The Land Use Report

Tuesday, August 4, 2015 The Santa Cruz City Council is meeting this evening, at 7:00 p.m., in what is billed as a “Study Session.” I think this might be an important meeting for city residents to attend. Agenda Item #6 is a Public Hearing to consider the so-called “Corridor Planning Process and Rezoning.” There is a link to the staff report at kusp.org/landuse. Other links are there, too. Check out those links to see if you’d be interested in getting a bit more engaged by attending the meeting tonight. As I read the staff report, the Council will be reviewing how General Plan policies adopted in July 2012 will affect land uses along Soquel Avenue, Water Street, Ocean Street, and Mission Street. The General Plan calls for the intensification of development along these corridors, the idea being to reduce auto dependency, and to stimulate higher-density infill development. In short, building heights will increase along these corridors. Higher density residential developments and mixed-use developments will be encouraged. Probably, setbacks from the sidewalk will be largely eliminated. The new Palo Alto Medical Clinic building, on Mission Street, is probably a good example of the scale and general character of what will become a common type of development along the corridors. The proposed changes are significant. Now would be a good time to get involved! More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog August 4, 2015 City Council Study Session Agenda Corridor Planning Agenda Report Existing Conditions And Site Assessment Report Update Schedule

Monday, August 3, 2015 Housing activists are urging those who care about affordable housing to show up at tomorrow’s meeting of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. The Board meeting begins at 9:00 a.m., and Agenda Item #70 is a public hearing on the County’s proposed Housing Element Update, which will govern housing-related decisions during the period from 2015 to 2023. Agenda Item #69 is the Board’s consideration of a referendum petition, seeking repeal of an ordinance banning the cultivation of medical marijuana, adopted by the Board last April. Last week, I predicted we’d be hearing about medical marijuana when the Santa Cruz County Board got back from its summer break, and this item proves that my prediction was correct. Whatever your position on the cultivation of marijuana in Santa Cruz County, I hope you agree that it’s good to have a referendum process option, guaranteed by the California Constitution, to allow the people to get involved in policy making directly, when they think their elected officials have made a mistake. In this case, a group calling itself “Responsible Cultivation Santa Cruz” thought that the Board’s ban on the commercial growing of marijuana was not well thought out. The group collected enough signatures to put the measure to a public vote, but the Board can, as an alternative, simply revoke its earlier action. That, in fact, is what is being recommended! Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors August 4, 2015 Agenda Agenda Item #70 – Draft Housing Element Agenda Item #69 – Marijuana Cultivation Referendum May 18, 2015 Article on Referendum Measure Press Release From Referendum Sponsors Responsible Cultivation Santa Cruz Website

Friday, February 6, 2015 Not everyone plans ahead, though most of us realize that planning ahead is probably a pretty good thing to do, for the most part. Planning our land use future is a “planning ahead” kind of endeavor. In this arena of human activity, as frequent listeners know, I really do believe that trying to make good plans, ahead of time, is a worthwhile effort. Of course, where land use planning is concerned, having a plan and following a plan are two different things. If you don’t actually follow your plan, the plan isn’t worth much, and in many cases, elected Boards of Supervisors and City Councils adopt long range plans of various kinds but then allow landowners and developers to submit projects that are flatly inconsistent with the adopted plans. The Board or the City Council then approves an “amendment” to the plan, along with the project approval, meaning that all the time and money spent on planning is rendered useless. I wrote a book about this once, and thanks to LandWatch Monterey County, it’s still in print, at a most reasonable price. It’s free. Check the link at kusp.org/landuse. If you would like to plan ahead for some upcoming items of interest on the Coastal Commission’s agenda, items that affect our region, you can find links to those, too. The Commission meets next week in Pismo Beach, and proposed revisions to the Seacliff Village Plan are on the agenda on Wednesday, February 11th. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Land Use And The General Plan Coastal Commission Agenda Seacliff Village Plan Staff Report

Thursday, February 5, 2015 You may remember my mention of a Santa Cruz County “Unified Corridors” Plan being developed under the direction of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission. I want to let you know that the Commission is meeting this morning, in Watsonville, starting at 9:00 o’clock. As always, you are cordially invited to crash the party, and to see what your locally elected officials are doing. You can even tell them what you think! The Brown Act, mentioned on Monday, requires them to let you have your say! Meetings of the Transportation Commission are a particularly good way to catch up with the elected officials of Santa Cruz County, since every City in the County has a member representative on the Commission, and all members of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors are members. The agenda for today’s meeting is extensive, but I do think that Agenda Item #19, on the Unified Corridors Plan, will probably be of most interest to KUSP listeners. For one thing, the Commission is being asked to authorize the expenditure of about a quarter of a million dollars to hire consultants to work on this plan. Track down the link at kusp.org/landuse, if you’d like to learn more about what this rather sizable expenditure is supposed to get us. Basically, it’s supposed to get us a “model” that will then allow the Commission to analyze the multimodal transportation projects that will most improve the local transportation system. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog SCCRTC February 5, 2015 Agenda

