CLEARLAKE — The City of Clearlake is preparing to update its General Plan and Redevelopment Plan. A work program for amending the plans has been devised and will include the participation of the Planning Commission and the City Council.
The process of updating the plans is lengthy. City Administrator Dale Neiman recently provided the council with a timeline schedule that begins with document preparation in August 08 and public hearing and adoption by June 2010.
“There is a significant amount of work that needs to done,” Neiman said in his July 24 staff report before the council. “Our plan is to complete the work using existing staff supplemented by Melissa Floyd, who is providing planning consulting services.”
According to Neiman, this is the most beneficial approach for the city to take as the process is not only timely, but also costly. “Basically, this is the only way it can be done if it”s going to be done. We can”t afford a million dollars,” he said.
Councilmember Judy Thein mentioned that the county is currently in the process of updating its General Plan. She asked if any information in the county”s General Plan could help in updating the city”s plan.
Neiman replied that there are three areas that the city could possibly draw from including the conservation element dealing with biological resources and water quality; open space and public safety.
Process for updating the plans begins with the Planning Commission. The timeline provided by Neiman includes tasks for the commission in relation to the General Plan. When the commission finalizes each task, the element will be brought before the City Council for comment and direction. The final recommendation by the commission and adoption by the council will occur following certification of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Neiman said the commission”s role in amending the Redevelopment Plan is very limited.
The General Plan is a document and set of maps that describe the city”s goals, policies, standards and programs that govern the future physical development of the city and surrounding unincorporated area.
An internally consistent General Plan must be adopted by every city and county within the state.
The plan must contain a statement of the city”s development policies with diagrams and text establishing the objectives, principles, standards and programs that are used to guide development.
The plan must also address the following seven areas: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise and public safety. Mayor Curt Giambruno wishes to extend a personal invitation to all resident of Clearlake for participation in updating the General Plan. “This is the plan that is going to define the future of our city, so it”s very important that people get involved,” Giambruno said.
Planning Commission meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of the month. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
According to the timeline schedule, the General Plan update process will begin with the Land Use Element and Community Profile sections.
The Aug. 5 meeting will be held in workshop format and will include a review of the subdivision process and a look at other land use information.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
