Tom
Friday, 26 February 2010 01:04
Joint Panel Hears Updates to the County Housing Plan
Housing Element – A Joint Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday discussed Amador County’s future housing plan. The meeting was called by the Planning Department in order to “review and comment on the proposed update to the County General Plan Housing Element.” Jeff Goldman of AECOM, a management support company working with the county on the General Plan Update, said that unlike other areas of the General Plan, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) requires the 168-page Housing Element be updated every five years. The last update was in 2005. He said the updates respond mostly to state law, but also incorporate ideas expressed during two workshops held last year in which the public and stakeholders had an opportunity to comment. The updates focus mainly on the county’s role in providing land and access to affordable housing. Amador County Planning Director Susan Grijalva told TSPN they “are required to provide affordable housing for all income levels, whether it be for extremely low, very low, low, moderate or above moderate (incomes).” The county planning website notes the county has been “unable to take action on many programs,” and “no new income restricted housing has been constructed in Amador County since 2005.” The summary said the “county has an effective and successful first-time homebuyer program, but other challenges, including infrastructure challenges, impede housing production.” The presentation outlined updates and revisions to five “broad goals” in the update, which are to provide adequate sites to encourage provision of affordable housing, provide support for affordable and special needs housing, consult with residents and agencies about housing issues, support the conservation and rehabilitation of the existing housing stock, and to improve access to housing for all residents. Cara Agustin of the Planning Department said the commission is “not yet in a position to adopt the document because they are still awaiting comments from the HCD.” The element was dropped off at HCD on February 3rd. The HCD have 60 days to respond. At that point, Agustin said they will take the HCD’s comments on the Housing Element back to commission to see if any further changes are needed. The Planning Commission will then make recommendation to the board of supervisors. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 26 February 2010 01:02
Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann Comments on a Recent Study
Amador County – Dr. Bob Hartmann, Amador County Public Health Officer, elaborated Tuesday before the Board of Supervisors on a recent national study ranking Amador County as 20th healthiest in California. The study, undertaken by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examined all counties in the United States, measuring each county using national benchmarks. 56 out of 58 counties in California were included. Hartmann said the ranking is “pretty darn good for a small county.” The ranking is based on the average between two categories: Health Outcomes, which include mortality and morbidity, and Health Factors, which include behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and the physical environment. Hartmann said Amador’s best rankings is in morbidity, a broad measure which represents quality of life, where the county ranked 4th; and clinical care, where the county ranked 12th. He said “counties that have a lot of money like Marin and El Dorado” generally ranked higher overall. Calaveras County ranked slightly lower than Amador in most categories. He said the greatest area for improvement is Health Behaviors, in which Amador ranked 39. He said this category measures obesity, smoking, alcohol use and unsafe sex. “We need to develop more effective prevention strategies to improve these factors,” said Hartmann. Supervisor Ted Novelli echoed the sentiments of the board and thanked Hartmann for his report and “diligence in serving Amador County.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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News Archive
Friday, 26 February 2010 00:48
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alan Sprenkel 2-26-10
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News Broadcast Videos
Friday, 26 February 2010 01:04
Joint Panel Hears Updates to the County Housing Plan
Housing Element – A Joint Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday discussed Amador County’s future housing plan. The meeting was called by the Planning Department in order to “review and comment on the proposed update to the County General Plan Housing Element.” Jeff Goldman of AECOM, a management support company working with the county on the General Plan Update, said that unlike other areas of the General Plan, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) requires the 168-page Housing Element be updated every five years. The last update was in 2005. He said the updates respond mostly to state law, but also incorporate ideas expressed during two workshops held last year in which the public and stakeholders had an opportunity to comment. The updates focus mainly on the county’s role in providing land and access to affordable housing. Amador County Planning Director Susan Grijalva told TSPN they “are required to provide affordable housing for all income levels, whether it be for extremely low, very low, low, moderate or above moderate (incomes).” The county planning website notes the county has been “unable to take action on many programs,” and “no new income restricted housing has been constructed in Amador County since 2005.” The