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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 November 10, 2003 to November 14, 2003
- Monday,
November 10, 2003 – State Legislation on Land Use Reform
- Tuesday,
November 11, 2003 – CSAC and Legislation
- Wednesday,
November 12, 2003 – The League of Cities and Land Use
- Thursday,
November 13, 2003 – The PVWMA Water Importation Plan
- Friday,
November 14, 2003 – Big Sur Multi-Agency Meeting
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,
November 10, 2003 – State Legislation on Land Use Reform
On Friday, I mentioned that last year’s passage of Assembly
Bill 857 could have a dramatic impact on the future growth and development
of California. The bill was sponsored by the California Futures
Network, and was authored by Assembly Member Patricia Wiggins, from
Napa and Sonoma County.
The
California Futures Network is an alliance of business, labor, social
justice, and environmental groups that is trying to bring some much-needed
reform to California’s system of land use regulation. AB 857
focuses on infrastructure, as one of the key components of growth,
and seeks to make sure that future infrastructure investments don’t
actually stimulate urban sprawl.
In
simple terms, AB 857 establishes three state planning priorities.
First, to promote infill development. Second, to protect environmental
and agricultural resources. Third, to encourage efficient development
patterns by ensuring that any infrastructure associated with development
that is not infill will be built adjacent to existing developed
areas.
The
power of the bill is a requirement that “every officer, agency,
department, or instrumentality of state government … ensure
that their entity's … functional plan is consistent” with
these three state planning priorities. Properly implemented, AB
857 will chart a new course for California.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
California
Futures Network
http://www.calfutures.org/
Text
of AB 857
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/01-02/bill/asm/ab_0851-0900/ab_857_bill_20020928_chaptered.html
Tuesday,
November 11, 2003 – CSAC and Legislation
Next week, the California State Association of Counties (or CSAC)
will be meeting in Monterey. County Supervisors from all 58 California
counties are likely to be eating dinner on Cannery Row, and strolling
along Alvarado Street, when they’re not attending meetings
at the Monterey Conference Center. Speaking to CSAC this year will
be local hero Leon Panetta, and state political pundit, and newspaper
columnist Dan Walters.
CSAC
is quite active on growth and planning issues in the State Capitol,
and has a number of lobbyists hard at work. If you click on the
Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org, you can find out about CSAC’s
legislative priorities. They include the following in the areas
of transportation, land use, and housing:
ß
Support for dedicated transportation funding, to allow local governments
to meet transportation needs.
ß
Implementation of AB 857’s infrastructure policies (mentioned
yesterday on the Land Use Report). And…
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Continued work on housing element reform and efforts to improve
the availability of affordable housing in California.
County
Supervisors are pretty approachable. If you’re interested in
land use policy, ask your own Supervisor to get active on the state
level, through CSAC, in support of the planning policies you prefer.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
California
State Association of Counties
http://www.csac.counties.org/
CSAC
Annual Meeting in Monterey
http://www.csac.counties.org/services/annual_meeting/index.html
CSAC
Planning Priorities
http://www.csac.counties.org/legislation/legislative_priorities/
state_legislative_priorities.html
Wednesday,
November 12, 2003 – The League of Cities and Land Use
There are 58 California counties. There are 478 incorporated cities.
Local government in California is predominantly city government.
Since good planning principles direct growth into existing urban
areas, it’s quite appropriate that local governmental institutions
(cities) should be there to meet the challenge. In fact, the number
of cities is growing. Fifteen new cities have been created since
1989.
Just
as County Supervisors have an organization to represent them, City
Council Members have the League of California Cities. Just like
the California State Association of Counties, the League of Cities
has an active program of legislative advocacy. The League of Cities,
though, does something that the Association of Counties doesn’t.
The League has developed what might be called a “think tank”
on local government issues. It’s called the Institute for Local
Self Government, and I’ve included a reference to its website
in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report. If you visit
the website, you’ll find references to all of the following
publications:
- The
California Inclusionary Housing Reader
- A
Report on the Fiscal Conditions of California Cities
- A
Local Official’s Guide to Ethics Laws
- The
Basics of Takings Law, and…
- The
Farmland Protection Action Guide
Find
out how to order these important books at www.kusp.org.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
City
Facts
http://www.cacities.org/doc.asp?id=53
League
of Cities Legislative Priorities
http://www.cacities.org/doc.asp?id=6376
Institute
For Local Self Government
http://www.ilsg.org/
Thursday,
November 13, 2003 – The PVWMA Water Importation Plan
On October 29th, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation held a public
hearing to receive comments on a proposed water importation project.
The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency is planning to build a
pipeline, to import water from the Central Valley. Even if you missed
the hearing, you still have a chance to get involved.
Environmental
review for the proposed pipeline project is being carried out under
the National Environmental Policy Act (or NEPA). This is the federal
equivalent to the California Environmental Quality Act (or CEQA).
Both laws make clear that decision makers need to have all the environmental
facts, before making a decision, and both laws require decision
makers to respond to any substantive comments received. You can
get more information on the process at the KUSP website, www.kusp.org.
Importing
water into the Pajaro Basin is the solution that the local agency
has chosen best to respond to a very real overdraft crisis. Where
that water is going to come from, and where it goes, is the essence
of the environmental inquiry. Will importing water from the Central
Valley have an adverse impact on the already imperiled fisheries
of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta? And, once the water’s
here, will it really solve overdraft problems, or just spur more
growth?
These
are very good questions, indeed.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Pajaro
Valley Water Management Agency
http://www.pvwma.dst.ca.us/home.htm
Bureau
of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region Website
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/
Fact
Sheet on PVWMA DEIS
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/
[Click on South-Central California Area]
For
more information contact Lynne Silva at 559-487-5807 or Charles
McNiesh at 831-722-9292
Friday,
November 14, 2003 – Big Sur Multi-Agency Meeting
My calendar shows a meeting this morning of the Big Sur Multi-Agency
Advisory Council. Their meetings begin at 10:00 a.m., and often
run past noon. The meeting is open to the public, but you’ll
need to get down to the Pfeiffer Big Sur Lodge Conference Center,
in the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.
This
is a meeting you just can’t help but like, because it’s
as full of diversity as a Christmas fruitcake. Here’s who’s
involved: the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, the Monterey County Planning
and Building Inspection Department, the Coast Property Owners’
Association, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, the
California Coastal Commission, CALTRANS, the State Department of
Parks and Recreation, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary,
the United States Forest Service, County Supervisor Dave Potter,
Congress Member Sam Farr, State Senator Bruce McPherson, and Assembly
Member John Laird.
That’s
just a partial list. The residents of Big Sur play a predominant
role. Every issue that could be an issue is an issue at this meeting:
garbage service, potholes, property rights, and affordable housing.
That’s just a partial list.
Big
Sur doesn’t have its own city council, and this meeting is
real local self-government in the town hall tradition. And if you
think that all the land use issues have been decided, think again!
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
For
the latest word on the Big Sur Multi-Agency Meeting, contact Supervisor
Dave Potter at: (831) 647-7755.
Archives
of past transcripts are available here
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