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 Water supply issues are of preeminent importance throughout the Monterey Bay Region. If you live in the San Lorenzo Valley, you are not exempt from the need to be concerned about where your next drink of water is going to come from. Lots of water flows down the river, and Valley residents might think that they aren’t going to have quite as much of a problem with future water supply as some of the more urban communities located near the coast. That is not necessarily so! I certainly urge residents of the San Lorenzo Valley to get engaged on water supply issues. To that end, you might want to attend a “Meet And Greet” meeting with the New Board and District Manager of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District. The composition of the District’s Board of Directors has changed, with the election in November, and changes affecting water service, and the costs of water service, are in the offing. Tonight, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., there is a no-host gathering at the Oak Tree Ristorante, on Highway 9 in Felton. The notice of the meeting tells more about the menu than the topics to be talked about (and I must say the menu looks good). It is my bet that if you have questions and concerns about your current, or future water service, this would be a good gathering to go to. The District Board has a regular meeting tomorrow, too. I have links to the “Meet And Greet” invitation, and to the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting, and to the website of the Felton FLOW community group, in today’s Land Use Report blog. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Invitation to February 4, 2015 Event SLVWD Website Felton FLOW Website Agenda, February 5, 2015 SLVWD Board Meeting

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 As I mentioned yesterday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will receive a presentation this afternoon on proposed Regional Urban Design Guidelines for future development on the former Fort Ord. If you aren’t able conveniently to attend the Board meeting in Salinas this afternoon, it might be more convenient for you to attend this evening’s meeting of the Monterey City Council. That City Council will also be receiving a presentation on these proposed Regional Urban Design Guidelines. I have a link to a City Council staff report in today’s Land Use Report blog. The Fort Ord Base Reuse Plan requires the preparation of Regional Urban Design Guidelines for the redevelopment of the former Fort Ord, and these Guidelines are supposed to establish a framework for road design, setbacks, building height, landscaping, signage and other matters of visual importance. If you have any quibbles about the visual impact of the shopping center project that was built on Fort Ord lands right next to Highway One in Marina, you could well be interested in whether or not the proposed Guidelines will allow such developments in the future. The City staff report notes that work on the Guidelines has been delayed. Today, Dover Kohl and Partners, Town Planners will discuss the current status of the project. Those who care about the future of Fort Ord, and the scenic Highway One corridor, should attend one or both of these presentations. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Monterey City Council Agenda – February 3, 2015 Monterey City Council Staff Report on Fort Ord Guidelines

Monday, February 2, 2015 Boards of Supervisors meet on Tuesdays, but not necessarily every Tuesday. Tomorrow, for instance, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will not be in session. Not unless some sort of emergency demands that the Board call a Special Meeting. The rules governing when meetings are held, and how they must be advertised, are found in the Ralph M. Brown Act. Serious meeting goers should take a look at that law, either by confronting the raw statute, or by reviewing some of the publications that set out the basic rules in terms that a layperson is likely to understand. If you are of a mind to study up on the public’s right to attend and participate in the meetings of local government agencies, check out the links in today’s Land Use Report blog. Monterey County residents should know that their Board of Supervisors is meeting tomorrow. There is a link to the agenda at kusp.org/landuse. At 1:30 in the afternoon, the Board will hear a presentation on Regional Urban Design Guidelines for development on the former Fort Ord. The Board is probably also going to approve a proposed California Flats Solar Project, industrializing about 3,000 acres of land in the southeastern corner of Monterey County, approximately seven miles southeast of Parkfield. Those having a craving for some discussion of land use policy can satisfy that craving tomorrow in Salinas. More Information Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Monterey County Board Agenda Website California Government Code – Ralph M. Brown Act Brown Act Primer – First Amendment Coalition League of Cities Guide To The Brown Act

