The Land Use Report

Friday, September 7, 2012 Developers are proposing to build a major new subdivision outside the City of Salinas, along the scenic Highway 68 corridor. The proposed development is called the Ferrini Ranch Subdivision. If you care about Highway 68 traffic, or the scenic quality of that highway, or perhaps the new fiscal demands that such unincorporated development places on hard-pressed county governments, you will probably want to get involved in the process. A Draft Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, was just released for public comment. The comment deadline is October 22nd. You can find a link at kusp.org/landuse. CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, gives members of the public an opportunity to review proposed project plans well in advance, and CEQA requires that public comments be taken seriously. Monterey County is required to provide specific responses to each and every public comment received. This is how CEQA works! It’s a three-stage process: first, a draft report on expected impacts; then, public comments; then, a response to each comment. At the end, the Board of Supervisors should have really good information on which to base its decision – but the process does depend on public involvement. The developers are proposing 212 new residential units. Your time to comment begins now.   More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog News Article on Ferrini Ranch Subdivision Environmental Review Planning Documents on Proposed Ferrini Ranch Subdivision Project Description for the Ferrini Ranch Subdivision LandWatch Monterey County Resources If you’d like to get involved, contact the Highway 68 coalition - (831) 484-6659

Thursday, September 6, 2012 Tonight, the Santa Cruz City Planning Commission will review plans for the construction of a temporary basketball arena, to be located on land owned by the Seaside Company in downtown Santa Cruz. The proposal is being “fast-tracked” by the City, which appears ready not only to allow this construction project to go forward, but also to provide $4 million dollars of the City’s “deep financial reserves” to subsidize the construction of this facility for the use of the Golden State Warriors. The owners of the Warriors are definitely in a “construction” period. They are also planning to build a basketball arena in the City of San Francisco, though that one is going to be a permanent facility, and it doesn’t appear that it will be receiving any financial subsidy from the City of San Francisco. For City residents, the financial aspects of the proposed deal may be the most important issue. It appears that the City won’t be getting the entirety of its $4 million back, so for the money that isn’t coming back, this is simply a City contribution to the Warriors’ owners, not a loan. However, the planning aspects are also worth considering. The City is saying that no Environmental Impact Report is required, on the basis that there won’t be any significant noise, traffic, air quality, or water quality impacts. There is more information in today’s Land Use Report blog. The City Council is scheduled to make a final decision next Tuesday, September 11th.   More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Sentinel Article on Warriors’ Proposal San Francisco Chronicle article on Warriors Proposal in San Francisco City Planning Commission Agenda    

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 Plans are underway to build a Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail. This is a long-term project, and will proceed according to the provisions of a “Master Plan,” which is being developed right now. Two scoping meetings will be held this week. The first will be held this evening, at 6:00 p.m., at the Louden Nelson Community Center, located at 301 Center Street in downtown Santa Cruz. The second scoping meeting will be held tomorrow, on Thursday, September 6th, at 6:00 p.m., at the offices of the Community Foundation, located at 7807 Soquel Drive in Aptos. The Master Plan will establish a continuous trail alignment and a set of design standards for a multi-use trail that will go the length of Santa Cruz county. The proposed alignment typically follows the Santa Cruz Branch Line right-of-way, and is separated into three reaches: the northern reach; the central reach; and the Watsonville reach. The majority of the proposed corridor would include construction of a new multi-use recreation trail that provides bicycle, pedestrian, wheelchair, and non‐motorized scooter travel on a paved right‐of‐way completely separated from any vehicular traffic on streets or highways. If you would like to get involved in this exciting trail project, try to attend one of the upcoming meetings. If you want to comment on the Notice of Preparation for the environmental document, the deadline is September 22nd.   More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Trail Network Master Plan Website More information is available from: ccaletti@sccrtc.org

