If you would like to see how the Santa Cruz City Council balances business desires with neighborhood and environmental concerns, mark your calendar for the Council’s afternoon session tomorrow (that’s Tuesday, January 14th). A major hotel project is on the agenda at 3:00 o’clock.

The proposed hotel project is slated to destroy a huge, flowering chestnut tree, and will have potentially significant traffic, parking, and other neighborhood impacts. It’s all happening on Broadway (at least maybe it is). What the Council does tomorrow might well depend on how many people show up and what they say. Tree lovers and neighborhood residents are hoping that the Council will listen to alternatives, and not just do what the hotel developer wants.

Broadway (in Santa Cruz, not New York City) is a traffic thoroughfare, but it goes right through a modest residential neighborhood. In 2011, the City Council approved a hotel on the current site of the Unity Temple, in that residential neighborhood. Traffic and parking problems were major concerns, but the Council approved the hotel anyway. Now, the developer wants to eliminate one entire floor of parking. The developer is looking for a "Major Amendment" to the approved plan, and the staff says the Council should say "yes."

If you care about this, think about attending that City Council meeting tomorrow. And check below for links to more information.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• City Council Agenda, January 14, 2014 Meeting (See Agenda Item #9 for staff reports, etc.)
• Santa Cruz Sentinel Article (May 24, 2011) on original hotel approval

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors is meeting today. Agenda Item #12 should be of interest to property owners and developers, and to neighborhood residents. The Board will consider an amendment to Title 21 of the Monterey County Code, governing development in non-coastal areas in Monterey County. The proposal is to establish a streamlined method to process minor changes to approved permits.

Listeners who heard yesterday’s Land Use Report found out about a meeting, today, in the City of Santa Cruz during which a "major" change to an approved permit (for a hotel on Broadway) will be considered. Trying to make changes to an approved permit, whether major or minor, is not uncommon. "Major" changes, of course, are generally treated the same way a new project would be, but what about "minor changes?" Simplified procedures that let such minor changes be approved easily, without a lot of new procedural requirements, are very desirable from the developer’s point of view. Neighbors are sometimes skeptical. If you are a Monterey County resident who cares about land use, check out Agenda Item #12.

If you happen to care about proposals to expand "fracking" operations (a hot topic of discussion), you might want to attend a class on fracking, hosted by Central Coast Rising. It is taking place this evening, at 6:30 p.m. at the Louden Nelson Center in Santa Cruz.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Agendas of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors
• Central Coast Rising Facebook Page
• "Fracking" Class, hosted by Central Coast Rising

Tomorrow, Thursday, January 16th, the Regional Advisory Committee to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency will meet in the Agency Board Room at 2:00 o’clock. I have links to more information at kusp.org/landuse. Listeners may remember having heard me mention the Regional Advisory Committee before. This volunteer committee is trying to help the County’s Water Resources Agency determine how best to allocate and make use of water rights to available water in the Salinas River.

This topic is of critical importance to the future of Monterey County, and to Monterey County agriculture, in particular, and I definitely encourage members of the public to get involved. Attending the meeting tomorrow would be a good way to do that. In addition, listeners might want to communicate to their elected County officials, urging members of the Board of Supervisors to make sure that the key decisions are made in public, so everyone interested in the topic can be fully informed, and fully involved.

As listeners may know, it appears that the Board of Supervisors has been using closed sessions that are supposed to focus on employee performance reviews to give secret directions to key staff members, specifically including the General Manager of the Water Resources Agency. Apparently, these directions included the possible sale of Salinas River water to California American Water, California Water Service and others.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• December 11, 2013 Land Use Report Transcript
• Agenda Packet, RAC Meeting on January 16, 2014
• MCWRA Website
• Monterey County Herald Editorial on abuse of closed sessions, December 22, 2013
• December 17, 2013 Editorial in Monterey County Herald re abuse of closed sessions

Current drought conditions are definitely pushing water supply issues to the top of the agenda for both the public, and for those public agencies responsible for delivering water. This includes, of course, the City of Santa Cruz, which delivers water to the City of Santa Cruz, the entirety of Live Oak and Pasatiempo, and to parts of Capitola.

Most of the City’s water is "surface water," coming from the San Lorenzo River and North Coast streams. The Soquel Creek Water District, which provides water throughout the mid-county area, and to most of the City of Capitola, relies on groundwater supplies. Even when there isn’t any rain, groundwater is available; it’s like a savings account, but there is a problem. If long-term extraction of groundwater exceeds the average annual inflow into the groundwater basin, an "overdraft" occurs, and in our area, seawater can then flow into the groundwater basin when the level of freshwater in the basin gets below sea level. This kind of "salt water intrusion" can contaminate freshwater supplies, and that is exactly what is already happening in the Pajaro Valley, and what may soon happen with respect to the aquifers relied upon by Soquel Creek.

Citizen activists working on water issues have recently begun asking questions about private wells in the mid-county area because they may be a significant contributor to the overdraft problem. The issues are complex, and serious, and I’ll try to keep you posted!

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog

A City’s General Plan is its "Constitution for Land Use." In other words, it’s a "big deal." City residents should really pay attention when "Constitutional amendments" are being proposed. The land use policies in the General Plan will govern future development for many years, and will have a big impact on the local economy, the natural environment, and on how well we respond to social justice issues.

For some time, I have been advising listeners that the City of Capitola is proposing some major amendments to the City’s General Plan. The process has taken a long time, but it is now picking up speed. We are getting close to the "last call" for comments. This Land Use Report renews my suggestion that those who live in Capitola, and those who do business in Capitola, should focus their attention on the proposed new General Plan, and get their comments in now.

Specifically, the City has released its Draft Environmental Impact Report (or DEIR) on a proposed update to the City’s 1989 General Plan. The deadline for comments on the Draft EIR is Tuesday, February 19th. You have about a month, in other words, to get your comments in.

Once the comment deadline has passed, the City will prepare responses. The Draft, the comments, and the responses to those comments will then comprise the "Final" EIR. Once that is complete, the City Council can take action.

There are some links to more information below.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• City of Capitola Website
• General Plan Page on City Website
• Key General Plan Documents
• City’s Current General Plan
• Draft General Plan Update
• Draft General Plan Update EIR