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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 August 12, 2002 to August 16, 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,
August 12th - Big Week For Planning Decisions
This coming week is a great week for those who follow land use issues.
At least it is in Monterey County. On Wednesday afternoon, and all
day on Thursday and Friday, the Monterey County Planning Commission
will consider proposals to change land use designations throughout
Monterey County. Over 270 requests have come in from property owners
who are asking the county to allow development of lands that are
now designated for agricultural or open space use.
On
Wednesday afternoon, the Salinas Planning Commission will hold the
first public hearing on a proposed revision of the Salinas General
Plan, including a hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Report
prepared on the Plan.
On
Thursday evening, the Pajaro Community Advisory Committee will consider
its recommendation on a proposed new “peaker” power plant
in Pajaro.
During
this week, I’ll provide an expanded description of what’s
at stake in some of these meetings. Suffice it to say that planning
issues are not taking a summer vacation in Monterey County. It would
be hard to overstate the importance of the decisions that will come
out of the hearings being held this week.
If
you’d like more information, please check the KUSP website,
at www.kusp.org. There’s a Land Use Report link at the bottom
of the main page. You can also send me an email, to make a comment
or suggestion.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Monterey County Property Owner Requests - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Salinas General Plan Update - http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CommDev/GenPlan/GPDraft.html
Redevelopment Home Page - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/housing/Default.htm
Tuesday,
August 13th - The Salinas General Plan
Tomorrow afternoon, that’s Wednesday, August 14th, the Salinas
Planning Commission will hold its first public hearing on the proposed
Salinas General Plan Update. The City Planning Commission meets
at the Salinas City Hall, 200 Lincoln Street. The meeting begins
at 3:30 p.m.
One
of the big issues in the Salinas General Plan Update is housing.
Most of the people who live and work in Salinas can’t afford
to purchase the homes that are being built there. As Salinas plans
for the next twenty years, is there a way to do better? That’s
got to be one of the most important issues in the General Plan Update
process.
The
Draft General Plan proposes the conversion of about 4,000 acres
of agricultural and open space land. Of that, some 1,700 acres are
proposed for residential development. Of those 1,700 acres, over
1,000 acres, by far the greatest share, are designated for low-density
residential subdivisions. That means, in essence, that most of the
new homes to be built in the next twenty years will not be affordable
to persons who live in or work in Salinas. That kind of housing
will be attractive, instead, to commuters from the Silicon Valley.
Whether this is the best strategy for the future of the City is
what will be decided by the final decisions on the new General Plan.
Now
would be a very good time for you to make your thoughts known. The
first hearing is tomorrow.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Salinas General Plan Update - http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CommDev/GenPlan/GPDraft.html
LandWatch Letter on DEIR - http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/salinasgp/073102salinascom.html
Wednesday,
August 14th – The County General Plan Amendment Process
Today, at 1:30 p.m., the Monterey County Planning Commission will
begin a set of hearings that will continue through this Friday afternoon.
They’re important.
Listeners
probably know that the County is in the process of revising its
General Plan. Simultaneously, however, while this comprehensive
planning process is going forward, individual property owners are
asking the County to redesignate their properties on a case-by-case
basis. Over 270 individual property owner requests are pending.
These requests are what the Planning Commission will be reviewing
this afternoon, and then on Thursday and Friday.
Thousands
of acres, currently in agricultural and open space use, would be
converted to residential subdivisions and shopping centers, if the
County says “yes” to what the property owners are asking.
It would be hard to overstate the importance of what’s being
decided in this upcoming set of hearings.
Today,
the Planning Commission considers requests in the Big Sur, Carmel,
Monterey Peninsula, and Carmel Valley areas. Tomorrow, the focus
will be on requests from Cachagua, North County, and Toro. On Friday,
the Commission will consider requests involving properties in the
Salinas Valley.
Your
participation is most definitely welcomed. You can get detailed
information through the KUSP website, at www.kusp.org.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Monterey County Property Owner Requests - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Thursday,
August 15th – The “Community Plan” of the Líderes
Comunitarios
Yesterday, the Salinas City Planning Commission took testimony on
the Draft Salinas General Plan. One of the most important presentations
came from a group of mostly monolingual Spanish-speaking residents
who call themselves, Líderes Comunitarios de Salinas, which
means “Community Leaders of Salinas.”
These
leaders are not part of elected officialdom. They are simply residents
and workers who have become deeply involved in land use planning
issues, and who are asking the elected leaders of the City to do
something to respond to their concerns.
Their
first priority, as you might imagine, is housing. That is not, however,
their only concern. The Líderes have prepared and presented
a “Community Plan,” printed in both English and Spanish,
that makes specific recommendations in all of the following areas:
Housing For The People; Density And Design; Protecting Agricultural
Land; Schools For Our Children; Parks And Libraries; and Making
Development Pay For Itself. Here’s just a sample of what the
Líderes “Community Plan” suggests:
- Raising
the inclusionary housing percentage from the current 12% to 50%.
- Designating
more land for medium and higher density development, to make it
affordable.
- Requiring
new development to pay for itself.
To
get a copy of this rather extraordinary document, please check the
KUSP website.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Salinas General Plan Update - http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CommDev/GenPlan/GPDraft.html
“Community Plan” - http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/salinasgp/
073102communityplan.html#density
Friday,
August 16th – Key Issues In The Salinas General Plan
Next Wednesday, August 21st, starting at 3:30 in the afternoon,
the Salinas Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the proposed
Salinas General Plan. Of course, you are very much invited to attend
and participate.
Should
the City of Salinas plan for major new expressways, circling the
City? This is one of the key issues in the Draft General Plan. Should
the City convert over 4,000 acres of agricultural and open space
land to urban uses? That is another issue. Should the City impose
a new set of innovative design requirements on new development,
to try to achieve what is sometimes called “New Urbanism”?
Should the City start looking to underused shopping centers, within
the existing City, as a place for higher-density housing that could
be more affordable? And what about parks, libraries, and schools?
What about making it clearer that new development has to pay for
itself?
These
are just some of the issues involved in the Salinas General Plan
Update. I hope that listing them makes clear how important a General
Plan can be. A General Plan isn’t “forever,” but
it is expected to determine what happens over the next twenty years.
Check the Land Use Report link at the bottom of the main page, at
www.kusp.org, and consider whether
you’d like to get involved.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
Salinas General Plan Update - http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/CommDev/GenPlan/GPDraft.html
“Community Plan” - http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/salinasgp/
073102communityplan.html#density
Archives
of past transcripts are available here
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