Los Gatos Weekly-Times Photograph by George Sakkestad Shirley Henderson, General Plan Task Force II member and owner of the Antiquarium antique store, votes on the most important growth-related issues at the group's Sept. 17 meeting. Task force focuses on town growth No Jell-o, no tree, just the issues By Jeff Kearns Some things, like darkness, are better defined not by what they are, but rather by what they are not. Accordingly, when General Plan Task Force II members took up the issues surrounding growth in the town at their Sept. 17 meeting, organizers told them not to try to be too specific when dealing with growth issues. "It's like nailing Jell-o to a tree," read a statement in their agenda packets, which also contained facts and figures on the history of growth in and around the area. "Just when you think you have a handle on it, something squirts out somewhere else." Specifically, members were charged with creating a list of the main growth issues, as outlined in the first task force report in January: Should the town consider adopting a low-growth policy, and should development be restricted to the capacity of existing roads and utilities? "You're not here to let the town tell you what's important," said facilitator Laura Worthington-Forbes, a representative of RBF, the consultants hired to oversee the general-plan revision process. "Your input is critical--that's what makes you guys unique, as opposed to other cities." A handful of town officials were also on hand at the meeting to watch and listen, but not to participate. Members split up into four group discussions, and each came up with a list of the most important growth issues, as well as indicators of how changes in those areas manifest themselves in daily life around town. They brought with them the opinions of other residents--after their last meeting, members were told to discuss growth issues with at least five other residents. The usual suspects came up: traffic, schools, population, infrastructure and "look and feel." As each group reported their results, facilitators from RBF listed the results on an easel, then taped the four lists to the wall. Then, to prioritize the issues, each of the 30 members was given six blue stickers and one little cowboy boot sticker--blue for important issues and boots for issues that shouldn't be considered as indicators--and were turned loose to vote on the issues on the wall. The purpose was to focus the discussion on a nebulous issue and to create a coherent starting point for the Oct. 1 meeting, when the group will focus the issues further by creating a summary. RBF facilitators will use the summary to start drawing up language for the suggested general-plan revision, which will come back to the group before a final version is passed on to the General Plan Committee, and eventually to the Town Council. RBF's Rebecca Tolentino, who is working on a report of the meeting, said she did not want to release the results of the meeting before the summary is prepared, to avoid making premature generalizations. "We want to be able to look at the info and understand it before we make any presumptions about what the issues are for the town," she said. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, September 23, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.