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Posted by: thepinetree on 03/09/2010 12:57 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 04/13/2010 08:58 AM
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00 AM
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Letter to the Editor~by Penny Sarvis of The Community Action Project
"Editor: Just over four years ago, the Community Action Project began advocating for a comprehensive update of the County's General Plan with broad based and meaningful public participation in the process. Back then, the County was buried under by applications for large residential development projects. The County General Plan – which is still in effect until a new one is approved - was based on land use projections dating from 1985. It was and is not useful as a tool for planning growth. When the County hired Mintier and Associates to analyze the General Plan from a legal standpoint, they determined that it is internally inconsistent, incomplete, and “not useful.” It is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Yet, this was the document available to guide Calaveras County while its population nearly doubled in the last ten years.....
Where we are left is that today, after the burst of the housing bubble and when we are least able to deal with it, Calaveras citizens find themselves with nearly a billion dollar infrastructure deficit. That's Billion with a capital “B”. This deficit runs the gamut from roads and bridges to water and wastewater facilities, to public safety, to education. There is virtually no segment of our County infrastructure that was not overstrained during the boom years, and taxpayers find themselves holding a massive bill.
The General Plan process presents us with a new opportunity to design a better vehicle to take us into the future. On March 8th in Murphys, citizens had a chance to see how the vision and values expressed by citizens during the first round of General Plan meetings have been translated into actual land use designations and possible scenarios of growth. Six more meetings will be held throughout the County and at various times of the day so that as many people as possible have an opportunity to participate. For more information please visit the County's website or visit the CAP/CPC website at CalaverasCAP.com
This is the time. If we're going to start digging ourselves out of the hole we're in, and start planning for a better, smarter, and more economically sustainable future for ourselves and our children, the time is now.
Penny Sarvis
Community Action Project "
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