landWatch: "Community GPU" Process Will Maintain Public Voice

I hope you’ll participate in an upcoming Community Forum on the General Plan Update -- a plan that will affect our local economy, the environment, and our efforts to achieve social equity.

The Forum will be held on Saturday, August 21st at the Prunedale Grange, 17890 Moro Road, Prunedale, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

In June, three members of the Board of Supervisors voted to “terminate” the General Plan Update process that has been underway for five years, and that has cost county taxpayers $5 million dollars so far. The Board turned over responsibility for drafting the new GPU to a small group of County staff. The Board told them to hold a series of “closed door” meetings with selected “stakeholders”— as opposed to seeking input from the public at large. This “start over” decision on the GPU threatens to destroy the hard work and taxpayer dollars invested in the earlier process, and tosses out the results of five years of community-based and community supported work.

In response to this Board action, more than a dozen local community organizations, including LandWatch, have decided to hold a series of Community Forums to make sure that the public has a continued voice in the General Plan Update process. A list of the local organizations sponsoring these Community Forums appears at the end of this letter.

In addition to the August 21st Forum, Forums will also be held in Carmel Valley (on September 16th), in Salinas (on September 30th), in King City or Greenfield (on October 14th), and in Seaside (on October 30th). The full schedule is attached. Please mark your calendars!

These “Community GPU” Forums will lead to the development of a General Plan that is consistent with the Twelve Guiding Objectives, which were developed after hundreds of hours of community workshops and public hearings, and then unanimously adopted by the Board. These Guiding Objectives reflect the opinions of a large majority of citizens and residents, and will ensure that the GPU provides affordable housing for working families, preserves working farmlands, and protects Monterey County’s clean air and water and natural areas for future generations.

Please come to the Forum on August 21st—and to each of the following Forums. We encourage you to bring your friends, families and neighbors. The future of our community is at stake!

Best wishes to you!

Gary A. Patton, Executive Director
LandWatch Monterey County
Box 1876, Salinas, CA 93902
Email:
Website: www.landwatch.org
Telephone: 831-422-9390
FAX: 831-422-9391

The “Community GPU” Schedule of Public Forums

Date, Time, and Place

Topics To Be Covered

Saturday, August 21, 2004
9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Prunedale Grange
17890 Moro Road
Prunedale, CA

What is a General Plan?

Brief History of the County GPU Process
Developing A “Community GPU”
Identifying Issues for the “Community GPU”

Tuesday, September 14, 2004
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
(Please note this date has changed from the original date of the 16th)

Faith Hall - Sanctuary Bible Church
8340 Carmel Valley Road
Carmel Valley, CA

The Land Use Element and the Housing Element

How much land for development?
How to achieve genuinely affordable housing?
Where should new growth go?

Thursday, September 30, 2004
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Salinas Community Center
Santa Lucia Room
940 North Main Street
Salinas, CA

The Conservation, Open Space and Safety Elements

How best to protect agricultural land and support the agricultural industry?
What special natural areas should be protected?
What can we do to minimize flood danger?

Thursday, October 14, 2004
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

TBD – King City (or Greenfield)
King City (Or Greenfield), CA

The Circulation and Noise Elements

How can we stop making gridlock worse?
Who pays for new roads?
Sound walls? – or not?

Saturday, October 30, 2004
9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Location TBD – Seaside
Seaside, CA

A Possible “Administration Element”

Review and Wrap-Up

Local Community Organizations Sponsoring The “Community GPU” Forums: