By Jennifer Wilson -
Upcountry residents are doing their part to aid in the Amador County General Plan update. At the Upcountry Communities Council, or UCC, meeting Thursday evening, member Bob Currall had attendees break up into groups according to Upcountry region. About 25 residents attended and broke up into three groups, one each for Amador Pines, Buckhorn, and Pine Grove/Lower Pioneer. Currall asked each group to discuss what they wanted for their area in terms of land use designations and other attributes. The main concern echoed throughout the groups was keeping things the same and keeping densities low. Currall, who lives in Amador Pines, says, “We like it the way it is.” Amador Pines mainly wanted their area to be only Agricultural-Transition, which represents 5-acre minimum lots. Currently, some of Amador Pines has that designation, but not all. Others had questions about the proposed Local Service Center, or LSC, designation, which will allocate “town center” areas for local townships such as Pine Grove and Buckhorn. That proposed designation has a density of 18 units/acre, and some residents’ properties in the Buckhorn area were shown as LSC on Alternative Map D. Currall reminded the crowd that the alternative maps were only suggestions and that the end result will be a little bit from each map, including resident’s suggestions. Another change pointed out at the meeting was that on the proposed maps, Gayla Manor would have the designation, “Special Planning Area.” Currall asked each group to record their questions and suggestions so that he could pass those on to Susan Grijalva, the county’s Planning Director. At the UCC’s next meeting, Currall will bring back some of those answers, and hopes to complete what he calls an “Upcountry Land Use Profile” by the end of November to hand in to the county Planning Department. While it is not guaranteed that all suggestions will be included in the new General Plan, Currall reported that he was informed that they would “weigh heavily” in its formation. UCC meetings are held the third Thursday of each month, usually in the Veteran’s Hall at Pioneer Park. For more information, contact Bob Currall at 295-7630.
