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Wednesday's Internet Edition, October 08, 2008.
Planning commission moves general plan update forward
Public review period to end Sept. 5
By Rachael Ackerman
Herald Editor
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The Galt Planning Commission has moved the city’s general plan update one step closer to being completed with a 5-0 vote to recommend both the plan EIR, and draft general plan update to city council.
According to Galt Community Development Director Curt Campion, the update is “very, very close” to completion.
Campion reported to the planning commission at the Aug. 14 meeting that, after more than 50 public meetings and workshops, the policy documents that will govern the implementation of the city’s new general plan were ready for approval by planning and forwarding to council.
At the same time, the public review period for the draft environmental impact report for the plan, which began on July 23, is scheduled to end Sept. 5. Following the close of that review period, Campion said the city must respond, in writing, to each of the written or verbal comments and/or questions received by the public during that time.
In progress for the past six years, the General Plan 2030 is expected to be at council for final review and approval in October. If approved by council, the plan will be sent to LAFCo for review and final approval for adoption by the city.
The planning commission did not engage in any discussion of the plan at the Aug. 14 meeting, saying they had already conducted 10 separate workshops on each of the separate policy elements included in the general plan update where each policy was reviewed and discussed along with public input and interested parties.
As presented at the meeting, the EIR and general plan update included only minor changes, as recommended by public and planning commission input or as dictated by changes in state law since the original documents were written. The meeting was intended to receive verbal public input and for planning to ask any final questions before making a recommendation.
Land use diagrams, plan alternatives and mitigation recommendations are all included in the final documents. Everything from aesthetics to transportation is covered in the policy documents and available for review by the public.
Planning Director Sandy Kiriu reported that the city has received four letters in relation to the public review of the plan, including one from the Cosumnes Community Services District that caused the city some confusion.
According to Campion, CCSD Fire Chief Steve Foster attended the planning commission workshop on the placement of public facilities, protesting the city’s designated locations for future fire stations within the general plan. At that meeting, Foster demonstrated how fire services are developed according to growth and the need for services in specific locations as dictated by growth. He asked that the specific designations be removed and that language be added that the city would work with the fire department on the placement of fire facilities as the need arose.
In a separate letter to the city, CCSD General Manager Donna Hansen admonished the city for not including specific site for fire services in the general plan update.
“It appears as though there may be a communication gap at the CCSD,” said Campion, who advised the plan be recommended to council as Foster directed.
West Yost associate Jim Harnish, the city’s lead consultant on the plan, agreed with the as-needed negotiation of fire facility locations and added, “That specific designation doesn’t matter at this time. The fire department will determine where they need facilities in the future by what their formula dictates and they will buy land where it says they need to at the time.”
Planning Commission Chair Lori Heuer said, “We will always ensure there are adequate resources for fire stations.”
Public comment was received at the meeting that included objections that the current plan excludes the Delta Greens senior housing project, and by developers who were concerned with some site-specific use designations for the future.
Kiriu said many of the developer concerns could be addressed at the zoning level when the plan moves to more specific land use designations.
In the end, it was a 5-0 vote to recommend both the EIR and the draft update for approval by council. Each of the planning commissioners expressed their satisfaction with the final product, and their gratitude to everyone involved in the lengthy process of getting the city’s guiding document for the future to near completion.
The EIR and draft general plan update are both available, in complete form, at the city Web site at www.ci.galt.ca.us.
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