Tuesday, September 4, 2012 The Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, will meet tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at the Capitola City Hall. If you care about water supply issues, within the water service area of the City of Santa Cruz, you may want to attend. LAFCO will soon decide whether or not the City of Santa Cruz should be allowed to extend water service, outside its current water service area, to facilitate over 3,000,000 square feet of new construction on the UCSC North Campus. Since the City is facing a genuine water supply crisis, this is not a trivial question, and LAFCO is taking it seriously. A couple of informal LAFCO committees will be reporting at tomorrow’s meeting. The final decision is scheduled for the Commission’s October meeting. That meeting will be held on October 10th, and the location of the meeting is yet to be determined. The Wittwer & Parkin law firm, with which I am associated, is representing the Community Water Coalition, which opposes the extension of water service to the UCSC North Campus unless and until it is clear that there is an adequate water supply for existing customers, and to keep fish alive in North Coast streams and the San Lorenzo River. There is a meeting about that topic tomorrow, too. The Department of Fish and Game is addressing these issues at the Scotts Valley Hilton, starting at 10:00 a.m. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog LAFCO Website LAFCO Agenda Logistics Memo, October 10, 2012 Meeting Department of Fish and Game Coho Recovery Website NOAA Fisheries Draft Coho Recovery Plan NOAA Fisheries and State Department of Fish and Game Workshop on Coho Recovery: September 5, 2012 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley, Pine/Oak Room 6001 La Madrona Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95060  

Monday, September 3, 2012 The Fort Ord Reuse Authority, or FORA, has a brand new website, and there is a “New” item featured right on the “Welcome Page” to which I’d like to draw to your attention. Tomorrow, County Supervisor Dave Potter and Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett will be hosting a town hall meeting to discuss issues relating to the Former Fort Ord. You are definitely invited. The town hall meeting will be held at the Carmel City Hall, and will begin at 5:30 tomorrow afternoon. Mayor Burnet and Supervisor Potter will discuss topics ranging from the extension of FORA, to a recently-published reassessment of the base reuse plan, to economic development opportunities on the former Fort Ord, to the implications of the designation of the former Fort Ord as a National Monument, to the regional impact of decisions made by the Fort Ord Reuse Authority. In fact, I think that any and all questions relating to Fort Ord will be in order. The FORA Executive Officer, Michael Houlemard, is scheduled to speak. There is a lot to talk about, and I think that KUSP listeners might want to attend, even if they are not Carmel residents. If you would like to do a bit of “studying up” on Fort Ord, before going to the meeting, you can find links to various materials in today’s Land Use Report blog. As ever, point your browser to kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog FORA Website Town Hall Announcement News Article – Public Input Wanted on Fort Ord Projects News Article – FORA seeks to cut down trees at Parker Flats Base Reuse Plan Reassessment Draft Scoping Report, 2012 LandWatch Analysis of FORA Reassessment of Base Reuse Plan Keep Fort Ord Wild Website  

Friday, August 31, 2012 On August 13th, Brian Nestande, a Republican member of the California State Assembly, did something quite unusual. He voted for a bill, AB 1500, containing a tax increase. Nestande was promptly stripped of his Party prerogatives by other Republicans, but the fact that he voted for a bill with a tax increase, authored by the Democratic Speaker of the Assembly, was explained by the fact that the Speaker apparently promised him that the Speaker would support legislation to eliminate provisions in the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, that business and development interests have been working to change for the last twenty years or more. By last week, it was clear that Democratic State Senator Michael Rubio, from Bakersfield, was prepared to carry a bill to make massive modifications to CEQA. The bill was put together by a business-based coalition. I saw a draft of the proposed legislation, and it would, in fact, have essentially repealed CEQA, without doing so upfront. Last Wednesday, the President pro Tem of the Senate, Darrell Steinberg, put an end to this “gut and amend” revolution for this session, but promised significant changes to CEQA next year. For all those who care about environmental protection, keep your eyes peeled. Major policy changes are going to be on the table, and maybe even before next year. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog AB 1500 CEQA And The 1% CEQA As We Know It Everyday Heroes PCLF CEQA Resources State CEQA Website Governor Jerry Brown’s Recent Remarks on CEQA Video of Darrell Steinberg Press Conference on CEQA

