Amador County – Amador County Supervisors and the Ione City Council both voted separately Tuesday to table an agreement on Ione’s “Sphere of Influence” amendment until the county is nearer to finishing its own General Plan. The council and supervisors held a joint meeting on a “Memorandum of Understanding” as part of a city sphere of influence amendment process, as required by law. Supervisors came close to rejecting the agreement, but Supervisor Richard Forster urged cooperation. He said he agreed “with private property rights,” but felt that the two entities were close to an agreement. Forster said: “I think we should keep working on this.” Ione City Planner Christopher Jordan said they could “remove this automatic applicability,” and handle land use designations as they come. But he urged a vote, saying that if the county did not support the land use designation aspect of the agreement, the MOU was not worth pursuing further. Supervisors voted to table the MOU until the county gets closer to approving its own finalized General Plan. The city council also voted to table it. Supervisor John Plasse and the board disagreed with the MOU provision by Ione that obligated the county to designate land-usage within the Ione “Sphere of Influence.” Plasse said: “It’s about land use authority and how far it infringes on property rights.” He said the county would have no say over land in its jurisdiction. Supervisor Brian Oneto said that was “pretty much my position.” Supervisor Louis Boitano said he was “not opposed to the MOU,” but he wanted to “take it back to the committees and maybe draft up our version of the MOU that we could live with.” Councilman Jim Ulm said he also did not agree with telling property owners outside the city how to use their land. Plasse said the solution for the city is annexation, and Councilwoman Andrea Bonham asked how the council can communicate with the county before annexation, “so we’re not letting in something that is not a vision we all worked for?” Forster said the issue could be handled with an “overlay,” and he said the board will hear Ione’s concerns and try to work with them and give them what they want in land designations. Boitano said “we don’t have a problem with the proposed sphere of influence,” or future annexation, but “we take general plan amendments very seriously.” The MOU included such amendments if land designation became an issue. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 06:40
Ione, Supes shelve ‘sphere of influence’ agreement
Amador County – Amador County Supervisors and the Ione City Council both voted separately Tuesday to table an agreement on Ione’s “Sphere of Influence” amendment until the county is nearer to finishing its own General Plan. The council and supervisors held a joint meeting on a “Memorandum of Understanding” as part of a city sphere of influence amendment process, as required by law. Supervisors came close to rejecting the agreement, but Supervisor Richard Forster urged cooperation. He said he agreed “with private property rights,” but felt that the two entities were close to an agreement. Forster said: “I think we should keep working on this.” Ione City Planner Christopher Jordan said they could “remove this automatic applicability,” and handle land use designations as they come. But he urged a vote, saying that if the county did not support the land use designation aspect of the agreement, the MOU was not worth pursuing further. Supervisors voted to table the MOU until the county gets closer to approving its own finalized General Plan. The city council also voted to table it. Supervisor John Plasse and the board disagreed with the MOU provision by Ione that obligated the county to designate land-usage within the Ione “Sphere of Influence.” Plasse said: “It’s about land use authority and how far it infringes on property rights.” He said the county would have no say over land in its jurisdiction. Supervisor Brian Oneto said that was “pretty much my position.” Supervisor Louis Boitano said he was “not opposed to the MOU,” but he wanted to “take it back to the committees and maybe draft up our version of the MOU that we could live with.” Councilman Jim Ulm said he also did not agree with telling property owners outside the city how to use their land. Plasse said the solution for the city is annexation, and Councilwoman Andrea Bonham asked how the council can communicate with the county before annexation, “so we’re not letting in something that is not a vision we all worked for?” Forster said the issue could be handled with an “overlay,” and he said the board will hear Ione’s concerns and try to work with them and give them what they want in land designations. Boitano said “we don’t have a problem with the proposed sphere of influence,” or future annexation, but “we take general plan amendments very seriously.” The MOU included such amendments if land designation became an issue. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Latest from
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