There will be an informational meeting on January 3rd regarding Permit revisions requested by the Western Amador Recycling Facility at the Buena Vista Landfill. The meeting will provide a forum to allow interested parties to learn more about the proposed permit and provide comments to the Department of Environmental Health. Currently, municipal solid waste from this transfer station is disposed of at Forward Landfill located in San Joaquin County. The proposed revisions would address the changes required by the recent closure of the Buena Vista Landfill, and the increased volume of wastes handled through the transfer station. The waste stream growth rate has been estimated at approximately 6.7% per year.

Sheldon D. Johnson, Registrar of Voters, announced today that the petition in lieu of filing fee period for the June 3, 2008 Primary Election begins on December 28, 2007 and ends on February 21, 2008.  District One, District Two and District Four supervisorial seats are up for election in June. And  if you are considering a CONGRESSIONAL or LEGISLATIVE  OFFICE, the deadline is also February 21st. Declaration of candidacy and nomination papers will be available from the elections office between February 11, 2008 through March 7, 2008. If an incumbent fails to file his or her nomination papers by 5:00 p.m. on March 7, 2008, there will be a 5-day extension allowed for all persons other than the incumbent to file for that office or until 5:00 p.m. on March 12, 2008. Individuals interested in filing for the office of supervisor should contact the Elections Office at 223-6465 for additional information. Information on congressional and legislative offices may be obtained from the Office of the Secretary of State at (916) 657-2166.

Last night’s Planning Commission meeting is not the only hot meeting to appear on the City’s calendar this week as today the second Oro de Amador Workshop will be held. Since the recent acquisition of the 155 acre Oro de Amador parcel the City of Jackson has decided to get a jump start on the planning process for the property and is inviting the public to participate in the process and share their visions of how the property can be utilized.

The workshops are open to any interested person and are all formatted the same way and held at different times to try to meet the needs of the different cross sections of the community.The first workshop was held on April 26th and had meager attendance. The City and Community is hoping that the next two workshops will be full of interested and eager citizens to help plan the future of the beautiful and unique piece of property. The workshops are held at the Jackson Civic Center and today the meeting begins at 11:30am. The last workshop will be held Saturday May 12th at 1pm. If you have any questions contact the City of Jackson at 223-1646.

Last Thursday Amador County’s legal team filed a request for permission to amend, or change, their law suit against the United States Department of the Interior regarding the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk Indians proposed casino for the Jackson Valley Area. According to the filing, the county may have new information that would be considered pertinent to the case.This is a procedural filing that is required before the US District Court overseeing the litigation. That court will make a determination regarding whether or not the county is allowed to amend their law suit, as the court must grant permission for any changes. The Department of the Interior is also afforded the ability to respond to the request for a change to the lawsuit. The County has not disclosed the nature or content of any potential changes.

California voters passed Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coast Protection Bond Act of 2006 (the Act) on November 7, 2006. Proposition 84 added a section to the Public Resources Code (PRC), which authorized the Legislature to designate funds for the protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and streams, their watersheds and associated land, water, and other natural resources.

Last night the Jackson Planning Commission held a special meeting to make their recommendations to the City Council concerning the Jackson Hills Residential Community. The projects developer, New Faze Development is proposing 540 homes, an eighteen hole golf course, clubhouse, restaurant and maintenance facilities, recreation community center and spa, a 3 acre park and all the necessary roadway and infrastructure improvements associated with, and supporting, site development. Jackson and other County residents have mixed feelings about the project. Some state that there are major impacts that outweigh the benefits of the project. Impacts such as: traffic, sewer, effects on neighboring range land, and impacts local Police and Fire services.

The Pine Grove Bluffs was the subject of a public hearing this week in front of the Board of Supervisors.The subdivision was originally proposed as 28 residential units on 32 acres at the corner of Ridge Rd and Hwy 88. The developer Del Rapini had approached the county about changing conditions regarding traffic impacts to the intersection of Ridge Rd and Hwy 88. The Rapini’s also own a commercial piece on the corner adjacent to the proposed housing tract proposed to be the Pine Grove Shopping Center under a subdivision map approved back in 1984. When the residential subdivision was originally approved in 2005 the traffic conditions required that the developer create a turn lane on Ridge Rd from Mineral Lane to Hwy 88

Last week, the Sutter Creek City Council performed the first readings for three general plan amendments. The first, known as the ‘Hartwick General Plan Amendment’ involves the rezoning of .28 acres of property located at the corner ofSutter Ione Road and Spanish Street. The property belongs to Sutter Creek resident Gary Hartwick. The Council is proposing to rezone the property from ‘R1 residential single family’ to ‘C2 commercial.’ The rezone is in exchange for a piece of property Hartwick donated to the city in order to widen Sutter Ione Road, which is adjacent to Amador High School.

The second rezoning request under consideration is for a piece of property off of Bryson Drive, which will soon be the site of 12 cottage style residences. The ’Bryson Cottages General Plan Amendment’ is for the down-zoning of the property from Residential Housing and Commercial to Residential Single Family. The project plan was recently scaled back from the original planned 24 townhouses to 12 cottages, and the rezoning will reflect the change. Finally, the council reviewed the ‘Lincoln Mine Center General Plan Amendment.’ The property in question is located adjacent and east of the Sutter Creek Fire Department, off of Highway 49. The requested change will create two commercial lots, six moderate density residential and commercial lots, twenty-one residential single family lots, and one open space lot. The site may also be the future home to the beginning of the planned ’East Side Sutter Creek Bypass,’ which will run from Old Highway 49 to Gopher Flat Road. All of the first readings were approved unanimously by the city council.

After another 2-2 deadlock today that effectively negates approval of the ISA, the Board of Supervisors is readying to enter into arbitration with the Tribe. The decision that faced the board today was the result of a blue slipped item - the formal term for an urgent item not on the posted agenda. Last week, Supervisor Forster announced a counter offer stating that the board would consider the ISA if the clause stating that no further legal action can be taken was removed. The decision to blue slip and consider the revised ISA was introduced after the tribe yesterday stated they would agree to the revised ISA if it was approved immediately at today’s meeting.

The Amador County General Plan committee will meet this week to review draft policies. This task will occupy the for the next two meetings. The General Plan is in a review and revise period that was begun by the county near the end of 2005. The General Plan is a document that is the "constitution" or foundation upon which future land use and development decisions will be based for the unincorporated areas of the County.