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LandWatch provides
a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio. Tune in every weekday at 6:33 or 8:49 am.
KUSP is at 88.9 FM in General Coverage, 105.9 FM in Big Sur Valley, 91.3 FM in
Palo Colorado Canyon, and 91.7 FM in San Ardo. Archives of past transcripts are
available here.
Week
of December 16, 2002 to December 20, 2002
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP Radio by Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
Monday,
December 16th – State Office of Planning and Research
In the field of land use policy, acronyms abound. “CEQA”
is spelled with a “C,” not with an “S,” and
stands for the California Environmental Quality Act. “GPU”
means General Plan Update. “HCD” refers to the California
State Department of Housing and Community Development. “HCD
has told Monterey County that its GPU needs CEQA review.” That’s
a plausible sentence. You get the idea.
This
morning, I’ll introduce an important player in the land use
policy arena by teaching you a new acronym. “OPR” stands
for the “Office of Planning and Research.” This is a state
level policy office. A link to the OPR website can be found by going
to the KUSP website, and finding the Land Use Report link. I hope
you’ll check that out at www.kusp.org. KUSP makes transcripts
of these broadcasts available, and they almost always let you know
where you can get more information on the topics discussed.
More
information about OPR will be coming in subsequent reports. Today,
just to introduce OPR, you should know that the State Legislature
has given this rather obscure agency a major role in overseeing
the state’s planning and zoning laws. “OPR” is one
of those acronyms it’s good to know!
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
OPR
Website -
http://www.opr.ca.gov/
State
Law -
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID
=8818226719+3+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
Tuesday,
December 17th –State General Plan Guidelines
The State Office of Planning and Research, called "OPR,"
was created by the State Legislature to "serve the Governor
and his or her Cabinet as staff for long-range planning and research,
and [to] constitute the comprehensive state planning agency."
That’s a quote from Government Code Section 65040.
Calling
OPR the "comprehensive state planning agency" makes OPR
seem more important than it really has been. The Legislature’s
idea about comprehensive state planning, as outlined in state law,
hasn’t been fully executed by any Governor since Jerry Brown.
However, the OPR is currently overseeing an important public outreach
project affecting future planning in every California community.
Loyal listeners know that a community’s General Plan is its
most important planning document. Each city and county must have
a General Plan, and that General Plan has to cover various topics
specified in state law.
To
make it easier for local governments to follow state law, OPR publishes
a set of "General Plan Guidelines." Right now, OPR is
revising these Guidelines, and your advice and comments are being
solicited. If you’ve been active in General Plan issues (and
many persons in Monterey County, for instance, have had that experience)
you might want to review the state General Plan Guidelines, and
weigh in with your thoughts. More information is on the website.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
OPR Website -
http://www.opr.ca.gov/
State
Law -
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAIS
docID=8818226719+3+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
General
Plan Guidelines -
http://www.opr.ca.gov/planning/PDFs/GPG_2002.pdf
Wednesday,
December 18th – The Scotts Valley City Council
This evening, at 6:00 p.m., the Scotts Valley City Council will
take up an interesting item in terms of future planning. City Hall
is located at One Civic Center Drive, in Scotts Valley.
Item
#1 on the regular agenda is consideration of a quarry reclamation
plan for the Scotts Valley Drive quarry. Few cities boast a quarry
right on the main street of town. Scotts Valley does. It’s
just down the road from Civic Center Drive.
In
the “old days” (and that means the 1960’s), Scotts
Valley wasn’t a high tech and commercial center. It was an
unincorporated, rural area. It had the famous “Tree Circus,”
Santa’s Village, recreational vehicle parks, and an operating
lumber mill with a cone-shaped burner to dispose of wood waste.
And it had a quarry, right on Scotts Valley Drive. Tonight, the
City Council is going to talk about the future of that quarry property,
and how to reclaim it. There is a whole set of state laws that focus
on that very topic, but it’s unusual for cities to have to
implement their provisions.
In
a very real sense, this item reflects a major truth about land use
planning. There are many ways that we can use the land, and the
choices we make determine our future. Tonight, the Scotts Valley
City Council will discuss how to change a past choice, and take
the city in a new direction. Local residents may want to attend.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Scotts
Valley Website -
http://www.scottsvalley.org
Scotts
Valley Planning Information -
http://www.scottsvalley.org/planning.html
Scotts
Valley City Council -
http://www.scottsvalley.org/council.html
Thursday,
December 19th – Environmental Justice Guidelines
“OPR” means Office of Planning and Research. This state
level agency oversees implementation of the state’s Planning
and Zoning law. Right now, OPR is asking for public comment on a
set of General Plan Guidelines. These Guidelines will have an important
impact on future planning in California.
One
aspect of the proposed General Plan Guidelines is a set of policies
dealing with environmental justice. Thanks to former Assembly Member
Fred Keeley, state law now requires that this topic be addressed.
Our state is starting to pay attention to the results of past planning
decisions that have placed environmentally destructive and toxic
land uses in areas where most of the residents are low-income, and
people of color.
These
past practices haven’t been fair, so the statewide environmental
movement is now focusing on the issue of “environmental justice,”
which state law defines as the “fair treatment of people of
all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development,
adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies.”
If
you would like to get involved in environmental justice efforts,
California Communities Against Toxics, the Planning and Conservation
League, and Communities For A Better Environment can tell you how.
Information is on the KUSP website. Go the to Land Use Report link
at www.kusp.org.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
OPR
Website -
http://www.opr.ca.gov/
State
Law -
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=
8818226719+3+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
General
Plan Guidelines -
http://www.opr.ca.gov/planning/PDFs/GPG_2002.pdf
Contact
at Planning and Conservation League –
Tyrone Buckley, tbuckley@pcl.org
Contact
at California Communities Against Toxics –
Jane Williams, DcapJane@aol.com
Communities
For A Better Environment -
http://www.cbecal.org/
Friday,
December 20th – Planning Ahead For January 28th
This Land Use Report has the unhidden agenda of urging more public
involvement in land use planning matters, and especially with respect
to land use “policy.” To the degree that members of the
public ever get involved in local planning, they tend to do so at
the “project” level, often when a new development project
is proposed in their neighborhood. That’s when the official
public notices go out, and of course it’s critically important
to weigh in on those project-level decisions.
However,
trying to win the battle for good planning at the project level
is something like house to house combat. Wouldn’t it be great
if the basic rules for future growth and development really reflected
what the community wants? If you can get the “policy”
right, then the project-level decisions can often take care of themselves,
since each project-level decision has to be consistent with the
planning policies incorporated in the local General Plan. That’s
what state law says.
The
most effective and efficient way to achieve good planning is to
make sure that your community’s General Plan is well-written,
and not vague or ambiguous, and that it really states what the local
community wants.
In
Monterey County, the General Plan Update process has just reached
the halfway point. Mark your calendars ahead. The Monterey County
Board of Supervisors will apparently next consider its GPU on January
28th of next year.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Monterey
County General Plan Website -
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Archives
of past transcripts are available here
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