Friday, January 30, 2015 Once in a while I present items here on the Land Use Report that are mostly of interest to land use “professionals.” My main objective in presenting the Land Use Report, of course, is not to speak to “professionals,” but to stimulate more general public engagement in land use issues of various kinds. Land use policy and project decisions have a big impact on our future, and you don’t have to be a “professional” to understand what’s going on, and to make a real difference with respect to local government land use decisions. But let’s not discount the role that “professionals” play. Planners, consultants, lawyers, and others are engaged in land use policy and project matters as their “job.” Particularly when we think of local government planning staff, we all have a stake in making sure that planning professionals are well educated and up to date on the latest information in their field. To that end, let me alert planning “professionals,” and others in the audience, that the Central Coast Joint Data Committee is promoting a course at Monterey Peninsula College. A link to information about the course on can be found at kusp.org/landuse. The course is called “GIS, GPS and Cartography,” and it’s being offered during Spring Quarter. Who knows, maybe even some “non-professional” listeners might be interested in learning how to do sophisticated mapping using modern technology! More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Course Description and Registration Central Coast Joint Data Committee Monterey Peninsula College MPC Course Catalogue Course Information – OCEN 10

Thursday, January 29, 2015 I follow local government and land use issues around the Monterey Bay, but I also pay attention to what is going on elsewhere. Today, let me report on a rule recently adopted by the Palo Alto City Council. I think that the Palo Alto City Council has a good idea. Residents in the Monterey Bay Region might want to ask their own elected representatives to adopt a similar rule. As listeners probably know, the Ralph M. Brown Act requires that all local government decision making take place in public. That requirement is critically important, if we want citizens to know what their government is actually doing. The Brown Act, however, does have some exceptions, and Boards and Councils are allowed to go into “closed sessions,” where the public is excluded, to address litigation, property negotiations, and personnel matters. A listing of what will be discussed is placed on the agenda for the public to see Just because local governments “may” go into closed sessions, however, doesn’t mean that they have to, or even that they should. In Palo Alto, a new rule requires an official vote of the Council before the Council goes into a closed session. That means that a decision to exclude the public is, itself, a matter for public discussion and decision. It’s not taken for granted. Check out the link in today’s Land Use Report blog, at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Ralph M. Brown Act League of Cities Guide to the Brown Act Palo Alto Online – Article on New Closed Session Rules

Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Transportation Agency For Monterey County is scheduled to meet this morning. TAMC, as it is best known, will be meeting in the Agricultural Center Conference Room, located at 1428 Abbott Street in Salinas. On the agenda will be a ceremony, at 9:30, recognizing the Monterey County Mobility Coalition, which will be receiving TAMC’s 2015 Transportation Excellence Award. LandWatch Monterey County, which obviously focuses on land use issues, was part of that Mobility Coalition. That is another demonstration, I think, of how closely transportation and land use issues are intertwined. This evening, I have another meeting to recommend. The City of Watsonville is sponsoring a free event to inform residents and other interested persons about the regulations that govern cell towers. Cell towers are often controversial, and local governments have the right to say “yes” or “no” to applications to build cell towers. Local government powers are limited by regulations issued by the Federal Communications Commission (or FCC), but it’s not true, as some people think, that local governments don’t have any powers at all. If you want to learn more about cell tower regulations, the meting this evening is from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., on the fourth floor of the Watsonville Civic Plaza, in Community Rooms A and B. I think this will be an informative meeting. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog TAMC Website

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 The City of Santa Cruz City Council meets this afternoon and this evening. Customers of the City’s Water Department might want to check out the agenda, and many of these customers live outside City limits. If you live in Pasatiempo, or Live Oak, or even in parts of the City of Capitola, you get your water from the City of Santa Cruz. Out of City customers can’t vote on the people who make the decisions, but they are bound by the decisions nonetheless Tomorrow, at 7:00 p.m., after a public hearing on increased garbage collection fees (those are called “resource recovery” fees, nowadays), the Council is going to receive a report from its Water Supply Advisory Committee. This group was set up by the Council to reassess the City’s plans about how best to provide a reliable and adequate water supply, going forward. In setting up this advisory group, the Council specifically said it wanted to “reset” the discussion about future water supply options, since the one and only plan that had been pursued by the City Water Department was a proposed desalination project, a project that was hugely costly, environmentally damaging, and fiercely opposed by many in the community. Today’s blog has a link to a 164-page report on water supply options. You can find that link at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Santa Cruz City Council Agenda – January 27, 2015 WSAC Phase #1 Report

