May 20th, 2013
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Friday, May 24, 2013
DOGGR
I am trying to keep in touch with what DOGGR is doing. DOGGR is the state’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources. This division is found within the California State Department of Conservation, which itself is located within the California State Resources Agency. We have a local connection, since the California State Secretary of Resources is former Central Coast Assembly Member John Laird, well known throughout the Monterey Bay Region.
At any rate, I just heard from DOGGR, which sent me an email with this title: “Hydraulic Fracturing Draft Regulations –What Happens Next?” Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a technique that produces oil and gas from rocks that didn’t seem to have the capability of producing much of anything. There is lots of interest around the region, since areas from Aromas to King City may be a target for future oil production, using fracking techniques.
DOGGR has recently conducted a series of workshops around the state, including one in Monterey. These workshops focused on a “discussion draft” of hydraulic fracturing regulations. So, DOGGR says, “What happens next?” All comments will be taken into consideration, and then a formal rulemaking process begins. That will be a few months from now. Check kusp.org/landuse for the links you can use to get involved, or stay involved.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Hydraulic Fracturing Draft Regulations Website
DOGGR Home Page
The listed websites can provide access to videos of the five 2013 workshops on the discussion draft regulations, plus a copy of the discussion draft regulations with hyperlinks. The hyperlinks provide additional information regarding the content contained in the draft regulations.
May 20th, 2013
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Thursday, May 23, 2013
Transition San Lorenzo Valley
I am definitely in favor of listeners attending public agency meetings, and getting their hands on various environmental documents, and getting involved in the governmental decision making process that has such a profound impact on the future of our local communities.
I also advocate actual experiences in that “World of Nature” that ultimately sustains all of our human projects and activities. This Saturday, May 25th, the Watsonville Wetlands Watch will offer free guided tours of wetlands, native plant restoration areas, and a tour of the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center. You are definitely invited. The wetland areas of our Central Coast Region are where life begins, and where life is sustained. Think about taking in one of those tours. The tours begin at 10:00 a.m. at the Resource Center on the campus of Pajaro Valley High School, 500 Harkins Slough Road, in Watsonville.
For residents of the San Lorenzo Valley, let me identify some activities that you might particularly like. County Supervisor Bruce McPherson and Transition San Lorenzo Valley are hosting a series of community planning events. The first one, focusing on Felton, runs from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. this evening, at the Felton Covered Bridge. It’s a picnic. Events are scheduled for Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek, too. Get more information on all these events at kusp.org/landuse.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Felton Town Plan Event
Ben Lomond Town Plan Event
Boulder Creek Town Plan Event
Watsonville Wetlands Watch Website
Slough Restoration Days Notice
For reservations for the wetland tours, contact Kathy Fieberling
May 20th, 2013
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
PVWMA
I like to review the agendas of the public agencies that make the land use, transportation, and water policy decisions that so profoundly affect our future. As regular listeners know, I keep trying to “share the joy” of all of that with all of you, and am often peppering you with a plethora of suggestions about how you can get informed and get involved. Let me reiterate what I said yesterday, before going on to another water-related topic: The decision on whether or not to build a seawater desalination plant, to serve customers in the Soquel Creek Water District and in the City of Santa Cruz Water Service Area, is of huge importance to our future. An environmental review process is just starting, and I recommend your personal participation!
Listeners should also focus in on what is happening in the Pajaro Valley. The Board of Directors of the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency is meeting today, and I have a link to their agenda in today’s transcript. You can find that at kusp.org/landuse. If you download the agenda packet, load up that file in Adobe Reader, and then go to Page 63, you will find a discussion of “Response Options to Recent Drought-Like Conditions.”