Thursday, August 30, 2012 The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, is California’s most powerful and important environmental law. More than anything else, CEQA facilitates and empowers community participation in the governmental decision making process. I’ve placed a link in today’s Land Use Report blog to Everyday Heroes, a publication of the Planning and Conservation League Foundation. Everyday Heroes provides story after story about how CEQA is being used to protect our natural environment, to prevent pollution, to accomplish environmental justice goals, and to support good community development and land use planning. I’ve also included links to some of my own recent writing about CEQA, and particularly about the attack on CEQA that is being mounted in the State Legislature. I hate to say it, but it appears that Governor Jerry Brown has joined the attack on CEQA. His recent statement that “I’ve never seen a CEQA exemption that I don’t like,” has, at the very least, emboldened those business interests that would like to avoid CEQA requirements. Last week, as you may or may not know, we almost lost CEQA entirely in a last minute legislative play to “gut and amend” a completely unrelated bill that would essentially have made CEQA meaningless. I will talk about that more tomorrow. For right now, check out those links in today’s Report at kusp.org/landuse.   More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog CEQA And The 1% CEQA As We Know It Everyday Heroes PCLF CEQA Resources State CEQA Website Governor Jerry Brown’s Recent Remarks on CEQA      

Wednesday, August 29, 2012 Tomorrow, a local fight over rules governing the discharge of agricultural wastewater will be moving to Sacramento. If you track down today’s Land Use Report blog, you will find links to an article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel describing the fight in general terms. In addition, I have provided a link to the official Notice of Public Hearing, which gives more technical information. Here is the basic situation: the Regional Water Quality Control Board with jurisdiction over the Monterey Bay Region has promulgated new rules that govern the discharge of agricultural wastewater. It took the Regional Board a long time to develop the new rules, which strengthened the previous rules, and the changes were extremely controversial. Those whose primary focus is on environmental protection, and especially on protecting the quality of our marine waters, wanted stronger rules. Farmers and agricultural interests didn’t want more stringent rules. The new rules actually adopted will require commercial agriculture to do more to reduce contaminants in their wastewater discharges. Agricultural interests have officially appealed the approval of the new rules. The hearing tomorrow, though, isn’t on the appeal proper, it is about the request of the agricultural interests to obtain a “stay” on the effectiveness of the rules while their appeal is pending. There is a lot at stake for our region. Check out today’s Land Use Report blog. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Santa Cruz Sentinel Article on State Water Board Meeting Notice of Public Hearing    

Tuesday, August 28, 2012 The Monterey County Board of Supervisors is back in action and will be meeting today, in Salinas. Agenda Item #14, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., is an item that I think will be quite interesting, in terms of land use policy. The Agenda describes Item #14 as “an oral presentation from the Resource Management Agency-Planning Department regarding the status and outcome of meetings with concerned citizens regarding the draft ordinances amending Titles 19 (coastal and non-coastal Subdivision Ordinances) and Titles 20 and 21 (coastal and non-coastal Zoning Ordinances), which propose to amend the process for consideration of applications for subdivisions and lot line adjustments in the unincorporated areas of the County of Monterey.” In short, the County is thinking about changing the way that the Board will “divide up the territory,” both inside and outside the Coastal Zone, and allow property owners to create more developable parcels. The subdivision of existing parcels, to create new ones, is the driving engine of growth and development. The substantive and procedural requirements relating to subdivisions are critically important. If you are concerned about the future growth and development of Monterey County’s rural and agricultural areas, or if you are a landowner in rural Monterey County, you should be in attendance when this report is presented this afternoon. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Agenda Materials, Monterey County Board of Supervisors      

