Calaveras County’s General Plan Update inches forward
Over years of hearings for past development projects in Calaveras County, CSERC and local citizen activists have frequently complained that the county’s General Plan is out of date, that it has internal consistencies, and that it has other clear legal problems. A number of times CSERC used the clout of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger (a highly esteemed law firm from San Francisco) to pressure the County to hold off on approving new major development projects until the General Plan is fixed. Fortunately, past county planning directors have openly agreed at board of supervisors meetings that CSERC and local county activists are correct.
Accordingly, years back Calaveras County launched a General Plan Update process to rectify the situation. The County held public meetings, provided initial draft text and policy concepts, and even coordinated community plans that could help inform the General Plan Update.
In October, Planning Director Peter Mauer led county supervisors and planning commissioners through the still-lengthy process that will hopefully produce a revised, legal General Plan. The County will host educational sessions, focused discussions of each General Plan Element, and opportunities for members of the public to suggest policies, goals, and objectives. The goal is to craft a Pan that sustains the economy, protects open space, natural resources, and agriculture, and provides clarity for where new development fits and how intensive that development can be.
One issue that has not been addressed so far is how to balance the demands of new development for a dependable water supply with policies that assure that existing water customers in the County are not short-changed. Few people stop to consider that there are already more than 20,000 vacant parcels in Calaveras County, and as homes get built on those lots, at least a good percentage of them will need to be served by public water from utilities. Imagine if just 10,000 of those vacant lots are built out in the next 10-20 years and the County experiences another drought, perhaps even worse than the one this year. In the past, utility districts have insisted that historic water rights ensure that County water customers will never run out of water; but the State has already shown that the drought may alter how water rights are viewed and who gets water in crisis situations.
The General Plan Update process may still take two years or more before it comes before County officials for a final decision.