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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 September 30, 2002 to October 4, 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,
September 30th – Great Meetings Coming Up
Self government doesn’t work unless we get involved ourselves.
So, let me give you a “heads up” on some meetings this
week.
In
King City, the City Council and Planning Commission are meeting
this evening. They will be considering a proposed “New Urbanism”
housing development. It seems the developer wants to build something
different, mixing single and multifamily buildings, and putting
various income levels all in the same neighborhood. The city is
rumored to be skeptical. You can weigh in yourself from 5:00 to
7:00 this evening, at the City Hall in King City.
Tomorrow,
October 1st, the City of Pismo Beach will consider changes to its
Mobilehome Rent Control Ordinance. The City Council meeting will
begin at 6:30 p.m. Mobilehome rent control is also on the agenda
tomorrow in the City of Marina. Currently, Marina doesn’t have
a mobilehome rent control ordinance. If you’d like the city
to enact one, maybe you should go to the meeting. A major new development
proposal for Fort Ord is also on the Marina City Council agenda.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., tomorrow, at the Marina City Hall.
There
are lots more great meetings this week, including an important meeting
tomorrow on the Monterey County General Plan Update, and a meeting
on North Monterey County water issues. I’m just running out
of time. As usual, there is more information at the KUSP website,
www.kusp.org.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
The LandWatch Website – www.landwatch.org
King City Website - http://www.kingcity.com/
Pismo Beach Website - http://www.pismobeach.org/HTML.html
Marina Website - http://www.ci.marina.ca.us/
Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/
LandWatch Comments - http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/countyplan/082802board.html
County General Plan Website - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Hearing Schedule - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/calendar/revised_propownrequest.pdf
Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency - http://www.pvwma.dst.ca.us/
Tuesday,
October 1st – More Meetings
Let me alert you to some meetings this week where land use policy
issues will be discussed and debated. Tomorrow, the Pajaro Valley
Water Management Agency will discuss North Monterey County water
issues. It’s hard to think of a topic of more importance to
North Monterey County residents. The meeting will begin at 1:30
p.m., Wednesday, at the Watsonville City Hall.
On
October 3rd, that’s Thursday, the City of Monterey General
Plan Committee will discuss key traffic issues. Major changes to
some of the main streets in Monterey are being considered, so this
should be a particularly interesting meeting. The meeting is scheduled
to run from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. this Thursday at the Monterey City
Council Chambers.
Also
on Thursday is a meeting of the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission.
That meeting will focus on the South of Laurel Area, and on the
proposed Depot Site Park. A lot of changes are being proposed for
that part of the city, so if you’d like to be heard, mark your
calendar. The meeting is set for Thursday, October 3rd, at 7:30
p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
Finally,
at 9:45 this morning, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is
expected to begin making decisions about the Monterey County General
Plan Update. It’s actually not too dramatic to say that the
whole future of Monterey County is in the balance, as these decisions
are made. You’re definitely invited to attend.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
For information on the recent poll, see the LandWatch Website –
www.landwatch.org
Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency - http://www.pvwma.dst.ca.us/
City of Monterey General Plan Committee - http://www.monterey.org/boards/genplan.html
City of Santa Cruz - http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/
Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agenda - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/suagenda/
LandWatch Comments - http://www.landwatch.org/pages/issuesactions/countyplan/082802board.html
County General Plan Website - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/
Hearing Schedule - http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/gpu/calendar/revised_propownrequest.pdf
Wednesday,
October 2nd – Groundwater in North Monterey County
In Monterey County, no one takes water for granted. In fact,
that’s true most places these days. Living within its resources
has never been easy for the human race. We push the limits. We go
beyond the limits. We like to think there aren’t any limits.
In fact, of course, the natural resources upon which we depend are
very significantly limited.
Most
of the Monterey Peninsula depends on surface water, primarily from
the Carmel River. Local water and land use agencies have been officially
informed by the State of California that the Carmel River is being
over utilized, and that withdrawals of water from the Carmel River
must be significantly reduced. That’s an order.
In
North Monterey County, groundwater is the major water source. Groundwater
can’t be seen, which makes it harder to know when over utilization
is occurring. Experts say, however, that the water basins under
North County are being emptied much faster than they’re being
recharged. Estimates of up to 200% overdraft seem to be reasonable.
Despite this overdraft, no state agency has ordered the local officials
to do anything. It’s a lot harder to regulate resources when
you can’t actually see them.
If
you’re interested in this topic, it will be discussed today
by the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. The meeting is at
1:30 p.m. at the Watsonville City Hall.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
The LandWatch Website – www.landwatch.org
Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency - http://www.pvwma.dst.ca.us/
Thursday,
October 3rd – Monterey City General Plan
The City of Monterey, like the County of Monterey, is preparing
a comprehensive revision to its General Plan. The local general
plan serves as a kind of “Constitution” for land use.
The policy decisions incorporated into the general plan govern the
future growth and development of the community. They are among the
most important decisions made by local government.
If
you’re a Monterey City resident, you have a big stake in what
the Monterey City General Plan says about the future growth and
development of your city. Since the “unhidden agenda”
of these Land Use Reports is to get more people involved in critical
land use policy decisions, might I suggest a late afternoon visit,
today, to the Monterey City Hall?
Today,
from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., the Monterey City General Plan Committee
is holding an important meeting in the City Council Chambers. The
Committee will review the draft General Plan Land Use Element. This
is the part of the General Plan that establishes just what kind
of growth will go where. The Committee will also talk about traffic
alternatives for the Del Monte/Washington intersection, and for
Lighthouse Avenue. In fact, the Committee will be setting up a whole
workshop schedule for considering changes to Lighthouse Avenue.
Final
decisions aren’t being made yet, on the Monterey City General
Plan, but now (this afternoon) would be a good time to start getting
involved.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
The LandWatch Website – www.landwatch.org
City of Monterey General Plan Committee - http://www.monterey.org/boards/genplan.html
Friday,
October 4th – AMBAG / Councils of Government
AMBAG stands for “Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.”
The AMBAG Board of Directors consists of two members from the Monterey
County Board of Supervisors, two members from the Santa Cruz County
Board of Supervisors, plus one representative from each of the cities
within Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
AMBAG
carries out various state mandated planning functions, with a particular
emphasis on demographics, transportation, and housing. I’ve
posted a web link for AMBAG at the KUSP website, which is www.kusp.org.
I’m highlighting AMBAG, today, to give you some advance notice
about an important AMBAG meeting, to be held next week. On October
9th, Wednesday, AMBAG will meet at the Marina Municipal Airport,
at 7:00 p.m. At that time, AMBAG is going to hear an appeal by Santa
Cruz County jurisdictions, which are objecting to an AMBAG decision
about housing allocations.
Under
state law, each local government must plan for its so-called “fair
share” of expected growth. AMBAG does the regional distribution.
Its latest decision says that Santa Cruz County should provide almost
as many new homes, during the next seven years, as Monterey County.
Santa Cruz County jurisdictions object. I’ll tell you more
next week.
For
KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More
Information:
The LandWatch Website – www.landwatch.org
AMBAG Website - http://www.ambag.org/bodmtgschedule.html
Archives
of past transcripts are available here
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