Monday, August 27, 2012 Tonight, the City of Santa Cruz Water Commission will be meeting in the City Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m. The Commission is going to discuss what role it will play as the City begins formally to review the proposed construction of a $100 million dollar plus desalination plant. If you care about this issue, you should probably be at the Commission meeting tonight. In addition, the Commission is going to be hearing about plans to “intertie” the City’s water system with the Scotts Valley, Soquel Creek, and San Lorenzo Valley water systems. This is a proposal dating back decades, and could increase water supply reliability for the entire North County. Speaking of water, a lot of the water we use ends up as “wastewater,” and is currently flushed out into the ocean. We may be missing a chance to reuse a resource that is ever more critical as we face climate change and increasing water supply demands. Besides, no matter how effective our wastewater treatment procedures are, putting our wastes into the ocean isn’t really good for our marine environment. If you would like to learn more about the City’s Waste Water Treatment Plant, please get in touch with the Coastal Watershed Council, which is sponsoring a free tour of the Plant on Wednesday, August 29th. I’ve put more information in today’s transcript. You can get a copy of today’s transcript, with lots of links to more information, at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog City of Santa Cruz Website Water Commission Website August 27, 2012 Water Commission Agenda Staff Report on Emergency Intertie Item Staff Report on Role of the Water Commission                     Coastal Watershed Council Website For the tour, contact Greg Pepping at 831-464-9200 or at gpepping@coastal-watershed.org

Friday, August 24, 2012 A City General Plan Update is still pending in the City of Capitola. I encourage Capitola City residents to read the latest version of the General Plan Update, and to get involved in the General Plan Update process. While project level planning decisions always attract the most attention, the long range planning decisions that are incorporated in a community’s General Plan are actually more important. That is because all project level approvals have to be found “consistent” with the adopted General Plan. The General Plan, in other words, is just what the courts say it is, a “constitution for land use.” Just as the enactments of the U.S. Congress must be consistent with the U.S. Constitution, actions taken by local governments that affect land use have to be consistent with the community General Plan. In the meantime, as the General Plan Update process proceeds, the City of Capitola continues to process various land use related projects. One project that might be interesting to KUSP listeners is the proposed Villa Capitola Senior Housing project. This proposed project would require the demolition of an existing commercial salvage yard and the subsequent construction of a 23-unit market-rate rental development in a new, three-story building. The project is proposed at 1575 38th Avenue. The comment period on the project Initial Study ends on Monday, September 3rd. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog City of Capitola Website General Plan Update General Plan Update Schedule   A Special Note: Recruitment is underway to fill a vacancy on the Capitola Commission on the Environment. The Council is seeking applications from persons who are 18 years of age, or older. Applications can be obtained from the receptionist at the Capitola City Hall, 420 Capitola Avenue, or by calling 831-475-7300, or can be obtained online at http://www.ci.capitola.ca.us/capcity.nsf/CtyCnclComm.html.

Thursday, August 23, 2012 The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, or PVWMA, has voted to proceed with a brand new Basin Management Plan (or BMP). Don’t you just love those acronyms? In fact, the adoption of this BMP is a pretty big deal. In today’s Land Use Report blog, I am providing a link to a PowerPoint presentation that was shown to the PVWMA Board of Directors on August 15th. The BMP will attempt to correct current overdraft conditions in the Pajaro Valley groundwater aquifer by saving 5,000 acre feet of water per year through water use efficiency measures; an additional 3,000 acre feet per year of conservation will come from optimizing the use of existing supplies. The BMP also proposes that 4,100-acre feet per year will be made available through the development of new supplies. The PVWMA’s new BMP is not suggesting that the problems we’re facing here can be solved by importing water from somewhere else. Three projects have been specifically identified. One is a project that would make use of water from College Lake. One would establish a North Dunes Recharge Basin, and one would divert water out of the Pajaro River at Murphy’s Crossing, and then capture that water in recharge basins nearby. The future of our agricultural industry depends on solving our current overdraft problems. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog PVWMA Website Information on the BMP Presented on August 15, 2012 PVWMA Press Release on Adoption of the BMP

