The Ione City Council directed staff on Tuesday to look at a restroom project at the city horse arena and also at a environmental analysis of the 12-year-old Howard Park Master Plan. The latter direction had the intent of getting the project up to par with the California Environmental Quality Act. The council directed City Manager Kim Kerr to look at getting funding from the Amador County Recreation Agency for recreation and also seeing if those funds can be applied to the CEQA analysis of the Howard Park Master Plan, which was created in 1996. Kerr said that ACRA has 100,000 dollars in state proposition money for use in parks and recreation. She said the city at first wanted to use the funding to make upgrades and remodel the Evalynn Bishop Hall, but they saw that the costs in doing so were more than could be covered by the 100,000 dollars. Kerr instead urged the city council to direct her in looking at the costs of various projects at Howard Park, and finally to look at getting the ACRA funding for the total environmental study of the Howard Park Master Plan. She will talk with ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep to see if the funds can be used in that way. Kerr said it was the best approach “because a CEQA analysis would give us the whole park.” She said CEQA is “always the first piece…” and is the “whole basis of everything now.” The council discussed putting a permanent restroom facility at the horse arena in Howard Park. Kerr said the priority should be the bathrooms at the arena, which she said also needed storage. Mayor Andrea Bonham said the bathrooms were needed, noting that “the nicer we make the arena, the nicer it will be for us to rent it out.” Kerr requested and the council directed her to get costs and specifications then bring back the options for a council decision. She said Howard Park Issues such as parking, drainage and Manzanita trees would be among the issues analyzed in the CEQA study. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – Sutter Creek Planning reviewed a revised traffic impact study Monday for the Gold Rush Ranch & Gold Resort, looking at mitigation expectations. Commissioner Frank Cunha suggested including the Allen Ranch Road connection to Highway 49 as part of the EIR. Commissioner Mike Kirkley said a “lot of traffic comes into the older parts of town, and the only park in the development will be out here too.” He suggested making those part of the traffic EIR, in a study of old Highway 49. Consultant Bob Delk said he met with city staff, Caltrans and ACTC and he didn’t “believe they had any comments to look at traffic on old Highway 49.” Kirkley said most mitigations are “fair share” percentages, and asked about keeping track of those payments and also about “statements of overriding concern.” Consultant Anders Hague said “statements of overriding concerns likely will be done by staff and the city attorney.” He said the commission is being asked to determine adequacy of the EIR and make recommendations. “If there are overriding conditions, you can offer them with the recommendation.” Kirkley said he cannot make a recommendation without that information on old Highway 49. Hague said “there are going to be projects built to satisfy” impact mitigations. Commissioner Frank Cunha said “the fair share portion of this bothers me,” asking if “the city keep track of the (developer’s fair share) or does the money go into the regional transit fund?” Cunha said “if the developer is keeping track of them, are they ever really going to be done?” Delk said “different tiers of improvements are identified in the Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee Program.” He said ACTC is developing a CMX, or Circulation Mapping Exercise to determine fair share fees. ACTC Executive Director Charles Field said the CMX tool is “stalled in committee” and it was too soon to be able to rely on it for mitigation. Cunha said he has a “hard time calling it a mitigation if you know it’s never going to be built.” Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe said by law, the city “can only require development to pay their fair share.” The commission’s next meeting is 7 p.m. Monday, May 11th, when they go through errata sheets and individual commission comments. Peters said “the unresolved issues are all that we have left – the hard stuff.” Cunha asked if they could get the next meeting’s documents sooner, as they will be “basically going through all of this.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – After reaching a consensus on a designation called the “Special Planning Area-Interim,” the Amador County General Plan Update panel chose a new name for the designation last week. Planning Commission Chairwoman Denise Tober suggested the term “Restricted Planning Area,” and the panel of commissioners and Amador Supervisors chose it as a new, tentative designation, to replace SPA-I. “Restricted Planning Area” is tentative, like the entire General Plan Update, and still needs an EIR, analysis and review, said County Planner Susan Grijalva. Bill Bunce’, owner of Ranch Arroyo Seco requested panel review of the designation criteria to see what was acceptable to the county, what needed more change or what needed to be omitted. Last week’s meeting focused on that request, and Grijalva said the request would “not allow anything to happen without a General Plan amendment.” Besides changing the name from SPA-I to Restricted Planning Area, the board also agreed to change the language in the designation to make the criteria mandatory. Grijalva said the land has no proposed project. The panel discussed parts of the criteria, and Supervisor Richard Forster asked if they could encourage development at Arroyo Seco to “happen near Ione, where infrastructure is in place.” Commissioner Andy Byrne agreed, and he was worried about the Mineral Resource Zone, which the Rancho “wraps around.” Forster said future land development there was clear, and the more control they had, the better. Supervisor Louis Boitano said they could keep the current General Plan designation, and have 400 parcels of 40 acres each, “and you can’t do much mining on those.” Supervisor John Plasse asked if they should add criteria that it be economically viable for mining. Boitano said it would have to be because people are “not going to be mining on a 1-acre parcel.” Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli said draft criteria that required new plans to “demonstrate” adequate transportation systems or public utilities, seemed loose and vague. Novelli said they “could probably get 100 different definitions for (the word Demonstrate) here tonight.” Grijalva said there is some “prime” farmland on Rancho Arroyo Seco, and prime farmland is defined in the Williamson Act by production and dollar output levels. But she had “never heard of dry-land pasture being referred to as prime (farmland).” Staff will work on minor changes to the criteria for the panel’s later approval. It meets again in a week or 2, to revisit the “Economic Element” and the “Urban Reserve” land designation. No date has been set for the next 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 wrapped up its review of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort specific plan last Monday, though more commission meetings lie ahead. The commission went through the last several attachments to the Gold Rush specific plan, omitting the last, the “School Facilities Mitigation Agreement.” Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe said the commission “wanted it taken out of the General Plan because the city cannot do anything about it.” The agreement is between the developers and the Amador County Unified School District, and he said it likely would not become a part of the conditions of approval. Rabe said: “I don’t think that we can legally condition that.” The agreement for a school site is an area likely to be annexed outside of the project area, which School Board President Mary Walser confirmed was in the works earlier this year. The planning commission kept the attachment for the “Golf Course Best Management Practices,” saying it was not a task for the commission. The completion of the specific plan review sets up the next meeting, April 27th, when the planning commission will host a public hearing on the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report for Gold Rush, for the revised section relating to the revised traffic impact study. The schedule also includes the commission’s first meeting in May, which Rabe said will “finish up loose ends,” look at the errata sheet and the conditions of approval. The commission could get to the point of making a recommendation to the city council, at the end of June. The Sutter Creek City Council will look at the recommendation, possibly in special meetings on Wednesdays in July, though dates are not yet set. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Stanislaus County - A long-discussed plan to widen Highway 99 will have far-reaching affects on surrounding counties, according to a consultant for Stanislaus County. This would greatly improve traffic flows in the surrounding area and for the many commuters between Amador County, Lodi, Stockton and Modesto. During a recent meeting of the Stanislaus County Transportation Commission, consultant Alan McCuen said the freeway could expand by one or two lanes each way from Ripon to Briggsmore Avenue in Modesto. The Stanislaus County stretch is estimated to cost $73 million. Under McCuen’s proposal, the county and its nine cities would reserve $2.1 million every two years. He stressed cooperation as the key to moving along a plan that has been in the works on and off for almost a decade. The greatest conflict centers on funding, which currently requires pooling money from each of the valley’s eight counties between Lodi and Bakersfield. McCuen said they are more likely to secure funding through state and federal grants. Other ideas for fundraising include higher vehicle license fees, charging tolls on some segments, and charging drivers based on their mileage. If the eight counties -- San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kern and Kings -- bank 10 percent of their road money, the partners could achieve all of their respective projects in about 24 years, according to a draft finance plan. Going it alone could take several decades, McCuen said. Ken Baxter of the California Department of Transportation cited Amador, Calaveras and Alpine counties as examples for effectively pooling their money to produce projects. Further debate on this ambitious and ongoing project is expected during upcoming meetings of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Developers of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort last Friday released newly updated portions of its Draft Environmental Impact Report, opening a new comment period for those specific categories. Consultant for Gold Rush, Bob Delk, of Fehr & Peers told the Sutter Creek Planning Commission on Monday that the revised portions of the Draft EIR were the Traffic Impact Study and “the changes refer to traffic operations analysis.” Delk said consultants plan to “take the new sections and fold them into the EIR.” Planning Commission Chairman Robin Peters asked if the commission would be asked to comment on the updated DEIR. Delk said they would probably take comment at a public hearing, April 27th, close the hearing and then take commission input. The revised Draft EIR section documents are available online at the