|
KUSP 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 August 25, 2003 to August 29, 2003
- Monday,
August 25, 2003 – Salinas Affordable Housing Study
- Tuesday,
August 26, 2003 – Coastal Erosion / Desalination
- Wednesday,
August 27, 2003 – SLO / Seaside / Greenfield
- Thursday,
August 28, 2003 – Marina Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
- Friday,
August 29, 2003 – Rancho San Juan Field Trip
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,
August 25, 2003 – Salinas Affordable Housing Study
Tomorrow
night, at 7:30 p.m., the Salinas City Council will hold a joint
study session with the Salinas Planning Commission. The meeting
will be held in the Santa Lucia Room of the Salinas Community Center,
940 North Main Street, in Salinas. By all accounts, this is going
to be a very well-attended meeting, and I’d advise an early
arrival, if you’d like to get a seat.
Of
course, maybe I should tell you what the meeting is all about. It’s
all about housing, and specifically about the feasibility of increasing
the amount of affordable housing in new development projects in
Salinas. At the meeting tomorrow, the City Council and the Planning
Commission will review a study prepared by Bay Area Economics, a
well-respected firm with an expertise in the economic and financial
impacts of land use, growth, housing, and development decisions.
The
study indicates that it would be feasible for Salinas to require
developers to make 40% of the new housing in their developments
affordable to persons with very low, low, and moderate incomes.
In other words, developers can still make money, even with that
40% affordable housing requirement. For comparison purposes, Santa
Cruz County currently requires a 15% inclusionary requirement. This
is a big deal.
If
you’d like more information, click on the Land Use Report link
at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
City
of Salinas Website
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/
Agenda
for August 26, 2003 Meeting
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CCouncil/CCminutes/CCmin/CCag.html
To
find out how to participate contact Lupe Garcia
831-422-9390, Ext. 13; email
Tuesday,
August 26, 2003 – Coastal Erosion / Desalination
The land use decisions that so profoundly affect our future affect
not only the land, but coastal and marine resources as well. Regular
Morning Edition listeners hear that refrain from Captain Steph Dutton,
and from yours truly, on a pretty regular basis.
It’s
also true that the ocean affects the land, and in lots of different
ways. Our agricultural industry is probably based more on our local
climate than on the land per se, and our climate is largely determined
by the waters of the Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean, which give
us those cooling fogs and winds. More directly, of course, water
in motion, when it meets the coast, tends to take those lands right
out from under us.
West
Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, and East Cliff Drive in Live Oak, bear
witness to the erosive qualities of water in motion. Monterey County
residents can learn a bit more about coastal erosion tomorrow afternoon,
from 4:00 to 6:00 o’clock, at the Monterey City Hall. The Monterey
City Council will be holding a study session on this very important
topic.
And
to repeat a couple of other announcements, a state government desalination
task force is meeting today at the Monterey Beach Hotel in Seaside.
Tonight, there’s that very important affordable housing meeting
in Salinas. Get more information at www.kusp.org.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Monterey
City Website
http://www.monterey.org/
Agenda,
Monterey City Council Meeting
http://www.monterey.org/ccncl/agendas/2003/a030827ss.pdf
City
of Salinas Website
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/
Agenda
for August 26, 2003 Meeting
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CCouncil/CCminutes/CCmin/CCag.html
To
find out how to participate contact Lupe Garcia – 831-422-9390,
Ext. 13;
Coastal
Commission Desalination Report
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/energy/Th9b-8-2003.pdf
For
more information on the August 26th and August 27th meeting on
desalination contact:
Tom
Luster
California Coastal Commission
Email: tluster@coastal.ca.gov
Telephone: 415-904-5200
Wednesday,
August 27, 2003 – SLO / Seaside / Greenfield
KUSP Radio covers the Central Coast, and that very definitely includes
the northern part of San Luis Obispo County. Listeners there tune
in through KBDH, at 91.7 on the fm dial. If you want information
about land use and environmental issues in San Luis Obispo County,
please click on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org for some
references that might be of help.
And…consider
marking your calendar for a meeting tomorrow, beginning at 8:45
a.m. at the San Luis Obispo County Governmental Center. Thanks to
Environment in the Public Interest, based in San Luis Obispo, I
can tell you that a number of important land use items are going
to be heard by the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission at
their meeting on Thursday.
