LandWatch and Common Ground Joint Statement of Principals
|
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 11:02:01 -0800 LandWatch and Common Ground Issue Joint Statement of Principles On February 12, 2002, LandWatch Monterey County and Common Ground Monterey County issued a Joint Statement on Conservation and Development principles. Both organizations state that, as growth occurs, it is important to phase and locate that growth in a way that conserves both important natural resource lands, and the commercially productive farmlands that are at the basis of the agricultural industry that sustains our local economy. The LandWatch - Common Ground Statement calls on the Board of Supervisors to incorporate the jointly-developed principles into the General Plan Update now in preparation, and thus to set a new direction for land use policy for Monterey County. LandWatch and Common Ground are different organizations, responding to different constituencies, but this Joint Statement indicates a substantial area of agreement. The result of more than six months of discussion between the groups, the Joint Statement is an important step towards a new direction in land use policy for Monterey County. Here is a brief summary of the statements made by representatives of LandWatch and Common Ground at the time the Joint Statement was issued. The full text of the Joint Statement will be available on the LandWatch website: http://www.landwatch.org/>www.landwatch.org http://www.landwatch.org/>www.landwatch.org Gary A. Patton, Executive Director
Introductory Statement: Common Ground and LandWatch are here today to present a joint statement on behalf of our organizations. This joint statement outlines conservation and development principles that both organizations believe should be incorporated into the Monterey County General Plan Update (GPU), now scheduled for adoption by the Board of Supervisors in 2002. Our organizations represent a wide spectrum of interests in the County, and this statement is the result of a genuinely collaborative effort to find ways to meet the challenges facing Monterey County in the next twenty years and beyond. Representatives are here from each Board of Directors to present the agreement.
LandWatch Representative: Monterey County residents have inherited great local treasures, like Monterey Bay, Big Sur, Arroyo Seco and Elkhorn Sloughóand the incredibly productive agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley, which support Monterey Countyís biggest industry. Today, as leaders, we must work together to make choices and create opportunities, through careful, balanced planning and consistent with the regionís needs for affordable housing, to protect these unique treasuresóthe beaches, bays, rivers, streams, and other natural lands that provide clean air, safe water and our special quality of life for our own families and children, and all future generations. LandWatch is pleased to report that the conservation principles contained in this agreement, along with the development principles that stress compact, city-centered growth, will go a long way toward helping ensure a positive future for Monterey County. LandWatch is pleasedto join with Common Ground in offering this joint statement of recommendations to the Board of Supervisors of Monterey County.
Common Ground Representative: Common Ground strongly believes that it is important to conserve the natural resources of the County, consistent with the principles in this agreement, and at the same time, that future development should be planned and managed in a manner consistent with the principles outlined in this document. Both organizations expect there to be further development in Monterey County to meet the needs of a growing population, and to accommodate an expanding economy and address the critical housing needs of our community. The joint statement we are presenting to the Board of Supervisors recommends that future growth be directed, compact, and phased, and that a priority for future growth and development be infill into existing urban areas. Common Ground joins LandWatch in recommending that these principles be followed to ensure a healthier economy and better communities for all future generations.
The full text of the Joint Statement will be available on the LandWatch website: http://www.landwatch.org/>www.landwatch.org
|