By Jim Reece -

Potential zoning changes across the county will be the subject of a 3-day hearing to map out land use for the new Amador County General Plan. Amador County supervisors and planning commissioners will host the hearing October 14, 15 and 16 to discuss the General Plan Land Use Map and its affect on land use zoning throughout the county. The Amador Planning Department Land Use Agency sent a notice of the hearing last week to all property owners in the county. The public hearing is the first in a series that will “begin the process of developing a Preferred Alternative Land Use Map for Analysis in the Environmental Impact Report” of the General Plan. With the letter came a list of 20 descriptions of particular or general zoning area changes that could affect many different properties around the county. The letter indicated that “this is not a complete, or detailed, list,” and urged property owners to visit the county website to “view and obtain the written information and maps that have been developed to this point.” Paper copies are available at the Planning Department at 20 cents a page. The letter said “because all of the various changes currently under consideration cannot be set out in this notice, we urge you to contact the Amador County Planning Department at (209) 223-6380 to personally discuss with staff the potential effects the proposal may have on your specific property.” The department said the list is subject to change throughout the process of the public land use map hearings. Specific areas mentioned included approximately 800 acres in the Martell area; 18,000 acres northwest, west and southeast of Ione; the Camanche Village area; property just northwest of the intersection of Camanche Road and Camanche Parkway North; Open High Country east of Dew Drop; Open Forest west of Dew Drop; River Pines; Rabb Park; an area at the southeast corner of the western most junction of Highway 88 and Jackson Valley Road; and parcels on the southwest and southeast corners of the Highway 16 and 49 junction.