Overdraft in the Pajaro Basin affects the future of farming in both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. You can read about what’s going on, starting at Page 63.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Desalination EIR Website
PVWMA Website
May 22, 2013 PVWMA Agenda
May 20th, 2013
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Australian Water Association
The City of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District are planning jointly to construct a seawater desalination plant. The construction cost is estimated to be over $100 million dollars. Ratepayers in the City of Santa Cruz will be on the hook to pay 60% of that cost. Water rates will go up significantly if the plant is built. On a more philosophical plane, a decision to build a desal plant will be a decision to release our community from the inherent limits of the natural environment. Currently, we have to live within the limits of our natural water supply. Desalination is a way to “manufacture water.” As long as the ratepayers are willing to pay the costs, the supplies of water that can be produced are essentially unconstrained. The City of Santa Cruz has promised UCSC that it will pursue modular desalination plants in the future, to meet “system demand” for water. In other words, the decision on desal is a decision about University growth in particular, and future growth in general.
This is one of those cases in which the Wittwer & Parkin law firm, where I am “Of Counsel,” is representing an interested party, namely the Community Water Coalition. The environmental review process is just beginning, and I hope all of you will get personally involved. I have put links to the Draft EIR in today’s transcript. Comments are due by July 15th.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Desalination EIR Website
May 20th, 2013
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Monday, May 20, 2013
Keep Fort Ord Wild
Every California county has a Local Agency Formation Commission (or LAFCO), and this state mandated agency plays an incredibly important role in many of the land use decisions that turn out to be the very most central and important decisions for the future of a local community. Will the City of Watsonville be allowed to expand its borders and to develop urban uses on the fertile farmlands that surround the city? LAFCO will decide. Will the City of Santa Cruz be given permission to extend its water service to an undeveloped part of the UCSC Campus, to facilitate over 3,000,000 square feet of new development? LAFCO will decide. Will the City of Seaside be permitted to annex lands on the former Fort Ord that are the location of a planned “Monterey Downs” development? LAFCO will decide.
Today, at 4:00 p.m., the Monterey County LAFCO will be meeting in Salinas. Reading between the lines, it looks like the cities within Monterey County have decided to do what they can to support the Monterey Downs project. Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado has been removed from LAFCO, and Seaside City Council Member Ralph Rubio is taking his place. Since Seaside is promoting the Monterey Downs development, that’s going to be of real assistance, though the voters may have the final word, if the initiative measure to protect Fort Ord qualifies for the ballot and passes.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Monterey County LAFCO Website
Monterey County LAFCO Agenda Packet for May 20, 2013 Meeting
May 13th, 2013
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Friday, May 17, 2013
Coastal Watershed Council
Speaking of protecting our creeks, rivers, and streams (and that is what I was speaking about last Wednesday), let me alert you to an organization that works on just that issue, and let me announce an opportunity for you to find out more about the issue, through some firsthand experience.
First, let me introduce the Coastal Watershed Council, or CWC. The CWC is a locally based nonprofit that operates in both Monterey County and Santa Cruz County. It was formed in 1995, in response to the declining health of the watersheds of the Monterey Bay Region. The mission of the CWC is to “preserve and protect coastal watersheds through community stewardship, education, and monitoring.” The CWC emphasizes hands-on learning, so if you get connected up with the CWC you are likely to find yourself out in the wetlands and watersheds themselves, learning about riparian and wetland ecosystems, and how ecosystem health relates to water quality.
Now, let me tell you about an opportunity to get some of this firsthand experience. The CWC leads a series of “water tours,” which are absolutely free, to let local residents see what is going on out in the watersheds. The next tour is to the Olive Springs Quarry, on Tuesday, May 21st, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. There is more information at kusp.org/landuse.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Coastal Watershed Council Website
List of Upcoming CWC “Water Tours”
Olive Springs Quarry Website
May 13th, 2013
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Wikipedia.org
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Land use decisions affect our local economy and our natural environment, and they can determine how successful we are in meeting our social equity goals, too. Land use project decisions are what ultimately make the difference. Approval of a particular project is what leads to physical change. That said, project level decisions are made on the basis of land use policies. At least, that’s the way it is supposed to work. I like to emphasize this, because if members of the public insisted that the land use policies for their community were ones they approved of, they might not have to spend so much time keeping track of the hundreds of projects that might impact them.
In the City of Santa Cruz, decisions on a proposed Ocean Street Area Plan will be made in the near future. In Monterey County, decisions will soon be made on a proposed Moss Landing Community Plan, with some related development applications. Decisions about both projects and policies, in other words, are going to be made almost simultaneously. Finally, Caltrans is proposing a major highway-widening project on Route 156, impacting Prunedale and Castroville.