Further
north, there is an important Planning Commission meeting in the
City of Seaside, and that’s this evening. At 7:00 o’clock,
at the Seaside City Hall, the Seaside Planning Commission will take
public comments on a proposed new General Plan. The General Plan
adopted by any local community will have an extremely large impact
on the future of that community. For Seaside residents, the time
to get involved is now.
That’s
true for the residents of Greenfield, too. The Greenfield City Council
will be holding a public hearing on its proposed new General Plan,
tomorrow evening at 6:30. Find out more at the KUSP website.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
San
Luis Obispo County Website
http://www.co.slo.ca.us/
Land
Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County
http://www.special-places.org/
Coastal
San Luis Resource Conservation District
http://www.coastalrcd.org/
Environmental
Center of San Luis Obispo County
http://www.ecoslo.org/
Greenspace
– The Cambria Land Trust
http://www.greenspacecambria.org
SLO
Organization Guide
http://www.sloguide.org/index.cgi
Environment
in the Public Interest – Phone: 805-781-9932; FAX: 805-781-9384;
Email: grhensley@aol.com
Seaside
City Website
http://bbs.ci.seaside.ca.us/
Seaside
General Plan Information
http://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/general%20plan/gp.htm
City
of Greenfield Website
http://www.greenfield-ca.com/
Thursday,
August 28, 2003 – Marina Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
The City of Marina is often called the “Gateway to the Monterey
Peninsula.” That has often meant that you pass through Marina,
on the way to where you really want to go. Somewhat surprisingly,
however, this small city has been doing some rather innovative planning,
and the future of Marina may be quite different from its past. Some
pretty exciting things are going on in Marina.
In
terms of citizen participation, the City of Marina is the only city
in Monterey County with a voter-approved Urban Growth Boundary.
Measure E, adopted by the voters in November 2000, has steered the
future growth of Marina into its existing city limits, and has specifically
focused new growth onto the lands of the former Fort Ord. Stopping
sprawl is just one good thing that has happened in Marina.
The
city is also attempting to design its new growth to reflect the
very best urban planning concepts. From 6:30 to 8:00 o’clock
tonight, the Marina Planning Commission will hold a study session
to review a proposed Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan for Marina.
Dan Burden, a nationally-known expert, will be presenting his innovative
design and policy recommendations. This is a great opportunity to
witness the results of some “state of the art” urban planning.
It’s also the time to provide some final public input, before
the final draft document goes to the City Council for possible adoption.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
City
of Marina Website
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/
Planning
Commission Agenda
http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/planning/new2003/PC20030828.agd.htm
Friday,
August 29, 2003 – Rancho San Juan Field Trip
Here’s a chance to take a trip. No cost. Nothing you need to
contribute but your time. And the trip might be illuminating.
Next
Wednesday, September 3rd, the Monterey County Planning and Building
Department is proposing to conduct a field trip to the proposed
Rancho San Juan development. The field trip is scheduled to leave
from the Monterey County Governmental Center, which is located in
Salinas, at about 10:00 o’clock in the morning next Wednesday.
It would actually be best to confirm the details with county staff.
You can find out how to do that by clicking on the Land Use Report
link at www.kusp.org.
The
proposed Rancho San Juan development is certainly the largest development
proposal in Monterey County in the last twenty years. Though it’s
close to Salinas, it’s not, really, an example of the “city-centered”
growth that is advocated in the County’s draft General Plan.
So, it’s controversial. Very significant traffic and water
issues are raised by the proposal, and the development is strongly
opposed by the City of Salinas, which does advocate the “city-centered”
growth idea. Salinas would see an approval of the Rancho San Juan
development as a kind of county-approved sprawl.
This
very important development proposal will soon be heading into the
public hearing and environmental review stage. If you’d like
to get involved, taking a field trip to the site might be a good
way to begin.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Monterey
County Planning Department
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/
Rancho
San Juan Specific Plan Main Page
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/major/rsj/rsj_main.htm
Rancho
San Juan Specific Plan Text
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/major/rsj/rsj_draft_main.htm
Information
on the field trip from Bob Schubert – Telephone: 831-883-7522;
Email: schubertbj@co.monterey.ca.us
Archives
of past transcripts are available here
|
