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KUSP LandWatch
News
Week of March 14, 2011 to March 18, 2011
Week of March 14, 2011 to March 18, 2011
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 14, 2011 to March 18, 2011
- Monday, March 14, 2011
Many Hats!
- Tuesday, March 15, 2011
What’s Up Today In Santa Cruz County
- Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Land Trust Plan – A Buyer’s Market
- Thursday, March 17, 2011
Walkabouts
- Friday, March 18, 2011
April 5th And April 12th
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.
| Monday, March 14, 2011 Many Hats! |
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An examination of tomorrow’s agenda of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors illustrates what might be called the “many hats” phenomenon in local government. Each California County is governed by a Board made up of five Supervisors, elected by district. County government, however, isn’t the only governmental agency run by the Supervisors. The meeting tomorrow will find the Board acting not only as the governing body of Monterey County, but also (and essentially simultaneously) as the Board of Directors of the Pajaro County Sanitation District, the Monterey County Redevelopment Agency, and the Monterey County Water Resources Agency. Each of these agencies is a completely separate governmental entity; each of these agencies is governed by a different set of laws and regulations; and each of the agencies has a distinct set of governmental responsibilities. Many citizens are not aware of this aspect of the complexity of governmental organization in the state of California. Instead of assigning a bunch of different responsibilities to “county government,” state law has chosen to proliferate what are actually different governmental agencies, with the Board of Supervisors ending up being the governing body of each one of them. You can attend a lot of different meetings tomorrow, all at one time, by heading over to the Governmental Center at 9:00 o’clock in the morning. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.More Information: Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365” Agenda for Monterey County Board of Supervisors, Meeting of March 15, 2011 |
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| Tuesday, March 15, 2011 What’s Up Today In Santa Cruz County |
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The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be meeting today not only as the governing body of Santa Cruz County government, but also as the Board of Directors of the County Redevelopment Agency. The Board’s action in that capacity, however, is scheduled to be taken only as part of a one-item “consent agenda.” During the Board meeting, the Board will adjourn briefly to allow another agency to hold a meeting, right there in the same place. That agency is the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Zone 7. All members of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors are Directors of “Zone 7,” but there are some additional Directors, too, who will join the Board when it convenes to do “Zone 7” business. If you care about flood protection on the Pajaro River, you might want to attend. The Zone 7 Board will be receiving a report on the Pajaro River Flood Risk Reduction Project, a project I’m working on personally, in my legal capacity, on behalf of the Sierra Club. Other major items will also be handled by the Board today, wearing their Board of Supervisors “hat.” Probably the item with the most land use policy interest is Agenda Item #28, a 10:00 a.m. scheduled public hearing to hear from the public on a proposal to revise the County Zoning Code, with the announced objective being to “streamline” permit processing. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.More Information: Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365” Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Agenda Zone 7 Item Minor Exceptions Amendment Pajaro River Watershed Website |
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| Wednesday, March 16, 2011 The Land Trust Plan – A Buyer’s Market |
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The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County has recently completed its “Conservation Blueprint.” You can get either a short or a long version from the Land Trust website. Most of the funding for the ambitious “Blueprint” project came from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a foundation based in Silicon Valley which has specialized in conservation-oriented projects, often on a very large scale. It’s probably no coincidence that the Foundation has recently announced its willingness to partner with the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and other conservation organizations, to carry out a series of conservation purchases in the larger San Francisco Bay Area Region, including Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County acquisitions would presumably be made based on the findings contained in the “Blueprint” document. An article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel indicates that conservation purchases on the Santa Cruz County North Coast may be possible, including the acquisition of the Cemex property, which represents a kind of “inholding” within the Coast Dairies and Land Company property that is currently maintained by the Trust for Public Land. Coupled with strong governmental regulations to protect important conservation values, conservation purchases are an important way to protect our future. It is a “buyer’s market” right now, and it sounds like there may be some good news on the conservation front! For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.More Information: Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365” Santa Cruz Sentinel Article on Land Trust Purchase Plans Land Trust of Santa Cruz County Conservation Blueprint Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors’ Item on North Coast Permit Gordon And Betty Moore Foundation |
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| Thursday, March 17, 2011 Walkabouts |
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The term “walkabout” has a specific meaning within the Australian aboriginal culture. The word refers to a rite of passage during which male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months. I like the word, and regularly propose a less strenuous version of the “walkabout,” and a version available to persons of all ages and all genders; namely, how about considering getting out and about in our incredible Central Coast environment, as part of some of the walks, outings, and work parties regularly scheduled for members and the public by local environmental and conservation groups? If you will track down the transcript of today’s Land Use Report, available on the KUSP website, you can get a list of work parties and outings sponsored by the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, the group I mentioned yesterday in connection with their preparation of a “Conservation Blueprint,” which provides a guideline for future conservation efforts in Santa Cruz County. There is a Volunteer Workday in the Glenwood Preserve on Saturday, March 19th, to provide one example. The California Native Plant Society, with very active Chapters in both Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, also sponsors great “walkabouts.” Specifically, there is a wildflower walk in Garland Park on Saturday morning, March 26th. Again, that’s just one example. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.More Information: Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365” Wikipedia Article on Walkabouts California Native Plant Society (State Group) California Native Plant Society (Santa Cruz County) California Native Plant Society (Monterey County) CNPS Santa Cruz County Newsletter CNPS Monterey County Newsletter Land Trust of Santa Cruz County Member Events and Workdays |
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| Friday, March 18, 2011 April 5th And April 12th |
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Land use policy profoundly affects our local communities, and their future, and action in the land use policy arena can be directly and immediately effective. Facing the larger issues of war and peace, and the national and state economy, it’s hard for any one of us, individually, to have a direct and meaningful impact. It’s not impossible, of course, but it’s not easy! In the case of land use policy, which does have a very significant impact not only on the natural environment, but also on our local economy and the way we either achieve, or not, our social equity goals, local and individual action can very clearly change outcomes. That has definitely been my experience in over thirty years of personal involvement, and it remains true today. So, if you’d like to get involved in a couple of major issues that might have some personal impact on your life, consider upcoming hearings on April 5th and April 12th before the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. On April 5th, the Board will hold a public hearing on a proposal to regulate vacation rentals. On April 12th, the Board will hold a public hearing to discuss the regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries. County Supervisor John Leopold has been engaged in bringing both of these matters forward for debate and decision. If you do want to get involved, I recommend you contact his office, to get a copy of the latest proposals, so you can testify on an informed basis. For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.More Information Gary Patton writes a daily blog, “Two Worlds / 365” Notice of Vacation Rental Item Notice of Marijuana Dispensary Item Contact Information for County Supervisor John Leopold |
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Archives of past transcripts are available here
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