpose Path and the Highway One Bike/Pedestrian Underpass Project.

The Commission will also receive a report on the Summer 2009 Overlay Projects planned for various City streets. That may be of interest if you live in any part of the City where such a project is scheduled.

Public works projects can have major impacts on a community (both positive and negative, actually), and the fact that the City of Santa Cruz has established a separate Public Works Commission, to help provide public participation and oversight, speaks well for the kind of community-based planning that is so important to our future. Opportunities for public participation, however, don’t do much to change the realities of our lives unless we actually participate. The San Lorenzo River is an important part of the City. I hope you’ll want to learn more, and get involved.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

City of Santa Cruz Website
http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/

You can get more information on the City of Santa Cruz Public Works Commission by clicking on the “Advisory Bodies” link on the left hand column of the City’s main webpage.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors is meeting today, but is then heading out for vacation until August 25th. There is one land use related item on today’s Board agenda that I thought might be worthy of note. Agenda Item S-4 is about a proposed “lot line adjustment” for some property in San Ardo, which is located very far south in Monterey County, for those listeners who may not have an immediate fix on where San Ardo is.

The property owner wants to change the lot lines defining four legal lots of record. The lots are currently developed with a commercial building and a single-family residence, and current lot lines run through these structures. The request is to reconfigure the lots, so the residence would be within its own lot. The property owner, however, wants to have the commercial building continue to be located over the reconfigured property lines.

That poses a legal and technical issue. Lot line adjustments are intended to correct problems like buildings being constructed over property lines, but the County Code doesn’t let you correct only one of the problems, while leaving another such problem remaining. That is specifically what the property owner wants to do, and the item is an appeal from a staff level denial.

Another interesting feature of this item is that there has been no environmental review. Why is that? No environmental review is needed if a project will be denied.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

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

Board Agendas
http://publicagendas.co.monterey.ca.us/

You can get agenda materials relating to the San Ardo item (and materials for all other items on the Board’s agenda) by using the Agenda link, listed above.

Tomorrow, the Planning Commission of San Luis Obispo County is considering major changes to the County’s current General Plan, the County’s most important land use policy document. I am hereby officially urging you to participate. The meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, and the very first item on the regular agenda is the Commission’s review of a proposal to consolidate five existing General Plan Elements into one consolidated Conservation and Open Space Element, adding and updating policies to address green building, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, water conservation, and the use of renewable resources.

One major focus of discussion is almost certainly going to be how the County should best balance an effort to stimulate the use of renewable energy resources with the need to protect and preserve valuable natural habitat. The transcript of today’s Land Use Report contains a link to the Energy Chapter of the proposed Conservation and Open Space Element, showing some proposed edits that highlight the policy issues involved.

Ultimately, the Board of Supervisors will decide the final language to be incorporated into the General Plan, but as a practical matter, the hearing before the Planning Commission tomorrow will be your best chance to make your views known. Again, I very much encourage you to participate. It’s tomorrow at 9:00 o’clock.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information:

San Luis Obispo County Government Website
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/government.htm

San Luis Obispo County Planning and Building Department
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/planning.htm

Planning Commission Agenda, July 23, 2009
http://slocounty.granicus.com/
AgendaViewer.php?view_id=3&event_id=56

Edit proposals for the Energy Chapter
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/assets/A+
Commissioners+edits+to+COSE.pdf

Coastal Commission members are appointed by a rather involved process, giving appointment powers to the Governor, the President pro Tem of the Senate, and the Speaker of the Assembly. Each one of these state officials is allocated certain appointments within specified geographical regions. Check out the transcript of today’s Land Use Report for a link to the relevant law.

For the Central Coast Region, comprised of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo Counties, the Speaker of the Assembly makes the appointment of a local government official from within the Region. The Speaker must appoint from lists submitted by the cities and counties within the Region, and appointments are for a fixed term.

Up until earlier this month, Monterey County Supervisor Dave Potter represented the Central Coast Region. His term has now ended, and while the Speaker was expected to make an appointment in early July, either reappointing Supervisor Potter or appointing another candidate, she chose not to make any appointment at all, and has asked for additional nominations. The cities in Monterey County, and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, are sticking with Supervisor Potter, whose environmental voting record has not been very good, at least according to the environmental groups who prepare a Coastal Commission “Vote Chart” each year.

It’s going to be interesting to see what happens. Letting Assembly Member Bill Monning know your views is probably your best way to weigh in on the appointment.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

Coastal Commission Website
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/

The Coastal Act and Coastal Commission Regulations
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/ccatc.html

Monterey County Herald article on appointment
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/
ci_12857943?nclick_check=1

Public Resources Code Sections 30300, 30301, 30301.5, 30304, 30305, 30310, 30310.5, 30312, 30313, 30314, 30315, 30315.1, 30316, 30317, and 30318 spell out how the Coastal Commission nomination and appointment process works.

You can get earlier versions and the most recent (2008) California Coastal Commission Conservation Voting Chart on the Sierra Club Website
http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/

Contact Assembly Member Bill Monning through his website - http://www.adc.asm.ca.gov/members/a27/

Next Tuesday, the Marina City Council will host a public workshop on "Completing the Community Vision for the Cypress Knolls Senior Neighborhood." The workshop will be held in the City Council Chambers, starting at 6:30 p.m. You can get more information below.

If you believe that the land use decisions made by your local government will have a determinative effect on the future of your community (and this is what the Land Use Report keeps insisting), then it follows that it’s worth your while to get involved in the land use decision making process. The people who do get involved, usually, are those with a direct economic stake in the outcome of a particular decision. If you own property, and want to develop some new use on the property, to make money from the property, or to divide the property, so you can make money by selling off the new parcels, you’ll definitely get involved in the project review sessions that will decide whether or not your project will be approved. If you happen to live next door, so your property will be directly impacted by a proposed project, you will probably get involved, as well.

But what about the general public? Their future (your future) is also impacted by land use project and policy decisions. So if you care, “be there.” The City of Marina is now trying to encourage genuine public participation. I hope Marina residents will take advantage of that.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

More Information

City of Marina Website
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/

Civic Alert on the upcoming workshop
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=76

Project Manager for the Cypress Knolls Project – Email: jcoile@ci.marina.ca.us; Telephone: (831) 384-7324