Amador County - The first stakeholder meeting concerning the Economic Element of the General Plan was held Tuesday in the Board of Supervisors chambers. The purpose of the meeting was to gather information from the stakeholders on the Economic Element to be presented in draft form before the Board of Supervisors. The “stakeholder” groups were originally conceived by the Supervisors as a way to gather county-wide input on two separate elements of the General Plan- an economic element and a governance element. Economic element stakeholders include a dozen groups or organizations within the county and each city, all of whom were invited to the meeting. City Planners from every city within county limits were in attendance, except Amador City. ACTC Director Charles Field and a representative from EBMUD sat with the City Planners on a stakeholder’s panel surrounding a wall projection of the plan. A cross-section of county officials were also in attendance, including Planning Director Susan Grijalva, County Administrative Officer Terri Daly, and the Board of Supervisors with the exception of Richard Forster. Discussions focused on potential conflicts and overlay between city General Plans and the county, specifically in reference to property and development. Jackson City Planner Mike Daly said his city has finished there General Plan and is looking now at a potential expansion of its Sphere of Influence. Christopher Jordan of Ione said there Draft EIR is being prepared. Sutter Creek’s Sean Rabe said his city’s plan is “generally done.” The meeting moved along quicker than expected, with public comments taking up the bulk of the session and relatively few remarks from the stakeholders themselves. Katherine Evatt of the Foothill Conservancy expressed a need for the county to ensure that “(the public) is deeply involved in the development process” by “reaching across jurisdictions” and “taking advantage of technology that’s out there.” Resident Sue Hokana said the website link for the General plan was like “going to the dentist and getting the drill out.” Each member of the public contributed a list of agencies it believed should be considered when relating to state and federal agencies. Grijalva said she will prepare a revised draft based on this new input and present it to the Board of Supervisors in the beginning of March. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.