city of Sutter Creek’s website. Paper copies of the documents are available for the public to read at Sutter Creek City Hall and at the Amador County Library’s main branch in Jackson. A 45-daycomment period, strictly on the revised portions of the Draft EIR, opened with on Friday when the document was published. Written comments can be submitted by mail or e-mail. A public hearing on the new traffic study will be held Monday, April 27th at Sutter Creek’s community building, at 33 Church Street. Those comments on the new documents, and also comments received in the previous, 60-day comment period for the EIR, will all be included in, and addressed, as Gold Rush consultants write the Final Environmental Impact Report. The Final EIR, however, will not address comments submitted during the revised Draft EIR sections review period that do not address the revised Draft EIR sections. Comments on the revised Draft EIR sections must be submitted to the city by no later than 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 – The City of Plymouth on Thursday will discuss a notice of preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for a new 300-unit housing subdivision to be located east of Highway 49 and north of town, with a goal of being annexed into the city. The city of Plymouth will be lead agency in preparing an EIR for Cottage Knoll Estates, being pursued by the company “Planning Partners” of Sloughouse. The subdivision project includes a “Sphere of Influence Amendment to place the entire project area within the city of Plymouth sphere of influence,” noting that the “majority of the project site is already located inside the city’s sphere of influence. That would require and the EIR would seek Cottage Knoll’s annexation into the city on approval by the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission. The Cottage Knoll subdivision would also require a city general plan amendment, a boundary line adjustment, a master utility plan by the city and a development agreement between Plymouth and Planning Partners. The project includes extension of existing city sewer pipes to serve the project. The city’s notice of preparation of the EIR says that “additional infrastructure required by the project or to serve cumulative development will be identified during the preparation of the EIR. The environmental effects of building and operating these facilities will be assessed in the EIR.” A 30-day public comment period began December 17th and ends January 19th on the Cottage Knoll’s “Notice of Preparation,” and any written comments on the document must be submitted to the city or City Planner Paula Daneluk by January 19th. A public scoping meeting to receive comments is set for 5 p.m. Monday, January 12th at Plymouth City Hall. The project description is available at city hall and on the city’s website. Cottage Knoll Estates is proposed for 86.26 acres in and around Plymouth, to create approximately 300 residential lots for single-family development. The proposed project would be located east of Highway 49 and north of Shenandoah Road. The “project area consists of oak woodlands and gently sloping hills and grasslands,” and is adjacent to the north boundary of the city of Plymouth at Shenandoah Road. The project proposes to connect to Highway 49 by extension of Miller Way and Cottage Knoll Way. The project would have east-west bike lanes  on Miller Way and North-south bike lanes along Black Tailed Hare Way and Wild Oak Way.

The Amador County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission considered the vision statement of the county’s draft general plan Wednesday. County Planner Susan Grijalva reminded them that they were not making decisions but only directions for staff on work to be done and brought back to the joint meeting after the first of the year. The board and commission decided to set aside requests for changes to land designations until after deciding on General Plan policy. Grijalva said if not, they would be deciding land use issues and then working policies around the decisions, which is not usually done. The board and commission also voted to stop taking requests for changes, after several more were received, despite the cut-off date of July. They voted to not take any more requests after Tuesday. Supervisor Brian Oneto said he liked the old vision statement better than the new one, saying the latter was too broad. He said “the pie in the sky is nice, but we live in a real world.” Oneto said economics, resources and production were not being addressed in the vision statement, but belonged there. He did not understand the term “sustainable local economy.” Commissioner Andy Byrne said it meant an economy that is viable in the long term. Oneto argued for changing the term to vibrant, and the board and commission agreed. Byrne disagreed, saying he thought vibrant sounded short-term. Oneto asked to change the term “use and protect” to “manage” to describe the handling of the “county’s wealth of natural resources.” He also asked to change the word “conserving” to “managing.” Oneto also wanted to change one goal, C-10, which was to “reduce the environmental effects of farming and ranching activities.” Chairman Richard Forster suggested the goal instead be to “Support the efforts of farmers and ranchers to be environmentally friendly in their business practices.” Oneto also asked why there was a goal to “reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions from automobile travel,” and he wondered why and how they would do that. Forster said “we will do that, otherwise the attorney general will sue us like they did the city of San Bernardino.” The meeting was continued to next Wednesday, November 12th, from 8 am to 1 pm in the supervisors chambers. Story by Jim Reece.

