Ledger-Dispatch

- Jerry Budrick=20

From left, the remaining four members = of the=20 Jackson Planning Commission are Letitia Sexton, Walt Hoeser, Terri = Works=20 and Dave Butow.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
Jackson Gate Road was the site = of two=20 planning recommendations Tuesday night at the Jackson Planning = Commission, which=20 bid adieu to an outgoing commissioner and selected a new chair and vice = chair in=20 Letitia Sexton and Dave Butow, respectively.

From 1931 until = recently,=20 Buscaglia's Restaurant operated in a brick building on Jackson Gate = Road. Having=20 constructed a new restaurant on the property, owners Ron Sette and Susan = Mazzera=20 have abandoned use of the venerable brick structure.

In October = 2006,=20 Sette and Mazzera submitted plans for demolition of the brick structure, = to be=20 replaced with a hotel of 26 suites. The Jackson Site Plan Review = Committee,=20 comprised of the city planner, city engineer and city building = inspector,=20 determined at that time that demolition of the structure may be subject = to state=20 environmental review, however.

CEQA, the California Environmental = Quality=20 Act, has proven to be a powerful force in environmental protection since = its=20 enactment in 1970. From the perspective of people with projects on their = minds,=20 however, it can be seen as a massive obstacles.

With this in = mind, the=20 plan for demolition was changed into a plan to remodel the existing = building.=20 According to project architect Errol Esbit, "We chose to preserve parts = of the=20 building and improve the site. We hope to do our share to increase the = economic=20 base of the city."

Public comments expressed sympathy for the = plight of=20 the owners.

After a short break and some time spent viewing the = plans,=20 the commissioners briefly discussed their feelings about the situation.=20 Commissioner Terri Works wondered aloud whether the members "support our = Site=20 Plan Review Committee or not?"

"We are coming in at the closing = curtain,"=20 Butow responded. "It might be better to just let this = go."

Commissioner=20 Walt Hoeser added, "I think this plan is an improvement," while Sexton = said she=20 "would applaud what they are doing. It's their property. It's zoned=20 commercial."

Butow then moved that "this body, after careful=20 consideration, deems this project not subject to CEQA and the owners = should be=20 allowed to continue with their planned remodel."

The motion = passed 3-1,=20 with Works opposing.

A bit north of the restaurant, commissioners = had an=20 earlier proposition to consider.

Donna LaVecchia was approved a = revision=20 to the use permit for parking at her Web of Life Child Care Center at = 1445=20 Jackson Gate Road.

LaVecchia appeared before the commission, = saying she=20 had "rethought" the parking situation at her day care center, coming up = with a=20 new plan that would provide greater safety for the students than the = plan=20 approved in August of last year.

By moving the existing chicken = coop and=20 removing a few bits of vegetation, all parking for the center could be = located=20 at the north end of the property. This would eliminate backing out of = the area=20 near the students, eliminating an unnecessary danger, she = said.

The final=20 matter on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting was listed as "Implementation = of the=20 Resource Constraints and Priority Allocation Policy." This would prove = to be as=20 complicated as the name implied.

Each January, the planning = commission=20 and city council are required to establish the number of housing = equivalent=20 units available for the coming year. They are also required to establish = criteria for allocating the housing units, knows as HEUs.

HEU is = a way of=20 measuring the impact of new construction on the existing infrastructure. = The=20 simplest way to measure is in the use of water and resultant impact on = sewer=20 capacity. A single-family dwelling is one HEU. Dwellings or businesses = that vary=20 toward less or more use of water and sewer are assigned percentages or = multiples=20 of an HEU.

The city is presently dealing with an extremely = limited=20 capacity for wastewater. Of the numerous constraints included in the HEU = allocation process, this is the most influential at this time. Traffic, = fire=20 protection, police protection, schools, child care and water supply all = play=20 their part, but without a way to deal with the wastewater, no more HEUs = can be=20 added to the existing number.

As of today, the remaining = wastewater=20 capacity limits the number of HEUs to 139.

Faced with the = daunting task=20 of deciding how to advise the city council, the members of the planning=20 commission recommended two possibilities: allocating zero HEUs this year = or else=20 attaching conditions to the approval of any additional HEUs, such as = provisions=20 for bicycle and pedestrian traffic, affordable housing, child care = benefits,=20 green building practices and economic benefits.

Earlier in the = meeting,=20 commissioners offered praise for an outgoing member. After eight years = on the=20 commission, Wayne Garibaldi is leaving to fill the city council seat = left vacant=20 last November by Drew Stidger, a lieutenant with the Amador County = Sheriff's=20 Office. The remaining members of the city council chose Garibaldi to = complete=20 Stidger's term, ending November 2008, from a pool of seven total=20 applicants.

In tendering his resignation, Garibaldi said, "It was = a=20 pleasure to serve in this body, where the issues are always more = complicated=20 than they seem."

Applications for the vacant commission seat are = being=20 accepted until Feb. 6. For information, call the Jackson City Clerk's = office at=20 223-1646.