Lots of land use issues at the Monterey County Board of Supervisors tomorrow.

At 1:30 Tuesday afternoon, the Board will decide whether to add a new set of regulations to the existing County Code. In this case, the Board is likely to provide for a set of design guidelines for exterior lighting. Quite recently, the Carmel Pine Cone editorialized against County regulations that the newspaper says go too far. Looks like the Board will add even more regulations to the mix. If you are interested, check out today’s transcript at kusp.org/landuse.

Agenda Item #22 would advance the very controversial Ferrini Ranch Project, located off Highway 68. Pending lawsuits might derail that project, but the County is forging ahead on behalf of the developer.

Finally, the Board is poised to remove affordable housing restrictions from 168 affordable homes in the Castroville area. The Moro Cojo subdivision was approved only because the homes were supposed to be permanently affordable. Any resale of one of the homes was supposed to be at a price that an average or below average income family could afford. Now, current owners have persuaded the Board to let them sell at market prices This will be a windfall worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to those owners, but will eliminate the future affordability of 168 homes.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Carmel Pine Cone Editorial (See Page 24A)
• Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda Website
  • Agenda Item #21 – Design Guidelines
  • Agenda Item #22 – Ferrini Ranch
  • Agenda Item #23 – Moro Cojo Housing

A couple of interesting meetings are coming up tomorrow night!

From 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, the City of Santa Cruz is sponsoring an “Open House” at the Police Department Community Room, located at 155 Center Street. That’s the place you will want to be if you would like to find out more about the proposed Coastal Rail Trail project within the City of Santa Cruz. This plan is getting serious, so get involved!

And there’s another meeting on Thursday evening, too! You probably can’t go to both. A “Connecting the Drops” event will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the New Brighton Middle School Auditorium, with an “Open House” at 6:30. This event is being jointly sponsored by the County of Santa Cruz, the Regional Water Management Foundation, and the Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission. If you want to know about water recycling, groundwater recharge and stormwater management, water conservation, and fish and watershed management, this is where you should be.

Let me also alert listeners to another opportunity to get involved with transportation planning. If you do it by January 30th, you can submit an official comment on the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP, which is going to be regional in scope. There is information on this, and on the two meetings tomorrow, at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Connecting The Drops Agenda
• 2040 Regional Transportation Plan Website
• Coastal Rail Trail Project Open House
• Friends of The Rail Trail Website
• Rail Transit Study

Let me tell you something about airport planning!

The Monterey Regional Airport has embarked on the preparation of an Airport Master Plan.

The proposed Airport Master Plan is a facility-level planning study that sets forth a conceptual framework for possible future airport development during the period from 2013 to 2033. Some of the main components of the proposed Master Plan include: (1) Recommending improvements that will enhance the Airport’s safety capabilities to the maximum extent feasible; (2) Projecting aeronautical facility needs through the year 2033; (3) Establishing a schedule of development priorities and a program for the improvements that will be proposed in the Airport Master Plan, including a detailed financial plan; and (4) Developing goals, objectives, and performance targets for a sustainability plan for the Airport.

As you might imagine, this kind of planning process needs to be conducted in connection with a full scale environmental review, pursuant to both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (or NEPA). If you’d like to comment on the Notice of Preparation, there is a comment deadline on February 16th.

What happens at the Airport, of course, has impacts far beyond the Airport property itself. Just think Highway 68, for instance! I encourage Monterey County residents to start getting involved now.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey Regional Airport Planning Website
• For more information, contact Shelley Glennon:
  • Telephone - (831) 648-7000
  • Email: sglennon@montereyairport.com

Debate is brewing around Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz County.

Pleasure Point includes the neighborhoods located between 23rd Avenue and 41st Avenue, and between Portola Drive and East Cliff Drive, which sits right at the edge of Monterey Bay. In 2007-2008, the Santa Cruz County Planning Department undertook a community planning process for the Pleasure Point area. During this process, the Planning Department and its consultant team worked with Pleasure Point neighbors to determine how best to shape the future of the Pleasure Point area.

The focus was on identifying and exploring issues related to residential neighborhood character and appropriate public improvements in the Pleasure Point area. Three facilitated meetings were held as part of the process, culminating in the preparation and adoption of a Pleasure Point Community Plan, given final approval by the California Coastal Commission on May 12, 2010.  That Plan is available on the County’s website.

A major new development proposal on Portola Drive, tentatively approved by the County Planning Commission, is causing some consternation and controversy. The County’s approval has been appealed by neighbors to the Coastal Commission. I’ll try to keep you posted. In the meantime, you can get a good idea of what the controversy is all about by reviewing the materials at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Pleasure Point Plan
• Project Summary
• Staff Report On Lumber Yard Project
• Santa Cruz Sentinel Article On Project Approval