Amador County – A joint meeting of the Ione City Council and the Ione Planning Commission next week will offer the public a chance to see the elements of the city’s Draft General Plan Update. The council and commission meet 6 p.m. Tuesday at Ione City Hall. City Manager Kim Kerr said city staff will take the public through 5 elements of the draft General Plan. Kerr said residents are encouraged to attend and comment on draft policies related to “housing needs, plans for open space, economic development, conservation, community character, noise, and public health & safety.” The meeting is a public workshop. A second joint workshop will be held May 19th, Kerr said, and it will “address land use and circulation issues in the community.” Once initial public comments have been gathered and the council and commission have given direction on the draft General Plan, a draft Environmental Impact Report analyzing the impacts of the General Plan Update will be released and available for public comment. The draft General Plan and related materials are posted for public review on the Ione General Plan Update website, at www.ionegeneralplan.com. Kerr said Tuesday’s “meeting is an important opportunity for residents to share their views and give insight on how to maintain Ione’s quality of life while planning for the future.” Staff has called the Ione General Plan Update “a blueprint for guiding and developing” Ione’s future. Kerr said city residents’ “participation and contribution to our meetings will be essential as we strive to preserve our history and create a viable and flourishing community that current and future generations will be glad to call home.” See more information about the Ione General Plan Update online at www.ionegeneralplan.com. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission and the county’s resident traffic czar agreed on the basic gist of Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort’s new traffic impact study. That is, if a “fair share” percentage is paid by developers for traffic impacts, how will it guarantee mitigation measures are made? The answer was not so easy. Amador County Transportation Commission Executive Director Charles Field said “it’s good to hear the planning commission comments: The things you are uncomfortable with, the ACTC staff is uncomfortable with.” He said solutions to and resolutions of problems need to be discussed and if the commission is “going to certify (Gold Rush) with this many mitigations not determined,” if might be a problem to the city. He said if all the developer does is pay “their fees and then they have paid their fair share, at that point the mitigation measure responsibility shifts to the city.” Field said other issues were the things not included in the study, such as Allen Ranch Road, which “has the purpose to serve the development,” but is not in the Environmental Impact Report. “We think it’s a good idea to plan for that use,” Field said, and “bring Allen Ranch Road into the EIR.” Field also mentioned the developer’s promised school site, which is “not in the EIR, but it’s in that area, and how is it going to be affected?” And he said the mixed-use public property in Gold Rush, for the fire station and other amenities, might need to get an entrance allowance from Caltrans on Highway 104. Field said Sutter Creek Planning Commission should not approve the Final EIR until they have certified the development agreement and conditions of approval. But he said “Gold Rush has sat with us a few times and I do believe they are willing to work on this.” Sutter Commission Chairman Robin Peters said the comment period on the new traffic study remains open until 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 5th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – New home buying statistics from La-Jolla based researcher DataQuik give a promising outlook for the local housing market. Amador County home sales have risen, likely the result of a continued drop in median home prices. The median home price in Amador County is now $189,050, down from $ 196,500 in February. In the region as a whole, the median sales price for new and existing homes combined rose for the first time in more than a year to $165,000, up $5,000 from February's median. That’s the lowest since August 2005. Sacramento area homes saw the 12th consecutive month of gains in year-over-year sales. In the region, buyers closed 610 more escrows than in February in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, according to researcher MDA DataQuick . In Amador County, 29 homes closed escrow in March, five more than in February. Heavily discounted bank repos comprised the majority of sales, which reached levels not seen since late 2008. Special government financing requiring just 3.5 percent down payments and rebates through the recent stimulus bill for first-time home buyers have fueled the steady rise in home sales, said Dataquik. Lower interest rates of 5 percent or less are also a major contributor. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador County General Plan Update panel met Tuesday and discussed a computerized traffic modeling program, along with Spheres Of Influence. Amador County Transportation Commission Executive Director Charles Field presented the U-Plan traffic planning system, and said much data remains to be gathered. Art Marinaccio of Citizens For Responsible Government asked how U-Plan will help traffic if it does not take into consideration traffic congestion. He said it also does not include information from proposed new city General Plans. Marinaccio said the General Plan indicates 47 percent of Amador construction will be residential high-density housing, for apartments and townhomes. He said annexation was “one of the really important questions,” and asked “when are actual decision-makers going to see that information.” Field said Marinaccio “came in here hoping to have all of this done, but there is more work to do before we get to that point.” That includes new city Spheres Of Influence, and work with the state on air quality in Amador to satisfy greenhouse gas requirements. He said 2 high-density categories exist: Residential High Density and Residential Very High Density, with the latter the only one allowing apartment-density zoning. Supervisor John Plasse asked about the timeline for approval of Spheres Of Influence by the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission. County Planner Susan Grijalva said “current Spheres Of Influence will remain in place until cities apply for amendments.” LAFCO and the county, she said, are “expecting requests for Sphere amendments from all 5 cities in the next 4 or 5 months.” Ione City Planner Christopher Jordan said those requests were expected by September. Grijalva said “until the Spheres are amended, what is in place is all we have to go with.” Commissioner Andy Byrne asked if it was “possible to use preliminary data.” Grijalva said “cities come in aggressive. And what comes out of LAFCO may not always be as far-reaching as they would have liked”. A public comment asked about most growth seeming to occur around designated “Town Centers.” Grijalva said “we are hoping that the modeling will bear that out. We don’t have control over land use development, because the county doesn’t own that land…. We have land that has been marked for development for umpteen years and still not been developed.” She said the Wicklow Way project has been designated since the 1970s and still has yet to break ground. