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Amador General Plan Update: Urban Reserve |
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Monday, 30 March 2009 |
 Amador County – Amador County Planning Department staff adjourned the General Plan Update serial meeting last Thursday to gather more information on various items. The meeting will resume April 8th and possibly the 9th. Amador County’s Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission still must go through 44 separate requests that have come in since the General Plan update and land use classifications were announced last year. The panel also will get further information on the “Urban Reserve” land use designation, after stalling out the stream of information. County Planner Susan Grijalva said “we have to go back and meet with the cities, and (the Local Agency Formation Commission) possibly, then bring back more information for discussion.” She said it could work to help dispel some misinformation and misconceptions about “Urban Reserve.” She said discussion by the panel brought up some good questions that planning staff had discussed before but not resolved. The “Urban Reserve” designation would limit properties to 40 acres, if they are within the “Sphere of Influence” of a city. Commissioner Andy Byrne said the property could still subdivide, but “they would just have to go through the city,” and annex into the city. Supervisor John Plasse was worried that “ranchette style zoning” would be phased out in counties and cities. He urged using an “Urban-Agriculture” interface area as a buffer between cities and ag lands. Grijalva said when Spheres of Influence are proposed, the county gets with the city and LAFCO; and General Plans in cities can allow for buffers. She said properties inside of Spheres of Influence “have the reasonable expectation that they can annex that land, and plan for it.” Plasse said as a county resident, you have no “say-so” over spheres. Grijalva said “in most cases, people who don’t want to be in a sphere are left out. But if the majority around them wants to be in,” they are out of luck. She said LAFCO law will not allow an “island” inside a Sphere of Influence. The meeting resumes 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 8th in the Supervisors’ chambers. If needed, the panel will meet again, from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 9th. Story by Jim Reece
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Last Updated ( Monday, 30 March 2009 )
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