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General Plan sails from Task Force II on to Committee and Town Council
Concerns over character dominated the process
Public hearings still to come
By Nathan R. Huff
The General Plan Task Force II finished its review of the draft plan last week, passing the baton to the General Plan Committee and placing the mother of all planning documents one step closer to public review and eventual adoption.
While patting themselves on the back and giving kudos to the previous task force, the General Plan Committee and the Town Council, the 27-member group also came up with 27 pages of suggestions. Its comments focused on tightening the General Plan language to close development loopholes and strengthen sections related to town character.
At its final meeting on May 17, the Task Force II reviewed the comments it will forward to the General Plan Committee to incorporate into the document. From there it will go to the Planning Commission and the Town Council for public hearings.
While a few differences of opinion could not be resolved, the task force reached consensus on the majority of its recommendations.
"The General Plan Committee really used the task force's recommendations," said Suzanne Muller, task force member, planning commissioner and former committee member. "I think that's why the comments are so positive."
The task force expressed deep concern over land-use issues, particularly those relating to residential town character. The group recommended that the plan be changed to mandate that alternative methods of limiting house sizes, aside from square footage requirements, be used when appropriate. The group also recommended that wording be added to ensure that private commercial uses in neighborhoods do not have adverse effects on residents.
Other areas of concern included rewriting sections on commercial uses to further discourage strip mall-like development and encourage resident-serving and -employing businesses.
On several issues the task force registered differences of opinion, which will also be forwarded to the General Plan Committee. Disagreements existed over the possible location of a downtown transit hub and whether subterranean square footage should be considered in determining a house's size and compatibility with a given neighborhood.
"Now the hard part comes in convincing the council they need to follow the community's wishes," task force member Larrie Arzie said. "It will sail through the Planning Commission with flying colors, but it will probably get hung up at the council."
The General Plan review and revision began in 1997 with the council's formation of the General Plan Task Force I. It was charged with identifying concerns and setting priorities for the new plan and for downtown and hillside specific plans. The first task force presented its findings to the council in January 1998.
General Plan Task Force II was subsequently appointed, composed of a mix of Task Force I participants and new members. The second task force has worked since then to determine how the General Plan can solve the concerns raised by the first task force. In November 1998, members forwarded the task force's recommendations to the General Plan Committee, which is responsible for actually producing the plan. The committee then met regularly for over a year. The present draft plan is the result of the committee's work. The committee wrote policy and implementation measures on which there was consensus, while it left other decisions for community comments.
Peggy Dallas, who assisted Mike Abkin and Woody Nedom in collecting task-force comments and incorporating them into their report for the General Plan Committee, said diversity was the key to the task force's effectiveness.
"[The Town Council] took a really broad section of the community for the task force," Dallas said. "It's really been a fascinating group of people to work with."
The General Plan Draft is scheduled for the Planning Commission starting June 3. It will be discussed at several more meetings before being sent to the Town Council on June 26, with the commissioners' suggestions and comments. All dates are tentative at this time, though Mayor Steve Blanton indicated he would like to have the plan finalized and adopted by the end of July.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
