Ted Novelli would rather have it go right the first time than see the county face litigation in court three years down the road.

The District 3 supervisor told the Ledger Dispatch on Tuesday that the board's approval of a request earlier in the day to hold public meetings between various entities "to hash things out" regarding the general plan was a good thing.

The board unanimously approved two items requested by the county planning department related to the general plan update process: three public meetings in October and approval of a draft notice. The general plan meetings, which will also include members of the Amador County Planning Commission, will run from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 14, 15 and 16 at the County Administration Center.

At the July planning commission meeting, Vince DeStigter of Amador Citizens for Responsible Government requested the commission conduct more public hearings prior to the California Environmental Quality Act process, according to an agenda transmittal form available at Tuesday's meeting.

"The general plan is really important to us and everyone who lives in Amador," DeStigter told the board. "People are very concerned about our issues. We ask you to give it your best considerations."

In an interview Thursday, however, DeStigter told the Ledger Dispatch that "workshops mean nothing," when asked what he thought of the outcome of Tuesday's meeting. "All we want is to have a public hearing in front of the planning commission so we can see what they are proposing to send to the board of supervisors," he said. "We feel that a public meeting in front of (the) planning commission is needed. If you have a combined meeting in front of both, it negates anything the planning commission has to say."

DeStigter added that the board is going to adopt anything the commission puts in front of it. DeStigter and his group, which focuses intently on property rights, are most concerned with commenting on documents called "elements," he said. "Any down-coding of people's property is very important to people who live here."

Larry Gibson, president of Amador Grapes, said he thinks the land use element of the general plan will be "the most important thing this county works on in the next 10 years."

Other residents spoke about the value of public input in the general plan update process. "We need to hydrate the general plan," said Jim Spinetta, who owns Spinetta Family Vineyards in Plymouth. "We need to germinate the seeds of future generations."

A General Plan Advisory Committee, made up of county residents, recently concluded a series of 27 public meetings that began in July 2006.