Subject: Update on Solano County General Plan
Date: 2008-01-10
Solano County has had the benefit of a people's initiative passed in 1984 requiring urban development to be within city limits (at that time there were many, many acres of "undeveloped" land within the cities) and that the county could not convert designated agricultural land to urban uses including ill-advised ranchettes (development on 1, 10, 20) acre parcels. This initiative, renewed once, will expire in 2010 unless the majority of the voters choose to renew it. [You will recall that in 2005 Measure J attempted to do that, but it was defeated by those who support changing the agricultural land use designations for development]. Early in 2000 the Board of Supervisors began the process of updating the county general plan based on sustainable development.
An citizens advisory committee was established and it represented the stakeholders including developers, and those who had an interest in protecting the agricultural lands, as well as watersheds, floodplains and open space. Then there was an election and the new supervisor made a difference. The original citizens advisory committee members were essentially fired and replaced or reappointed. The committee's balance was tilted toward development and both of the representatives for Benicia were not reappointed - there are no Benicians on the committee. Since that committee change, the process for updating the general plan has been rushed in order to meet the majority of the supervisors' goal to have the general plan finished before the next county election (or something like that).
First of all, everyone agrees that general plans take too long to do. But as updating general plans goes, 3 years is short, 5 years is normal and 7 years is how long Marin took to achieve an award winning plan that is guided by sustainable development goals, specific greenhouse gas emission reducing strategies for land use decisions and other complex land use and transportation components.
So far the Solano General Plan update appears to be headed for the the 5-year time frame which includes the environmental review. As the letter below notes, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) stipulates that general plans are subject to a full environmental impact assessment which now, thanks to the Attorney General and the legislature, must include global warming and greenhouse gas impact assessment. Clearly the best way to reduce (or not increase) greenhouse gases is to reduce auto trips (auto trips represent 50% of all greenhouse gases in California). The best way to reduce trips is to embrace city-centered development, not sprawl onto floodplains, agricultural lands and watersheds and to make shopping, schools, jobs and so forth within walking distance or at least served by transit that is more desirable than driving. These are not easy things to do, not the least of which because people are worried that their quality of life will be degraded if there is more compact development - based on the past, that is a fair concern. Again, Marin has many good ideas and examples in their new general plan that should be considered.
The problem with the Solano process is that there is no actual draft general plan with some of the ideas above, and yet a notice of preparation (NOP) for the environmental impact report (EIR) has been initiated. How can the public and responsible governmental agencies comment in a scoping session about a project that has not been described? General Plans are not just maps with land use designation, but the plans must have goals and policies and suggested programs. Oey vey!
For those who have an interest in these issues, I encourage you to go to the county's website - www.solanocountygeneralplan.net/.
Chairman Mike Reagan and Members of the
Solano County Board of Supervisors
County of Solano
675 Texas Street, Suite 5500
Fairfield, CA 94533
January 9, 2008
RE: Notice of Preparation of the Environmental Impact Report for the Solano County General Plan
Dear Chairman Reagan and Members of the Board;
These comments are submitted on behalf of the Green Valley Landowners Association (“GVLA”) regarding the Notice of Preparation filed for the General Plan currently under development. We have noted that a draft of the plan has not been provided to the public in conjunction with the comment period on the NOP. We believe that the public cannot effectively address the preparation of the EIR for the proposed General Plan without knowing the specific issues the General Plan may raise. The NOP is vague, overly broad, and non-specific regarding the thrust of the coming General Plan, and we are therefore concerned that without access to a draft of the General Plan, public comment on the NOP has been reduced to a mere formality, rather than a substantial involvement in the General Plan process.
According to The State of California Citizen’s Guide to Planning, “the General Plan is the community’s guide to the future. We believe that planning begins here, and urge the Board of Supervisors to demonstrate their commitment to a planning process which includes informed citizens. If the citizens of Solano County are to direct specific, informed comments on the preparation of an EIR for the coming General Plan, they must be knowledgeable about that plan. We recommend that the NOP be rescheduled to a time which allows the public to comment on the EIR preparation in light of an actual draft of the proposed General Plan including associated proposed planning maps..
Very Truly Yours,
Green Valley Landowners Association
Bill Mayben, Secretary |
