The Land Use Report

Tuesday, April 1, 2014 It’s April Fools’ Day, but I am not fooling around when I tell you we have a big water supply problem. As noted yesterday, water supply is a problem in all of the major geographic areas of Monterey County. It’s a problem in all of the major geographic areas of Santa Cruz County, too. Current drought conditions make everything worse, but the basic problem in Santa Cruz County is that growth and development and water use have exceeded the resources available. Water resources are simply “oversubscribed.” The problem is most obvious in the Pajaro Valley, where groundwater overdraft has been progressing for seventy-five years or more. In 1984, the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency was established to deal with this problem. So far, there is no solution. Action on a Basin Management Plan Update has been scheduled for April 16th. The City of Santa Cruz relies on surface water, and residents and businesses in the City’s Water Service Area are facing the fact that demands exceed reliable supply (at least if the City complies with laws to protect endangered fish species). In mid-county, groundwater overdraft, coupled with the drought, is propelling the Soquel Creek Water District into action. There is a meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m., to discuss the District’s new “water use reduction program.” Get more information at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog City of Santa Cruz Water Department Website PVWMA Basin Management Plan Update PVWMA Basin Management Plan Memo – Next Meeting April 16th Soquel Creek Water District Notice of April 1, 2014 Meeting

Monday, March 31, 2014 Water is a big topic in Monterey County, and I’d suggest that there are really three main areas of activity, speaking geographically. The Monterey Peninsula has a long time water problem, most directly related to the fact that the California American Water Company is now taking more water out of the Carmel River than it legally should. This fact is pushing the Peninsula to look for alternative supply options, with desalination at the top of the list. This afternoon, the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project Governing Committee is meeting in the Conference Room of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, starting at 1:30. That proposed desalination project will be the focus of discussion In North Monterey County, groundwater overdraft is a key concern. While the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency is poised to adopt new Basin Management Plan to address the issue, that Plan won’t solve all the groundwater problems in North County, even if the PVWMA Plan is ultimately successful. In the Salinas Valley, where groundwater overdraft is also a major problem, the key issue right now is how to utilize an unused allocation from the Salinas River. I have put links to more information on all of these areas of concern in today’s transcript. Check out kusp.org/landuse. More Information Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Agenda, March 31, 2014 Meeting WSPGC PVWMA Basin Management Plan Update PVWMA Basin Management Plan Memo – Next Meeting April 16th Salinas Californian News Article on Salinas Valley Water Project

Friday, March 28, 2014 I don’t know how long it’s been since I started talking about the Capitola General Plan Update, here on the Land Use Report. I do remember many times, though, over the last several years, that I have advised listeners that the City of Capitola is in the process of updating its General Plan, and that business owners and residents should be getting involved. A general plan is a city or county’s most important planning document, sometimes called a “Constitution for land use.” State law requires every city and county to have a general plan, addressing key planning issues specified in state law; state law further requires, once a general plan has been adopted, that each permit and planning decision of that jurisdiction be “consistent” with the General Plan. If you care about land use, you need to care about the provisions found in your city and county General Plan. Many people get interested in land use policies only when a specific project is proposed. By then, the basic principles have already been established in the general plan, and it may be too late to make changes Bottom line: get involved when general plan policies are being considered. For business owners and residents in Capitola, that time is now! Your final chance to weigh in will come during a public hearing scheduled before the Capitola City Council on Thursday, April 3rd, at 7:00 p.m. There is more information at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog City of Capitola Website Current Capitola General Plan Capitola General Plan Update

Thursday, March 27, 2014 State law has directed the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, or FORA, to “prepare, adopt, finance, and implement a plan for the former Fort Ord, including land use, transportation systems, conservation of land and water, recreation, and business operations.” There is a link to the FORA website in today’s transcript. You can get lots of information about FORA right there. In a way, FORA operates much as the Coastal Commission does. FORA does not have direct land use permit authority with respect to the lands of the former Fort Ord, but it does have a Base Reuse Plan, to set out general principles, as a way to ensure that its state law mission is accomplished. FORA requires local governments that have permit authority over lands within the former Army Base to structure their local land use plans to be “consistent” with the FORA Base Reuse Plan. Recently, on a split vote, the FORA Board of Directors denied a request from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors that FORA find that provisions in the County General Plan, affecting lands on the former Fort Ord, were consistent with the Base Reuse Plan. The big issue was whether or not the County’s General Plan had sufficient protections for open space and conservation. Essentially, FORA said “no.” After the FORA vote, it looks like the County is going to have to do more work to protect open space resources on the former Fort Ord! More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog FORA Website LandWatch Monterey County Website LandWatch Monterey County Report on FORA Action LandWatch Letter to FORA, Opposing Consistency Finding