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Regional Planning Committee meeting set for April 1st has been canceled, and staff encouraged its members to attend the upcoming Amador County Historic Preservation Workshop instead. Sutter Creek city staffer Marta Kirkley encouraged members to attend the Amador Historic Preservation Workshop set for 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 7th, in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at the Amador County Administration Building, 810 Court Street in Jackson. The Amador County Administration Committee is hosting the evening workshop, which will be presented by the State Office of Historic Preservation. The purpose of the workshop is to explore the Certified Local Government program and how it relates to historic preservation in Amador County. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Rob Aragon of JTS Communities fielded questions about a new phase proposed Wednesday for Castle Oaks, for 153 new single-family homes, 63 multi-family units, and 70,000 square feet of retail and medical offices. Mayor Lee Ard asked if he had spoken with Kaiser Permanente, which had become a local presence, when “HMOs left town 4 or 5 years ago.” Aragon said a “first step is getting with the Kaisers of the world,” and Mule Creek might need medical office space. The multi-family units might be condominiums or townhomes, and Vice Mayor Skip Schaufel said he would prefer that location, to the right of Castle Oaks Drive, might be better used if they swap a hotel with the multi-family units. Schaufel said “personally, I feel many people are looking forward to a motel coming here in Ione.” Aragon said he has met with developers, who have rejected the hotel concept. He said to invest millions for a motel, the amount of traffic needed for it to be viable was not going to happen. If it was going to happen, he said it would have happened already. Ard and City Manager Kim Kerr said CDF was planning to build dormitories to house its trainees, cutting traffic from Ione to Sutter Creek’s motel. Aragon said the economic climate had “gotten worse” since 2005, and selling retail space, “even 10,000 square feet of this is going to be a very long discussion.” Commissioner Mike McDermed said the medical offices are “very viable.” Dominic Atlan of Castle Oaks, said he would like to see townhouses other than rentals. On the hotel, he was “pretty much waiting for it to be eliminated from the project.” He would rather they look for a new location for a hotel. Atlan said anyone going forward with building now is “very brave,” and he agreed retail dollars would be good for the city, adding that “there will be other retail. It doesn’t all have to be at Castle Oaks.” Jack Brotherton said he did not want a gas station there, but Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said a gas station there might draw Mule Creek workers to buy gas before leaving the county. Aragon said Ione has a “very viable, very well-managed company that is presenting a concept. And the only thing set is stone is the ability to move forward.” He said the next step is to “make the decision internally to proceed with an entitlement application.” Story by Jim Reece.

Amador County - The good news is, “we have a map, we have a general land plan,” Ione City Planner Christopher Jordan said Wednesday, though the work is still waiting to be done. The Ione City Council worked late Tuesday night to approve the Land Use Element, setting in motion the drafting of both the new Ione General Plan and the Environmental Impact Report. Both documents were begun Wednesday morning. Jordan said the next step in the process is getting the General Plan written and the EIR written. He said the “EIR and the General Plan are done in parallel,” so that if environmental issues come up in the GP, they can be addressed immediately. Jordan said the EIR and the GP were scheduled to be completed by early April. After that, Jordan and city consultants, PMC Consulting, will roll out the draft General Plan and the EIR for public comment opportunities in some workshops scheduled for April. He said several comment periods will be available for citizens to comment on the General Plan and EIR draft documents. Some changes Tuesday included the Silva Property, on which they only included the property east of 5 Mile Road with the “Special Planning Area” designation, for Residential, Commercial and Industrial uses. The Silva Property west of 5 Mile road was left under the Agriculture General designation. The Triangle Area was also designated as a Special Planning Area. The Howard family is the predominant landowner of the Triangle Area, property between Highways 124, 104 and 88. The property had been discussed as possibly being designated for surface mining, rather than commercial, due in part to potential soil issues there. Jordan said “the city council wanted to recognize that there were some potentially commercial areas out there and they wanted to leave its development to the market and the property owners.” Story by Jim Reece