Wednesday, August 22, 2012 Lots of development has been occurring, or is planned to occur, in Marina and Seaside, cities which serve as kind of a “gateway” to the Monterey Peninsula. Listeners who want to get involved in the key planning issues that will define the future of the Peninsula need to pay attention to what is going on in those two cities. In today’s Land Use Report blog, I am providing some links to information on planning items in Seaside. Seaside has lots of planning projects underway, and is apparently interested in taking over another major development proposal, the so-called “Monterey Downs” development. The property on which this development is proposed (part of the former Fort Ord) is currently located in the unincorporated portion of Monterey County. Thus, the Monterey Downs development has been seen as a “County” issue. According to the Monterey County Weekly, though, the City of Seaside now appears to want to annex the development area, and to handle the Monterey Downs project as a city project. As proposed, Monterey Downs would include a horse park, equestrian arena, commercial center, hotels, and houses on 549 acres, and would incorporate a 135-acre vets’ cemetery and a 17-acre city corporation yard. Annexation of the property to Seaside would require approval by the Local Agency Formation Commission. A link to information on this controversial project is found at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog City of Seaside Website Major Projects in Seaside Monterey County Weekly Article on Monterey Downs

Tuesday, August 21, 2012 Yesterday, I gave KUSP listeners a “heads up” about the Aptos area planning issues that will be discussed by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors this morning. The Board meeting starts at 9:00 o’clock, and is brimming over with interesting planning items. A link to the Board’s agenda is provided at kusp.org/landuse. Besides discussing key planning issues in the Aptos area, the Board is going to make a decision on a land use designation and rezoning matter affecting the self-storage facility that exists along Soquel Drive, close to the Freedom Boulevard exit off Highway One. Because land use designations have legal impact, it’s important that they be correct. In this case, it turns out that an apparent mapping error, carried forward from the 1970’s, is affecting the commercial property where the StoreMore America facility is located. Obviously, this property is devoted to a commercial use, but the current map says that part of the property should be residential. Items #43 and #44 involve proposed rezonings to facilitate timber production, on parcels now zoned for residential agricultural use. One is in the First District, in the mid-county area. One is in the San Lorenzo Valley. These items involve interesting planning issues, and if you live in the neighborhood, your interest may be more than theoretical, so check them out. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Agenda, August 21, 2012 Agenda Item #45 – Planning Issues In The Aptos Area Agenda Item #42 – StoreMore America Rezoning Agenda Item #43 – Timber Production Zone Designation, Olive Springs Road Agenda Item #44 – Timber Production Zone Designation, Highway 236

Monday, August 20, 2012 Tomorrow, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be focusing in on planning issues for the Aptos area. If you care about the future of Aptos, and I think lots of people do, it would be worth your while to review the agenda materials for Agenda Item #45 on tomorrow’s Board agenda. A link is available at kusp.org/landuse. You might also want to mark your calendar for a public hearing on September 25th, which is when the Board is scheduled to make decisions on a major development project in Aptos Village, proposed by Barry Swenson Builder. Again, if you care about the future of Aptos, I think you will want to be involved in the discussion around that proposed project. The normal land use approval process begins when a landowner or developer makes an official application for approval of a specific project. Almost always, the design presented is aimed at making money for the developer, and making things convenient for the developer. Professional planning staff at the agency reviewing the project will then apply the rules and regulations on the books, to ensure that the project meets minimum standards, but it is not necessarily true that planning department staff understand all the nuances. Take it from me; public involvement can make a big difference. So, if you care about the future of Aptos, get involved now. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Agenda, August 21, 2012 Agenda Item #45 – Planning Issues In The Aptos Area