An Important Meeting of the Board of Supervisors

LandWatch Supporters --- Action Alert

An Important Meeting of the Board of Supervisors

Tuesday, July 22, 1:30 p.m.,
at the County Administrative Building in Salinas*

Development Interests Have Demanded Changes in the General Plan Schedule. Less than two months ago, planning staff informed the Planning Commission and the public that the environmental impact report (EIR) for the General Plan (GPU5) would have a public circulation period of 60 days and the schedule included multiple public hearings before the Planning Commission.

On July 8th, development interests addressed the Board of Supervisors demanding that the public review period for the GPU5 EIR be reduced to 45 days (the legal minimum requirement) and that the public hearings before the Planning Commission be reduced to one hearing, which is also the minimum legal requirement.

Planning staff is now recommending changes in the schedule to meet the demands of development interests. The Board of Supervisors is likely to decide what the schedule will be during the July 22nd hearing.

It is clear that development interests want the General Plan decided BEFORE Jane Parker takes office in January!

LandWatch is urging members to attend this meeting and urge the Board of Supervisors to do the following:

• Keep the 60 day EIR public circulation period. The General Plan EIR is complex and the public deserves more than the minimum time to adequately review the document. The EIR for the Castroville Community Plan was 60 days. If that plan’s EIR was circulated for 60 days, surely the EIR for the General Plan covering the entire county deserves at least 60 days as well!
  
  
• The Planning Commission should hold at least three public hearings on GPU5. The Planning Commission informed planning staff that the commission wanted to hold a study session on GPU5 and public hearings to respond to the Draft EIR and the Final EIR. The Board should honor that request and direct staff to include those hearings in the schedule.

*The County Administrative Building is behind the Old County Jail Building, in the County Court House complex on Alisal Street, between Church and Capitol Streets in Salinas.

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posted 07.28.08