By Jim Reece -

In a meeting Tuesday, the Amador Water Agency and the city of Jackson agreed that the city should be involved with revisions in the water Participation Fee updates and also how and when to add additional Water Treatment Plant Capacity. The AWA board talked about the history of its rate relationship with the city of Jackson and the AWA board determined to keep the lines of communication open with the city. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie rehashed a history of some misconceptions about the agency and Jackson’s water rates, to dispel rumors. Jackson’s lead negotiator, Bill Condrashoff, on Tuesday also agreed to support the Jackson rate increase and agreed that the “cost to serve” study was accurate. Abercrombie said he was able to make headway in talks, saying, “when you remove some of the conflicts, you are dealing with facts.” Abercrombie dispelled one item of misinformation, saying that Jackson residents are not paying for the Plymouth Pipeline. He said contrary to misinformation, the agency will not spend 40 Million Dollars on Ione and Tanner water treatment projects, of which existing customers will not pay 30 percent. Abercrombie said that wholesale fees in the Plymouth Pipeline agreement of 2,500 dollars were based on 2004 rates, when negotiations between Plymouth and the AWA began. The agreement for the Plymouth Pipeline was signed in 2006 and the wholesale fee increases were 2,480 dollars in April 2004. It was raised to 5,010 dollars in December 2005 and then raised again to 7,020 dollars on October 11, 2007. In Summary, Abercrombie said that Jackson’s water rates were based on a water rate study and a “cost to serve” study, by Bob Reed. He said the main reason for the rate increase was due to litigation caused by Protect Historic Amador Waterways members, with 9 million dollars in capital costs, or 3 dollars per customer for 30 years. Condrashoff said he didn’t “like the Agency to pass the buck on this 9 Million-dollar litigation fee,” and he said PHAW won the lawsuit. District 5 board member Terence Moore said, “you want to know who won the lawsuit? Go out and look at the water pumping in from the valley.”

Amador County – The Plymouth Planning Commission on Thursday will look at zoning change requests for 165 acres near Plymouth. The Greilich property developers seek to have 82 acres zoned at “suburban residential,” and 23.5 acres zoned as “auto-urban residential” (on separate plots of 17 and 6.5 acres). Another 18.5-acre section is sought to be zoned “urban residential,” with a usage map showing about half slated for apartments, and half for townhomes. 38 acres are tabbed for “suburban commercial” zoning. The map also includes 5 acres in the northeast corner of the parcel for ballfields. The parcel is located in Amador County and in the “Sphere of Influence” of the city of Plymouth, according to GW Consulting Engineers. The property is also included in the Williamson Act. City Planner Darcy Goulart said “staff has been informed” that additional information is being “prepared to help support the request and will be provided prior to the meeting.” Developers of the Greilich Parcel, owned by Elanor Greilich, request square footage breakdowns and shows 26,400 square feet of retail and commercial use, including “personal services, neighborhood markets and a small restaurant.” A service station would occupy a 3,800 square foot building, and a single-story hotel would have 60 rooms. A professional office park would occupy another 30,000 square feet, and an assisted living, nursing home and a congregate care facilities each would have 25 rooms. A retirement home would have 50 rooms or apartments and there would be 5,000 square feet of daycare. In the non-residential uses, 23 acres would be occupied, and a 40 percent requirement would leave 15.1 acres as open space. The Plymouth City Council and Planning Commission will hold a special joint meeting Thursday at Plymouth City Hall to hear a presentation from the head of the Amador County Local Agency Formation Commission. Amador LAFCO Executive Director Roseanne Chamberlain will give a presentation on procedures related to “Sphere of Influence,” annexations and other LAFCO related topics. The presentation is set for 7 p.m. City Hall also released a special meeting agenda this week, and the city council will hold a single-item special meeting, for a closed session discussion about anticipated litigation. The special meeting starts at 6 p.m. Thursday. The regular meeting of the Planning Commission follows. The agenda includes a general discussion on the draft General Plan and Environmental Impact Report and a discussion regarding possible land use map changes. Staff will update the Planning Commission on meetings held to date regarding the Urban Reserve land use designation in Amador County’s General Plan Update for properties within Plymouth’s existing Sphere of Influence. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.