Jackson – The Amador County Planning Department this week released a draft “glossary of terms” for the county General Plan Update. The text includes strikethroughs to language, and staff recommendations. Examples include definitions of the words “shall” and “should.” It says “shall” is “that which is obligatory” and “an unequivocal direction.” The word “should” is defined as “a less rigid directive than ‘shall’” and is “a directive to be followed if at all possible in the absence of compelling or contravening considerations.” The glossary includes several entries that planning staff recommended for removal from the glossary. Staff says the word “adequate” should be removed because it is a “subjective” word. Staff also recommends removing the words “balance,” “developer,” “discourage,” and “encourage.” The note suggests the word “developer” could “be removed from goals and policies” in the county general plan. They also recommend removing the glossary entry of the noun form of the word “preserve,” because “is not used as a noun in the goals and policies.” Staff also suggested reevaluation of the use of the term “Community Water Systems,” and potentially deleting it from the glossary. The entry for Large Retailer is defined as “large commercial retail or warehouse stores with footprints greater than 50,000 square feet of gross floor area,” but it deleted about 370 words defining large retail stores, including the names of many franchise stores. Deleted categories included “big-box retail facilities,” “discount department stores,” “category killers”, “outlet stores,” and “warehouse clubs.” The planning department noted that “staff would prefer to develop a single, simple threshold rather than devise several types of retailers, with different sizes for each.” The term “Economically Viable Agriculture” is defined, and staff notes that the “county intends to support the economic viability of agricultural activities by allowing a wider variety of activities in appropriate areas.” Those include roadside stands, processing activities, and agri-tourism uses. The “agri-business” glossary entry notes that “specific agriculture-related businesses which would be permitted on a particular parcel will be regulated by the Amador County Zoning Code.” With an entry on “agriculture-related businesses,” staff noted that those “may include some uses which are not permitted on lands under Williamson Act contracts.” Those “uses would not apply to parcels under Williamson Act contracts. The General Plan Update and related materials, including the new glossary, can be seen online at the county’s website, www.co.amador.ca.us. For information, call the Amador planning department at 223-6380. Story by Jim Reece This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it