General Plan draft EIR is ready for public review
By Nathan R. Huff
The public-hearing phase of the General Plan update will begin early this summer and continue indefinitely, though the town hopes to adopt a plan by the fall. Hearings will begin at the Planning Commission level and eventually reach the Town Council. A tentative schedule of General Plan hearing dates can be found within the document.
The massive planning document in the General Plan is the town's most basic blueprint for future growth. It addresses all aspects of development, including land uses, safety, open space, housing, traffic, and public facilities.
The revised plan represents more than two years of work by the various task forces and committees. It began in June 1997 with the formation of General Plan Task Force I, a group of approximately 30 citizens representing various neighborhoods in Los Gatos. Nine months later, the task force presented the Town Council with ideas and issues pertaining to Los Gatos' future.
General Plan Task Force II was then created with a mix of new and old members. The second task force took the ideas and issues and explored how they could be enacted or resolved within the new General Plan. That group began forwarding recommendations to the General Plan Committee, a nine-member, permanent body, in November 1998.
The Committee, composed of town staff, council members, citizens and business representatives, has been working on the document ever since.
The General Plan environmental impact report (EIR) will also be available. The 500-page document details the possible environmental impacts of growth within the General Plan.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
