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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of March 15, 2010 to March 19, 2010
Week of March 15, 2010 to March 19, 2010
KUSP provided a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio from January 2003 to May 2016. Archives of past transcripts are available here.
Week of March 15, 2010 to March 19, 2010
- Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Reintroducing The Land Use Report
- Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Desalination Discussion Tomorrow
- Thursday, March 18, 2010
Giving Democracy A Chance
- Friday, March 19, 2010
CEQA Under Attack
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP Radio by Gary A. Patton. The Wittwer & Parkin law firm is located in Santa Cruz, California, and practices environmental and governmental law. As part of its practice, the law firm files litigation and takes other action on behalf of its clients, which are typically private individuals, governmental agencies, environmental organizations, or community groups. Whenever the Land Use Report comments on an issue with which the Wittwer & Parkin law firm is involved on behalf of a client, Mr. Patton will make this relationship clear, as part of his commentary. Mr. Patton’s comments do not represent the views of Wittwer & Parkin, LLP, KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
| Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Reintroducing The Land Use Report |
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During the last two months, I have been traveling, with stops in Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Egypt, and Argentina. It is nice to be back home! Anyone interested in getting a contemporary and more detailed account of my travels can point their web browser to www.gapatton.net, and check my past commentaries. I did have several "land use moments" during the trip, and got to ride high-speed trains in four different countries. While I have been gone, KUSP has made sure that other voices addressed you. I'm not sure what anyone said, but the idea was to galvanize you into personal participation in the local, state, and federal decision-making process around land use. To "reintroduce" you to the Land Use Report, let me tell you that this is exactly the "unhidden agenda" of what I hope is going on here. By getting involved in the land use decision-making process, you can have a significant impact on decisions that will have a profound effect on our future, affecting our economy, our environment, and our ability to achieve our social equity goals. Tuesday is the perfect day to remind you about this! Check the transcript of today's Land Use Report for links to the agendas of Board of Supervisors and City Councils that are meeting today. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Desalination Discussion Tomorrow |
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Land use policy is directly related to water policy. Our relatively abundant recent rains aside, residents and businesses within the City of Santa Cruz Water Service Area, or within the Soquel Creek Water District (and this includes lands extending from the City of Santa Cruz to La Selva Beach) need to start focusing on water supply issues. The City and the Water District are proposing to build and operate a desalination plant, to provide more water for systems that are either at or over their current capacity. Tomorrow night, you have a real opportunity to find out what's going on. A panel discussion on "Desalination and the Alternatives" will take place at the Live Oak Elementary School, 1916 Capitola Road, starting at 6:15 p.m. You are most definitely encouraged to attend. I am planning to attend myself. Bill Kocher, Director of the City of Santa Cruz Water Department and a major proponent of the desalination option, will make a presentation, but it's the critics of desalination who may provide most of the new information. That includes Debbie Cook, former Mayor of Huntington Beach, and the Board President of the Post-Carbon Institute, and Heather Cooley, author of Desalination: With A Grain of Salt. Former Assembly Member John Laird will moderate. I really encourage you to attend the desalination forum tomorrow evening. It's at 6:15, Thursday, at the Live Oak Elementary School. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Thursday, March 18, 2010 Giving Democracy A Chance |
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If state government decisions make a difference in our lives (and they do), then how those decisions get made is of great importance. Currently, almost every important decision made by the California State Legislature (and by that I mean every decision that requires an expenditure of money) requires a two-thirds vote. If you equate "democracy" with "majority rule," then you will see that California State government is profoundly undemocratic. This does have consequences. If every significant decision requires a two-thirds vote, then a minority of our elected representatives can prevent the majority from doing what the majority thinks is the right thing. It is my belief that the undemocratic nature of state government is one of the main reasons that many voters dislike it so much. It is justifiable to be dissatisfied with an institution that is supposed to act in the public interest, but that literally can't carry out what the majority of the public wants. If you would like to help change the current situation, and to restore majority rule and democracy to the State of California, you can download and sign an initiative petition that would add this simple statement to the State Constitution: All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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| Friday, March 19, 2010 CEQA Under Attack |
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The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, is under attack in the State Legislature. Let me give you a brief refresher on CEQA, then tell you about the current challenge. CEQA requires all government agencies to consider the possible environmental impacts of their proposed actions before they do something. This is, obviously, a common sense requirement. Furthermore, CEQA requires government agencies to allow real public participation. If an EIR is required, the public must be allowed to comment on the draft analysis, and the government must respond to all substantive comments. This is an incredibly important public participation tool. Finally, CEQA requires government agencies to eliminate identified environmental impacts whenever that is feasible. CEQA mandates environmental protection as a basic requirement. The effects of this law have been profoundly positive, economically, environmentally, and in term of public engagement. Various bills have been introduced in the State Legislature to allow the Governor simply to exempt projects from CEQA, at his will. Knowing how politics works, this means that the "little guy" will continue to have to comply with CEQA, while the big campaign contributors, for the big projects that have the biggest impacts, will get a "free pass." There is detailed information below. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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