If these policies or projects might impact you or your community, consider getting involved! I can almost guarantee you that if you don’t participate in major planning decisions on the “front end,” you won’t like what happens when the bulldozers show up.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Moss Landing Community Plan Website
Caltrans Route 156 West Corridor Project Website
City of Santa Cruz Ocean Street Area Plan Website
Draft City of Santa Cruz Ocean Street Area Plan
May 13th, 2013
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Lois Robin, Sierra Club Activist
These weekday Land Use Reports do, pretty much, focus on land use issues. But “land use” isn’t just about “land.” While I have never done a tally, I would bet that a significant percentage of these weekday reports actually focus on “water.” Land use and water issues definitely go together.
Today, let me alert you to the availability of a new video, produced right here in the Monterey Bay Region, and focused on critical water supply and water quality issues. The video is called “Liquid Assets – Protecting Our Creeks, Streams, and Rivers.” I encourage you to watch it. You can find a link to the online video at kusp.org/landuse, in today’s Land Use Report transcript.
Local land use regulations are often employed as a way to protect streams, creeks, and rivers from pollution and degradation. Santa Cruz County, to pick an example with which I am particularly familiar, has enacted a “Riparian Corridor and Wetlands Protection Ordinance,” which is found in Chapter 16.30 of the Santa Cruz County Code.
The Santa Cruz County ordinance prohibits development within a riparian protection set back area, but the ordinance does provide for a number of exceptions and exemptions. If the video makes you want to protect our waterways, reading Chapter 16.30 may give you some ideas of how to do that!
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Liquid Assets Video
Santa Cruz County Code (Riparian Protection is Chapter 16.30)
May 13th, 2013
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Ecology Action
Several years ago, various educational institutions and governmental agencies joined in a Monterey Bay Regional Climate Action Compact. Participating governments include the cities of Capitola and Santa Cruz, and Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. UCSC, Cabrillo College, and CSUMB are all participants, too.
The Compact notes that several important state legislative measures are now in place, intended to mobilize both state and local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically listed is Senate Bill 375, which is focused on strategies that emphasize smart growth and the development of sustainable communities.
The “Be It Resolved” section of the Compact states that the participating agencies and institutions will “coordinate independent and regional climate change initiatives, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, educate students and the community about the causes and effects of global climate change, fortify our community and economy against the adverse effects of global climate change, and encourage the significant public, private, and non-profit sector investment needed to make [the Monterey Bay Region] a leader in effective climate change solutions.”
If you think that these are great goals, why not ask your elected officials to give you a report on exactly what is being done to achieve them.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
Climate Action Compact Text
Climate Action Compact Website
Cabrillo College Green Steps Blog
May 13th, 2013
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Monday, May 13, 2013
USEPA
Most people probably know that the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, is involved with a number of programs that focus on how to reduce toxic discharges to the environment. Not so well known, perhaps, is the fact that the EPA has a “Smart Growth” program, too. The EPA provides design assistance to help local communities find creative ways to protect the environment, economy, and public health through green design. Their “Greening America’s Capitals” program, focused on bringing green design to state capitals, is intended to inspire state leaders to expand “smart growth” efforts into other parts of their state. If you track down the transcript of today’s Land Use Report, found at kusp.org/landuse, you will find a link to a report called, “Lessons From Greening America’s Capitals Projects.” This is definitely a “brag about success” publication. The EPA’s capital cities program demonstrates that green, sustainable design can create and enhance interesting, distinctive neighborhoods that have multiple social, economic, and environmental benefits.
Check out this interesting publication. I have also provided a link to a “listserve,” maintained by the EPA, that will let you keep up to date on all sorts of “smart growth” information. I recommend that, too.
More Information:
Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
EPA Smart Growth Website
Lessons From the “Greening America’s Capitals” Project
Subscribe to the EPA Smart Growth Listserve
Former Santa Cruz County Supervisor Gary Patton talks about land use, and land use decisions, with an emphasis on public participation and how the land use process works.