Monday, January 26, 2015 Boards of Supervisors meet on Tuesdays. I have checked the agendas of both the Monterey County and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, and I can report that tomorrow there are land use items on both agendas. Not too much is happening in Monterey County, but there is going to be a hearing on traffic volumes on Carmel Valley Road. Lots of people care about that. In Santa Cruz County, the Board will be taking action on a number of land use issues. Agenda Item #47 is about vacation rentals. Again, the discussion tomorrow is taking place before the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Vacation rentals are an important issue on both sides of the Bay. Item #48 is a hearing on proposed changes to the County’s affordable housing rules. The hearing is scheduled, and you can talk, but the County Administrative Officer wants the Board to delay any action until February 10th. Affordable housing advocates are afraid that the County might scrap the requirement that affordable housing actually be built, as market rate units are developed. At 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, the Board will discuss regulations governing the growing of medical marijuana. If you’d like to get a feeling for other topics, look through Consent Agenda Items #30 to #44. Lots of land use items appear on that Consent Agenda. Get links to the agendas at kusp.org/landuse. More Information Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Santa Cruz County Board Agenda – January 27, 2015 Monterey County Board Agenda Website Agenda Item #47 – Vacation Rentals Agenda Item #48 – Affordable Housing

Friday, January 23, 2015 LandWatch Monterey County and the Highway 68 Coalition have filed lawsuits challenging the approval of the Ferrini Ranch development by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. As approved, the project would create 185 new homesites along Highway 68. Retiring Supervisor Lou Calcagno cast the deciding vote, in one of his last official decisions. The lawsuits claim a violation of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. CEQA doesn’t mandate any particular decision when a development project is considered, but it does require a fully adequate analysis of all of the impacts of a proposed project. That kind of analysis did not occur, according to LandWatch and the Highway 68 Coalition. In a non-CEQA challenge, LandWatch also charges that the development is in direct violation of General Plan requirements relating to proof of water. The challengers will have the burden of proof, and the courts will “defer” to the Board’s decision, if there is “any” substantial evidence that the Board complied with the law. These lawsuits are not automatic winners. The County should be advised though, that if they do lose, the County may end up paying the attorneys’ fees of the challengers. Recent reports say that the County has to pay LandWatch over $400,000 in connection with an earlier lawsuit on the County General Plan. More Information:  Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Gary Patton’s Blog on “Deference” Planning Department Information on Ferrini Ranch LandWatch Website LandWatch Litigation on Ferrini Ranch LandWatch Web Page on Ferrini Ranch News Article on Ferrini Ranch Monterey Bay Partisan on Ferrini Ranch Lawsuits

Thursday, January 22, 2015 Good morning! This is Day Two of some remarks about litigation and land use. As I said yesterday, public participation, not litigation, is the best way to get the land use decisions you want. Promoting public participation, of course, is the “unhidden agenda” of the Land Use Report. Land use decisions have a big impact on our future, and becoming personally involved is your best way to have an impact on land use policy and project decisions. That said, let’s not discount the importance of land use litigation. Litigation can play an incredibly important role in making sure that governmental land use decisions represent the public interest. I decided to talk about litigation and land use when I found out that two different lawsuits have been filed, challenging the recent approval of the Ferrini Ranch development by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Both LandWatch Monterey County and the Highway 68 Coalition have filed lawsuits against this development approval, but those who have been following the debate will remember that both groups have gone to court not as their first response to what they think is a bad project approval, but as a last resort. That’s the right way to do it, and in fact, the courts actually require project opponents to have “exhausted their administrative remedies” before they come to court. Tomorrow, I’ll comment on the claims made in the lawsuits. More Information:  Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Gary Patton’s Blog on “Deference” Planning Department Information on Ferrini Ranch LandWatch Website LandWatch Litigation on Ferrini Ranch LandWatch Web Page on Ferrini Ranch News Article on Ferrini Ranch Monterey Bay Partisan on Ferrini Ranch Lawsuits

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 When not recording the Land Use Report, I am an environmental attorney (and I also teach in the Legal Studies Program at the University of California at Santa Cruz). Because I am an actively practicing lawyer, I suspect that many people might assume that I am an enthusiastic promoter of litigation, as the best way to address land use policy and project matters. Actually, that’s not true! Today, tomorrow, and Friday I am going to make specific reference to recently concluded and recently initiated litigation in Monterey County, but I want to lead off with an observation that may be surprising to some listeners. Our system of government discourages the use of the courts to make important land use policy decisions. On any substantive issue, the courts are supposed to “defer” to the land use decisions of elected officials and governmental agencies if there is “any” substantial evidence that would uphold the decision made by the government. Judges do NOT substitute their judgment for the judgment exercised by elected officials. Even if there is overwhelming evidence that a development would have adverse impacts, as an example, the courts will allow the development to go forward if there is “any” substantial evidence that would justify a decision in favor of the development. Public participation, in other words, not litigation, is the best way to get the land use decisions you want! More Information:  Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Gary Patton’s Blog on “Deference”