summary said the “county has an effective and successful first-time homebuyer program, but other challenges, including infrastructure challenges, impede housing production.” The presentation outlined updates and revisions to five “broad goals” in the update, which are to provide adequate sites to encourage provision of affordable housing, provide support for affordable and special needs housing, consult with residents and agencies about housing issues, support the conservation and rehabilitation of the existing housing stock, and to improve access to housing for all residents. Cara Agustin of the Planning Department said the commission is “not yet in a position to adopt the document because they are still awaiting comments from the HCD.” The element was dropped off at HCD on February 3rd. The HCD have 60 days to respond. At that point, Agustin said they will take the HCD’s comments on the Housing Element back to commission to see if any further changes are needed. The Planning Commission will then make recommendation to the board of supervisors. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Local
Friday, 26 February 2010 01:02
Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann Comments on a Recent Study
Amador County – Dr. Bob Hartmann, Amador County Public Health Officer, elaborated Tuesday before the Board of Supervisors on a recent national study ranking Amador County as 20th healthiest in California. The study, undertaken by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examined all counties in the United States, measuring each county using national benchmarks. 56 out of 58 counties in California were included. Hartmann said the ranking is “pretty darn good for a small county.” The ranking is based on the average between two categories: Health Outcomes, which include mortality and morbidity, and Health Factors, which include behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and the physical environment. Hartmann said Amador’s best rankings is in morbidity, a broad measure which represents quality of life, where the county ranked 4th; and clinical care, where the county ranked 12th. He said “counties that have a lot of money like Marin and El Dorado” generally ranked higher overall. Calaveras County ranked slightly lower than Amador in most categories. He said the greatest area for improvement is Health Behaviors, in which Amador ranked 39. He said this category measures obesity, smoking, alcohol use and unsafe sex. “We need to develop more effective prevention strategies to improve these factors,” said Hartmann. Supervisor Ted Novelli echoed the sentiments of the board and thanked Hartmann for his report and “diligence in serving Amador County.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Health
Friday, 26 February 2010 01:00
AWA Discusses the Size of the Gravity Supply Line Project
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency discussed the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Gravity Supply Line project Thursday, with the outcome not available by deadline late Thursday. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said “information has been provided to the board,” including about 7 comment letters, the environmental study document, and proposals and plans for mitigation measures. He said staff, including attorney Steve Kronick were involved in writing the Mitigated Negative Declaration, which in effect would say that environmental impact was not necessary to merit a full Environmental Impact Report under the California Environmental Quality Act. Mancebo said they have “also met with the Foothill Conservancy regarding their concerns.” Foothill Conservancy’s Katherine Evatt, Pete Bell and attorney Thomas Infusino met with AWA staff and reportedly emerged satisfied with the approach to the GSL’s size. Mancebo recommended the board approve a resolution making the Negative Declaration, while the board also would consider making a policy decision whether to approve the Gravity Supply Line project. Kronick said approval of both would trigger a timeline for protests of the Negative Declaration. The board could make the negative declaration without approving the project. One concern was that the GSL was designed for a maximum flow of 5 cubic feet per second, while AWA only has diversion rights from the Mokelumne River for 3 cubic feet per second. Board Vice President Debbie Dunn said “we’re 2 CEQAs short,” noting that they did not have expanded diversion rights, and faced a prospect of needing to expand the Buckhorn water treatment plant to handle the extra flow. Mancebo said “this is a project-specific document” and the agency is “looking at the GSL,” not increased rights or capacity. He said environmental work on other projects would be handled separately. Director Terence Moore said: “all we’re talking about here is building the pipeline. Who knows how long the capacity increase will take.” Mancebo said the aim is that the GSL’s size outlives the capacity of the agency. Kronick said the agency has already applied to the state for a diversion capacity increase of 2 cubic feet per second. He said the state will not consider that application until an environmental review is done. That would include a review of “growth inducing effects.” Kronick said AWA “spent a considerable amount of time over this issue” with the Foothill Conservancy, whose members he said were satisfied that the agency would analyze growth inducement in that environmental analysis associated with a diversion increase application. AWA President Bill Condrashoff said that process would be open to public comment, like the negative declaration. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Water