Amador County – A study 2 years in the making brought hopes for redevelopment at the Plymouth City Council last Thursday. City Grants Administrator Teri Cox and consultants presented a study funded by a Community Development Block Grant that identified a section of Plymouth that qualifies for formation of a Redevelopment Agency, with ensuing grants for urban renewal. Stephen Prestwood of PMC gave a preliminary redevelopment report and said the city was well on its way toward forming the agency, saying the next step was to do an Environmental Impact Report. He said a suitable area was identified and met criteria for the agency formation, including 83 percent being urban settings and incidents of blight in 53 percent of lots and structures. Prestwood said potential projects included public infrastructure, property acquisition, site development and commercial and housing rehabilitation assistance. He said current assessed value of the property in Plymouth was $60.295 Million, which in a 30-year plan with the redevelopment was projected to increase by more that triple to $299.5 Million. Estimates included increased retail space by 67,000 square feet and commercial space by 350,000 square feet. Prestwood predicted $6 Million in bond issuances in 7 years, and $3 million more in about 12 years and again in 20 years. City Manager Dixon Flynn asked how long it would take to finish an EIR and adopt a Redevelopment Plan. Prestwood said it must be accomplished by August 2009. City Planner Paula Daneluk said they did not yet have an estimate on the cost of an EIR. Flynn said “under the Redevelopment Agency concept, you incur debt” though deficit spending, then are reimbursed through the financing mechanisms and “pay ourselves back … You are borrowing money before you are even spending.” That included paying for the EIR then being reimbursed. He said that included staff work on the agency, such as his own and staff. Jim Carney of PMC said the “Next big step is the EIR.” He said they are hearing from Washington, D.C., that there is going to be a stimulus package to pay for infrastructure. Daneluk said she would like to bring the project back with better numbers, but “it’s a sure thing that you’ll get money from having a Redevelopment Agency.” Baldwin said “Plymouth is 1 square mile and (the cost of an EIR) can’t be that bad. We need these number, A.S.A.P.” Story by Jim Reece

Amador County – A joint meeting of the Ione City Council and Planning Commission opened the city’s Draft General Plan Update to the public on Tuesday, with little public comment. Joyce Stone, a Castle Oaks resident and president of the Amador Childcare Council, said she wanted to work with the council to get childcare added to the General Plan. She said she saw childcare as an economic challenge and factor. Commission Chairman Joe Wylie and others commended Pacific Municipal Consultants for their work. Wylie said “they told us last year that they were going to have this done in a year,” and they seem to be on track to do that. He said that came last year, even as other cities in Amador County were in the second or third years of their General Plan updates. Commissioner Mike McDermed said besides some items Wylie pointed out, he was very impressed with PMC’s work. Wylie brought up some wording he did not like, such as changing the “single woman head-of-household” to the “single person head-of-household.” He also thought parts conflicted in the Open Space and Conservation element. He said preservation of agricultural land was a big priority, but it also “limited leapfrogging.” PMC’s Daniel Hamilton said leapfrogging was skipping a parcel and extending services beyond it to develop another parcel, non-contiguous to infrastructure and developed land. He said it encourages the development of the leaped-over land and causes it to increase in value. Commissioner Mark Hopkins asked how old the FEMA maps were in the General Plan. City Planner Christopher Jordan said that was an “excellent point” and they were working to update those. City Manager Kim Kerr said they anticipated changes with FEMA’s update, which after it takes effect would not have to be implemented until 6 months later. The council and commission will still need to host a public hearing on the remaining 2 elements of the Draft General Plan, on traffic circulation and on land use. The next meeting was set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 19th, and will be part of the regular city council meeting. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission finalized its review of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort Specific Plan last week, setting the calendar for several other hearings. Commission Chairman Robin Peters stopped short of calling for revising the Specific Plan in draft form, but he said it was difficult to stay on target. Consultant Anders Hague acknowledged that, adding that “one of the difficulties is continually having to revise these things.” He said “it is good to talk about the elements of conditions of approval,” and he said the “overall Wildlife Habitat Management Plan must be approved so the developer can follow it.” The details will come with the conditions of approval, agreed upon by Gold Rush and the Sutter Creek City Council. Peters agreed, saying it would answer questions, such as “who would build or pay for which trails.” Commissioner Franck Cunha said the specific plan included “5 miles of trails” that are “not tied to any other phase.” He said the point is, “when are those trails going to be built?” They agreed that the Wildlife Plan should have its own language associated with the state Fish & Game Department, then have the final authority be Fish & Game. Commissioner Robert Olson said the wildlife section required a “qualified biologist,” but he did not “see anything where a penalty is provided for cutting too many trees.” Gold Rush Project Manager Jim Harnish said local, state and federal governments provide penalties for environmental violation. Peters said “it seems that any permit sought will be in for a difficult process,” and he thought Olson’s point was a good one. Commissioner Mike Kirkley said the “procedure needs to be spelled out a little more clearly.” Haque said he liked Peters’ idea of a chart for the process. Kirkley said he did not “like the biologist concept, because they are not licensed.” For the environmental aspect, he said “we better have our ducks in a row, because if our environmental document is not good, or if the specific plan is not good, it will be thrown out” in court. On Monday, the planning commission hosts a public hearing on the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report for Gold Rush, specifically for the traffic impact study. The commission’s first meeting in May will wrap up loose ends and look at the errata sheet and conditions of approval. The commission could have a recommendation ready for the city council by the end of June. The council could consider the recommendation in July. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.