Wednesday, March 26, 2014 The Santa Cruz County Commission on the Environment meets this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, located on the Fifth Floor of the County Government Center, 701 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz. You will find links to the agenda of today’s meeting at kusp.org/landuse. The Commission will talk about water and watershed issues, the San Lorenzo River, climate action, and will also hear a report on what’s happening in the State Legislature. The first item on the Commission’s agenda is a presentation on the 2014 Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP. This is the long-term plan that will guide transportation investments in Santa Cruz County for the next twenty years or so. If you care about the future of Santa Cruz County, and future land use, specifically, then finding out more about the RTP would be a very good idea. The meeting this afternoon is open to the public. It’s free, and you are invited! I imagine that much of the discussion on the RTP will focus on proposed “sustainability principles” incorporated into the Draft RTP. Highway widening or new highway construction would have mammoth environmental impacts, and the everyday use of our transportation system results in very significant emissions of greenhouse gases, and is a major contributor to global warming. Is there a way to do better? Check out that meeting this afternoon! More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Information on Commission on the Environment March 26th Agenda, Commission on the Environment Information on the 2014 RTP RTP Executive Summary DRAFT 2014 Regional Transportation Plan

Tuesday, March 25, 2014 Lots of important governmental decisions are made on the “Consent Agenda.” City Councils use them, and so do Boards of Supervisors. If you would like to keep up with what your local government agencies are doing (about land use items and other issues) you should always review the Consent Agenda. Quite often, since they have limited time and space, newspapers and other media outlets will only discuss items that are on the Regular Agenda. You can get ahead of the curve by paying attention to Consent Agenda items. If you examine today’s Consent Agenda of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, you will find that the Board is planning, on the Consent Agenda, to enter into a formal Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Gonzalez, supporting that city’s expansion onto surrounding agricultural lands. If you think that’s fine, then no problem! If you have some questions about whether or not this is really such a good idea, maybe you’d like to show up at the Board this morning and ask the Board to discuss this matter on its regular agenda, since the impacts for the future of Monterey County do seem significant. Today’s Consent Agenda also sets a public hearing to talk about the Mills Act Property Tax Abatement Program, to help preserve historic properties. Plus, the Board is certifying how many miles of roads the public is maintaining in Monterey County. How many? 1,234.25 miles! More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Monterey County Board Agenda – March 25, 2014 Draft MOA on Gonzales Expansion Information on the Mills Act For Road Mileage Certification See Consent Agenda Item #23

Monday, March 24, 2014 I like to remind listeners about that somewhat “weird” public agency called LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission. Every county in the state has a LAFCO, and the Monterey County LAFCO will be meeting this afternoon, at 4:00 o’clock, in the Board of Supervisors Chambers in Salinas. LAFCOs have been created by state law, and they really aren’t “weird,” of course. It’s just that most people don’t know anything about LAFCOS, and their “mission” is very specialized. LAFCOs supervise boundary issues, and decide whether or not governmental agencies should be allowed to come into existence. Should there be a new city created in Carmel Valley? Or in Aptos? LAFCOs play a key role in deciding “yes” or “no” when questions like these come up. The membership of LAFCO is pretty unusual, too. The agency is created under state law, but the members are mostly local officials, two from the County Board of Supervisors, two representing special districts, two representing cities, and one public member. This afternoon, the Monterey County LAFCO will be talking about municipal services in the Castroville area. To find out more, go to kusp.org/landuse. You can also find out more about a meeting this evening at Highlands Park in Ben Lomond. Starting at 6:30, the Coastal Watershed Council will be hosting a forum on the future of the San Lorenzo River. More Information Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Monterey County LAFCO Website March 24, 2014 Agenda, Monterey County LAFCO CALAFCO Website Coastal Watershed Council Forum – March 24th

