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KUSP LandWatch News
August 31, 2015 to September 4, 2015

 

KUSP provided a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio from January 2003 to May 2016. Archives of past transcripts are available here.

August 31, 2015 to September 4, 2015

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.

Gary Patton's Land Use Links

 

Housing, Housing, Housing
Monday, August 31, 2015

The City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission meets on Thursday, and the City’s Housing Element will be on the agenda. There is more information at kusp.org/landuse.

Residential property around the Monterey Bay is seen as a wonderful investment by people with money, many of whom do not live in the Monterey Bay Region, but live somewhere else in the world. Given our free market economy, it becomes impossible to preserve any affordable housing opportunities here.

As a matter of pure logic, and basic economics, if our communities want affordable housing, they must either use public funds to build it, and/or find a mechanism to impose price controls. Just to say it again, if maintaining a “free market” in real estate is our society’s highest priority, then prices will be set by those with the most money. In Monterey County, huge numbers of homes formerly available for residential use by local residents are now second homes, the owners living elsewhere and only using the homes infrequently. They have the money to do that, and that’s what they do. In Santa Cruz County, higher-paid people who work in the Silicon Valley buy up homes that are then not available for local workers.

I have a link in today’s transcript to an excellent article in Land Lines, the journal of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, if you’d like to read up on this distressing fact of life.

This is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Live Oak Development: Coming Up
Tuesday, September 1, 2015

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors meets today, and I thought I’d highlight Agenda Item #38 on the Board’s Consent Agenda.

Here’s how the Consent Agenda works: with one motion, taken right at the start of the meeting, the Board makes decisions on multiple items, and these items are not all insignificant or unimportant. Today, the Consent Agenda consists of thirty-nine items, some directing expenditures of several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Agenda Item #38 schedules a public hearing on a fairly controversial development in Live Oak. The Board is probably going to set Tuesday, September 29th, at 1:30 p.m., as the time to make a decision on a 20-unit residential subdivision proposed at 1000 Rodriguez Street, at the corner of Jose Avenue. If you care about this proposed development, you should plan to attend the hearing.

Originally, the developer, City Ventures, wanted to build more units, and there is an argument, of course, that developments within designated urban areas should be “dense” developments, to help prevent future urban sprawl. To me, one of the issues of most significance is that the developer will not produce ANY affordable units. That’s because the Board changed its policies within the last year to allow developers the right to pay fees instead. Significant neighborhood impacts; no affordable units. You decide!

This is Gary Patton.

More Information:

What’s So Special At The PVWMA?
Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, or PVWMA, is charged with stopping groundwater overdraft in the Pajaro Valley, and the future of our local agricultural economy really depends on its success. In today’s Land Use Report blog, I’ve put in a link to the PVWMA website, and to the agenda of a “Special Meeting” that the PVWMA Board of Directors is holding today, at 12:00 noon.

As I hope you know, the Boards of Directors of all local agencies are subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act, and must provide an advance agenda notice to the public whenever they hold a meeting. Time, place, and the topics to be discussed all must be disclosed. The idea is that the public has a right to keep an eye on what its elected officials are doing. A “Special Meeting” is a meeting that is not part of the agency’s regular meeting schedule, and as I indicated, the PVWMA Board will be holding such a special meeting today.

So, what’s so “special” today that Board members are meeting at noontime in their own offices, located at 36 Brennan Street in Watsonville? The business at hand is for Board Members to receive iPad training. You can go to the meeting and maybe get some free training yourself, if you’d like!

The next “regular” meeting of the Board is scheduled for September 23rd. Bring your iPad to that meeting and take some notes!

This is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Take A Little Hike
Thursday, September 3, 2015

The proposed Monterey Downs development is a truly large-scale project that some, I think, might call grandiose. I do have links to information about the project at kusp.org/landuse, so you can review that information and then come to your own conclusion about the project.

If you are interested in learning more, here is a real deal for you. LandWatch Monterey County has announced some guided hikes, to show the public the proposed Monterey Downs development site. Participants will be able to see the size of the one mile race track, the 6,500-seat arena, the grandstands proposed, and all the area that will be developed into homes and commercial areas if the Monterey Downs project is approved. Those who take the hike will also get to see the coastal oak trees covering the land, many of which would be cut down to carry out the project.

Hikes are being offered from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 5th and 6th. That’s this weekend. The hikes are two hours long on gently rolling hills with a tree-studded landscape. You will get to see beautiful views, and will be able to review maps of the land now and with the proposed Monterey Downs project. Hikers should bring water and a hat and wear comfortable walking shoes. Check the Land Use Report blog for instructions on how you can make a reservation for this very informative excursion.

This is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Canine Center Gets A Go
Friday, September 4, 2015

A week ago last Wednesday, the Monterey County Planning Commission considered a Canine Sports Center project, to be located in Carmel Valley. I advertised the hearing here on the Land Use Report, and was naturally quite interested in what action the Planning Commission took on this very controversial project.

The Carmel Valley Association put out a bulletin with their comments. Since the CVA was opposed to the Canine Sports Center, and since the project was unanimously approved, the CVA wasn’t very happy. It characterized the 5 ½-hour hearing as consisting of  “very little substantive discussion,” and specifically said that “commissioners dismissed well researched and clearly presented arguments regarding the significant negative impacts the project would have on traffic, noise, and water.” Reading between the lines, it looks likely that the CVA will appeal the project approval to the Board of Supervisors. I will of course keep you posted.

The Carmel Pine Cone also published a report. I have provided links to both the Pine Cone and the CVA reports at kusp.org/landuse, along with links to other information.

The Pine Cone gave a kind of blow by blow report of the hearing, making clear that the Quail Lodge owners were just as opposed as the CVA. Those groups aren’t always on the same side, and the Pine Cone article expressed “surprise” at how things went.

This is Gary Patton.

More Information:

Archives of past transcripts are available here


LandWatch's mission is to protect Monterey County's future by addressing climate change, community health, and social inequities in housing and infrastructure. By encouraging greater public participation in planning, we connect people to government, address human needs and inspire conservation of natural resources.

 

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