By Jim Reece -

The Amador County Planning Department hosts a series of joint meetings of the planning commission and Board of Supervisors this week, with writing the new General Plan as the final objective. Planners are looking for Supervisors’ direction in the use of a “Habitat Conservation Plan,” or HCP, which is an “implementation measure” by which planners can tailor an overall plan to protect wildlife and habitats in a certain area. Planner Heather Anderson said it is a means of addressing requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and U.S. Fish and Game. Anderson said it is a way of determining if land uses impact something that is federally protected. But one local activist group, the “Amador Citizens for Responsible Government” is encouraging citizens to attend in protest of the HCP. “Spending 2 to 3 million on a Habitat Conservation Plan…would reduce local control of the County’s General Plan and potentially give significant power to Federal and State agencies,” they said in a release. The series of meetings start Tuesday and run Wednesday and Thursday, and will look at land uses all around the county. Standing room only crowds are expected. Day 1 of the serial meeting will be for staff presentations of the meeting’s purpose and background. Day 2 will be for public input and comment. Day 3 will be for planning commission and supervisor deliberation and direction to staff. The meeting, over three days, will be held 1 to 5 p.m. in the Supervisors Chambers, 800 Court Street. The meeting should include planners giving recommendations to supervisors as the meeting progresses.