Friday, March 21, 2014 If you live in a manufactured or mobile home, you should consider attending the GSMOL Roadshow. This event is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, March 22nd, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Avenue in Santa Cruz. GSMOL stands for “Golden State Manufactured-home Owners League.” It’s kind of like a “union” for mobilehome owners. The GSMOL Roadshow tomorrow is actually sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Manufactured/Mobile Homeowners Association, but GSMOL representatives will be making the key presentations. Bruce Stanton, GSMOL Corporate Counsel, Henry Heater from the law firm of Endeman, Lincoln Turik & Heater, and David Loop, an attorney who is the GSMOL Vice-President for Resident Owned Parks, will talk about the legal rights that mobilehome owners have vis a vis the owners of the parks in which they reside. Special Guest Ishbel Dickens, Executive Director of the Manufactured Home Owners Association of America, will provide a national perspective. Mobilehome park residents own their homes, but not the property on which they are placed. The “property owner” is a private individual or corporation, and residents can sometimes get the short end of the stick, legally speaking. This is a fascinating area of the law, and I encourage listeners to check out the GSMOL Roadshow tomorrow. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Roadshow Event Flyer Santa Cruz County Manufactured/Mobile Homeowners Association Website National Manufactured Home Owners Association Website

Thursday, March 20, 2014 What are you doing on Sunday, March 23rd? If you are a resident of Carmel Valley think about attending the Annual Meeting of the Carmel Valley Association, or CVA. The meeting will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Library in Del Mesa Carmel. The CVA identifies the main topic of the meeting as “the burning issue of the day,” namely, “water.” An informative panel is going to explore water issues, with a particular focus, of course, on Carmel Valley. Here is what you’d be missing if you didn’t show up: Karin Strasser Kauffman, a CVA board member and a former member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, will tell attendees why the Peninsula is better positioned now for the drought than it formerly was. Lorin Letendre, President of the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy, will talk about restoration, habitat, and plans for the Carmel River Heritage Corridor. Kristi Markey, Director of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, will talk about future water supply options. The CVA is the oldest, largest, and perhaps most successful community organization in Monterey County. Now, this is a self-assessment, but there is some truth to the claim. The CVA mission is to defend the beauty, resources and rural character of Carmel Valley. The meeting on Sunday is free, and you are definitely invited! There is more information at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Carmel Valley Association Meeting Announcement Del Mesa Carmel is located at 500 Del Mesa Carmel, at Carmel Valley Road

Wednesday, March 19, 2014 The Board of Directors of the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, or PVWMA, meets tonight at 7:00 o’clock in the Watsonville City Council Chambers. If there were anything they could do about it, I am sure that Board members would be focusing on how to get more water to manage. Unfortunately, I don’t think the Board is going to be able to make it rain. Board members can cross their fingers just like the rest of us, but the Water Management Agency is just going to have to “manage” with the water they’ve got. Come to think of it, that is their job, and it is all the more important as we face a potentially extended period of drought. Tonight there is a “big” item on the Board’s agenda. Agenda Item #9 is a public hearing to consider actions related to the certification of the agency’s Basin Management Plan Update EIR, and approval of the Basin Management Plan Update. Tonight is the last chance for public comment, and you are definitely invited. The proposed Update envisions a series of projects intended to begin reversing the groundwater overdraft occurring throughout the Pajaro Valley, on both sides of the River, and thus in both Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. Actually accomplishing the proposed projects will take money, and we are just now entering what the Update says is the “financing phase. It would be hard to overstate the importance of stopping groundwater overdraft in the Pajaro Basin. Check out that Update! More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog PVWMA Website Basin Management Plan Update Final EIR for Basin Management Plan Update PVWMA Board of Directors Agenda – Meeting of March 19, 2014

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 Today is Tuesday, so Boards of Supervisors are meeting all over the state of California. Yesterday, I told listeners about a couple of items that the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will address. This morning, let me highlight an item from today’s agenda of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. The Monterey County Board meets in Salinas, and Agenda Item #19, which is specially scheduled at 10:30, will be a presentation on the economic impact of affordable housing subsidized and/or developed by the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey and the Monterey County Housing Authority Development Corporation, which is the Housing Authority’s non-profit affiliate. No agenda material is online, at least not as of the time I am recording today’s edition of the Land Use Report, but I can speculate that the Board is going to hear about the positive economic impacts of affordable housing. Often, neighbors and nearby property owners are worried when affordable housing projects are proposed in their neighborhood. Typical worries include a loss of property value in the neighborhood, or some sort of potential adverse social impact. My own personal experience, from the time when I served on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, is that affordable housing developments, if well designed, help strengthen local neighborhoods and the community at large. If you have a chance to do so, why not try to listen in to the presentation this morning? More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Monterey County Board of Supervisors Agendas

