Amador County - The Upcountry Community Council, or UCC, met Thursday evening primarily to set forth an upcountry community consensus input letter regarding the General Plan for presentation at the Amador County Planning Commission meeting on December 16, 2008. Bob Curral, Co-chair of UCC and Amador Regional Planning Committee representative will present the input letter. Ted Novelli, District 3 Supervisor addressed the group, comprising of UCC council member Debbie Dunn, representatives from five upcountry homeowner associations, and area business owners, regarding four possible Land Service Centers or Town Centers for development under the General Plan. The group discussion encompassed topics ranging from Regional Plan Mitigation, unfunded mandates, traffic concerns, agricultural designations, water supply, fire safety, finally focusing on the area of highway 88 known as Buckhorn. Alternative C in the General Plan currently proposes a town center sphere centered at Highway 88 and Pioneer Creek Rd, adding an additional 1,000 housing units and approximately 40,000 feet of commercial square footage. The group defined the Buckhorn sphere as beginning at King James Orchard, ending at Silver Drive and extending 1,000 feet on either side of highway 88. The group will initiate a community poll to discern the types of commercial sites to be recommended for the Buckhorn sphere, i.e., medical facilities, eateries, retailers, etc. The group would also like an architectural design plan, giving the sphere a consistent, possibly alpine appearance. As the meeting drew to a close the discussion moved to the proposed Pine Grove sphere beginning at the intersection of Ridge Road and highway 88 ending at Tabeau. The General Plan would increase the number of residential units from 30 to 900 within the town center. The plan also calls for an increase in commercial square footage from 36,000 to 75,000. The group disputed the figures used in the plan, recommending increasing the additional commercial square footage to 175,000. Story by Debi Brodie
Monday, 15 December 2008 17:00
Upcountry Community Council
Amador County - The Upcountry Community Council, or UCC, met Thursday evening primarily to set forth an upcountry community consensus input letter regarding the General Plan for presentation at the Amador County Planning Commission meeting on December 16, 2008. Bob Curral, Co-chair of UCC and Amador Regional Planning Committee representative will present the input letter. Ted Novelli, District 3 Supervisor addressed the group, comprising of UCC council member Debbie Dunn, representatives from five upcountry homeowner associations, and area business owners, regarding four possible Land Service Centers or Town Centers for development under the General Plan. The group discussion encompassed topics ranging from Regional Plan Mitigation, unfunded mandates, traffic concerns, agricultural designations, water supply, fire safety, finally focusing on the area of highway 88 known as Buckhorn. Alternative C in the General Plan currently proposes a town center sphere centered at Highway 88 and Pioneer Creek Rd, adding an additional 1,000 housing units and approximately 40,000 feet of commercial square footage. The group defined the Buckhorn sphere as beginning at King James Orchard, ending at Silver Drive and extending 1,000 feet on either side of highway 88. The group will initiate a community poll to discern the types of commercial sites to be recommended for the Buckhorn sphere, i.e., medical facilities, eateries, retailers, etc. The group would also like an architectural design plan, giving the sphere a consistent, possibly alpine appearance. As the meeting drew to a close the discussion moved to the proposed Pine Grove sphere beginning at the intersection of Ridge Road and highway 88 ending at Tabeau. The General Plan would increase the number of residential units from 30 to 900 within the town center. The plan also calls for an increase in commercial square footage from 36,000 to 75,000. The group disputed the figures used in the plan, recommending increasing the additional commercial square footage to 175,000. Story by Debi Brodie
