Amador County - The Amador County General Plan panel chose to designate land inside city Spheres of Influence as “Urban Reserves,” as they wrapped up a rehashing of the draft General Plan. The panel broke for the holiday season and a 3-month hiatus on a month-long serial meeting Thursday with staff directions to the planning department. County Planner Susan Grijalva said she thinks she knows what was agreed upon by supervisors and county planning commissioners and what was rejected over the 5 days of the meeting, which began in mid October and was reconvened 4 times. The meeting will resume in February. Grijalva and her staff will make further review on some items, including affordable housing, and on the topic of “Town Centers.” The latter will be subject of community input to determine which areas do or do not want to be designated as Town Centers. Among some items discussed Thursday, Planning Commissioners reported on their Tuesday meeting that had representatives from 4 of the 5 cities in Amador County. Commissioner Ray Ryan said they got a lot of input from developers and city planners, with the “Urban Reserve” designation getting the nod as a fit for designating unincorporated areas of Amador County that fall inside city Spheres of Influence. Ryan said he thought it was “in unison with the cities as well.” He said the planning commission agreed. Supervisor Richard Escamilla said he would still prefer to leave it alone and handle each designation individually. Commissioner Andy Byrne said he was in favor of designating all areas in Spheres of Influence of the cities, noting that addressing it with the blanket action “rather than an ad-hoc basis allows for better planning in the long run.” They identify what land is for, its development potential and its future within city boundaries. She said LAFCO looks at whether a vacant lot with cows on it will be there in 5 years. Board Chairman Richard Forster voted against the Urban Reserve designation, saying that it was “asking agriculture people to make a justification to stay agriculture.” The planning commission will return with revisions and further study information when the serial meeting resumes, February 17th, 18th and 19, from noon to 4 p.m. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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Amador County - The Amador County General Plan panel chose to designate land inside city Spheres of Influence as “Urban Reserves,” as they wrapped up a rehashing of the draft General Plan. The panel broke for the holiday season and a 3-month hiatus on a month-long serial meeting Thursday with staff directions to the planning department. County Planner Susan Grijalva said she thinks she knows what was agreed upon by supervisors and county planning commissioners and what was rejected over the 5 days of the meeting, which began in mid October and was reconvened 4 times. The meeting will resume in February. Grijalva and her staff will make further review on some items, including affordable housing, and on the topic of “Town Centers.” The latter will be subject of community input to determine which areas do or do not want to be designated as Town Centers. Among some items discussed Thursday, Planning Commissioners reported on their Tuesday meeting that had representatives from 4 of the 5 cities in Amador County. Commissioner Ray Ryan said they got a lot of input from developers and city planners, with the “Urban Reserve” designation getting the nod as a fit for designating unincorporated areas of Amador County that fall inside city Spheres of Influence. Ryan said he thought it was “in unison with the cities as well.” He said the planning commission agreed. Supervisor Richard Escamilla said he would still prefer to leave it alone and handle each designation individually. Commissioner Andy Byrne said he was in favor of designating all areas in Spheres of Influence of the cities, noting that addressing it with the blanket action “rather than an ad-hoc basis allows for better planning in the long run.” They identify what land is for, its development potential and its future within city boundaries. She said LAFCO looks at whether a vacant lot with cows on it will be there in 5 years. Board Chairman Richard Forster voted against the Urban Reserve designation, saying that it was “asking agriculture people to make a justification to stay agriculture.” The planning commission will return with revisions and further study information when the serial meeting resumes, February 17th, 18th and 19, from noon to 4 p.m. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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