Monday, March 17, 2014 The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is meeting tomorrow. Tomorrow evening, the Board will be in Watsonville, meeting in the Watsonville City Council Chambers. Starting at 7:00 p.m., the Board will convene with others as the Board of Directors of Zone 7 of the Santa Cruz County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. This is the agency that, among other things, has responsibility for overseeing flood control efforts on the Pajaro River. Flood control may not be uppermost in everyone’s mind, in this time of drought, but floods on the Pajaro River are a deadly threat to residents of Watsonville and Pajaro, the unincorporated community on the other side of the Pajaro River, in Monterey County. I have put a link to the Zone 7 Agenda in today’s transcript. You can check it out at kusp.org/landuse. At 9:00 o’clock tomorrow morning, the Board will meet in Santa Cruz, at the Governmental Center on Ocean Street. Let me highlight just one item of importance. Agenda Item #56 is a proposal to make it easier to modify setbacks and related standards on lots located in rural parts of Santa Cruz County. The likely impact would be to make it easier for rural property owners to develop their rural properties. Good for the property owners, of course, but likely leading to increased development in rural areas, where services and infrastructure may be lacking. There are, in other words, both pros and cons to the proposal. More Information Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Agenda – March 18, 2014 Agenda Materials, Agenda Item #56 – Zoning Code Amendments Zone 7 Agenda – 7:00 p.m. Meeting In Watsonville

Friday, March 14, 2014 On February 28th, I told listeners about the “Monterey Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Plan,” or MTP, and the “Sustainable Communities Strategy” that will accompany it. I continue to encourage you to get involved, as this important planning process moves forward. Comments on the current draft are due on April 8th Santa Cruz County residents might also want to get involved in another transportation planning effort. This effort, too, is underway right now. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP, is undergoing a major overhaul. The current draft now incorporates sustainability evaluation measures. The Transportation Commission is eager to hear what local residents think about this new approach. Since the RTP is the source of local transportation projects that will be included in the MTP, the two planning efforts are very much related. Because these plans are updated only every four years, providing feedback now is particularly important. Miss your chance today, and your next chance comes four years from now. The Draft 2014 Santa Cruz County RTP provides a full list of the local transportation projects that will be prioritized to receive funding during the next 20+ years. In this case, too, comments are due by April 8th. You can get more information on both of these transportation planning efforts at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog February 28, 2014 Land Use Report 2014 RTP Website 2014 MTP Website

Thursday, March 13, 2014 At least a couple of Santa Cruz County Supervisors provide a periodic, email report to their constituents and to other interested persons. Supervisor John Leopold is one of them. Leopold represents the First Supervisorial District in Santa Cruz County, which is generally described as “Live Oak, Soquel, and the Summit.” Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, who represents the Second Supervisorial District, also puts out such a periodic newsletter. His District is centered in the Aptos and Capitola area. I’d like to encourage listeners to sign up for these periodic newsletters. If you care about land use issues specifically, and about local government more generally, then getting a “heads up” from your elected representative, alerting you to important issues and upcoming meetings, can help you be a more active (and more effective) participant in the local government decision-making process. I have learned from the most recent edition of the Leopold Report, for instance, that there will be a meeting on March 22nd from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the Live Oak Grange, that will provide mobilehome residents with up to date information on their legal rights under the Mobilehome Residency Law. This is an important area of land use law, and one that mobilehome residents should know about. You don’t have to be from the Live Oak area to attend this meeting, and you can get more information at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Supervisor Leopold Website Supervisor Friend Website Supervisor Coonerty Website Supervisor Caput Website Supervisor McPherson Website   Join Leopold Newsletter List Mobilehome Residency Law Meeting

Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Tonight, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., at the Rio Theatre, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is hosting a presentation titled “Mountain Lions In Our Midst.” I gather that tonight’s presentation is now a “sold out” event, but even if you aren’t going to be able to attend personally, you can go online to get more information about what the Land Trust is doing to protect wildlife, and to protect mountain lions in particular. As usual, there are links to more information at kusp.org/landuse. UCSC Professor Chris Wilmers is making the presentation this evening. Wilmers heads the Santa Cruz Puma Project. He is a conservation biologist, and he points out that maintaining habitat “connectivity” is a key requirement for protecting wildlife. Mountain lions range throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, and to survive, in the long term, they have to be able to get across Highway 17. Wilmers says that mountain lions and other wildlife have routinely tried to cross Highway 17 at the so-called “Laurel Curve,” dangerous for drivers, but even more dangerous for mountain lions and other wildlife species. The Land Trust is now working to acquire a 10-acre property at Laurel Curve, which is right in the path to the best possible wildlife crossing. By providing a wildlife “underpass,” the Land Trust can help keep Santa Cruz County safe for mountain lions and other species. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Land Trust Website Land Trust Program To Protect Wildlife Santa Cruz Puma Project Dr. Christopher Wilmers