Podcast: |
Monday, April 20, 2015
BLM.gov
At 10:45 tomorrow morning, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal by Supervisor Ryan Coonerty that the Board officially support the designation of the Coast Dairies property, located on the county’s North Coast, as a National Monument. The intention is to show broad public support, and thus to persuade President Obama to use his executive power to designate the National Monument.
The National Monument idea is somewhat controversial. The biggest concern seems to be that by declaring the Coast Dairies property to be a National Monument, more visitors would be attracted. Bad traffic conditions on Mission Street might just get a lot worse. Parking, littering, sanitation, and other problems could get worse, too. Other monument designations have definitely had the effect of increasing public use, and the problem that concerned members of the public are highlighting is whether it makes sense to ask for the designation before having a good idea of what the impacts will likely be, and how they might be addressed. There is also some concern that existing protections for the land might actually be weakened by the designation.
Supervisor Coonerty is suggesting lots of conditions, intended to deal with the concerns identified so far. You can find a link to the proposed resolution at kusp.org/landuse. And you are invited to testify tomorrow, if you’d like to do that.
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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.