Ledger-Dispatch

By Debbie Dunn (ddunn@volcano.net)=20

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District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli = addresses the=20 Upcountry Community Council at its Dec. 11 meeting.

Photo by: Debbie = Dunn
Town=20 center boundaries was the hot topic last Thursday night, as a small = group carved=20 out a couple of hours for an Upcountry Community Council meeting that = focused on=20 the county's developing general plan update.

With general plan = land use=20 designations being submitted before the end of the year, an early = December=20 meeting was scheduled. Little did the attendees know that a significant = decision=20 on defining town centers was expected from the Amador County Planning = Commission=20 this Tuesday.

At the council's November meeting, the issue was = briefly=20 addressed, with council members agreeing to suggest Pine Grove and = Buckhorn as=20 the two preferred town center locations.

With a possible = commission=20 decision looming this week, two councils representing the unincorporated = upcountry areas had to reach consensus on the town center issues sooner = than=20 they anticipated. That was because the Amador County Planning Department = received a last-minute deadline to get the coordinates and data on all = town=20 center designations to the GIS Department as soon as possible. This will = allow=20 global imaging system coordinators enough time to plug the data into the = county's UPlan computer model and work out the kinks before the restart = of the=20 joint planning sessions in mid-February. At those meetings, planning = staff hope=20 to do a computer model presentation that includes template forecasts of = the next=20 20 years. Tuesday's planning commission was scheduled to determine what = will be=20 sent to GIS.

At its Dec. 11 meeting, the upcountry council agreed = on=20 proposed boundaries for the Buckhorn and Pine Grove town centers. The = Buckhorn=20 sphere would run from an eastern boundary of Silver Drive in Mace = Meadows down=20 to just east of the King Orchard, and 1/4 mile from the highway center = line on=20 either side of State Route 88. Affordable housing in this area was = frowned on by=20 the residents who were canvassed.

Pine Grove boundaries were = suggested to=20 run from Lupe on Ridge Road to Aqueduct Road on Highway 88. Council = Co-chair Bob=20 Currall suggested the sphere should stop at Tabeau Road to create a = buffer zone=20 that would avoid creating infill development between Pine Acres and Red = Corral.=20 The council did not take a vote. Currall was to make a formal = presentation on=20 these suggestions Tuesday night to the planning commission.

As = with=20 Buckhorn, it was decided that the current proposal of 75,000 square feet = of=20 commerical space should be increased to 175,000 square feet. Residential = accommodation of no more than 900 square feet was said to be too dense = by=20 council members.

Red Corral was not selected as a possible town = center=20 because a development in place already leans industrial and council = members=20 found it challenging to promote ideas of additional residential use next = to two=20 propane companies. Pioneer was not selected because commercial = development in=20 Buckhorn already provided greater services and resources.

As = proposed,=20 the town center concept is an attempt to comply with AB32, California's = Global=20 Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the ultimate goal of which is to = drastically=20 reduce greenhouse gases. The primary way to do that, as pointed out by = the=20 legislation, is to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Planning effective = town=20 centers and incorporating mixed use housing alternatives near them would = support=20 that effort.

As for what type of commercial and resource services = the=20 town centers should offer, the council spent significant time discussing = the use=20 of surveys in 2009 to find out exactly what the upcountry residents feel = the=20 area is lacking.

"What would keep you from traveling to Jackson = or=20 Martell on any given day?" was one of the proposed = questions.

Debbie=20 Dunn is a member of the Upcountry Community Council.

Debbie Dunn
Ledger Dispatch Contributor=20