August Calaveras County PC meetings summary

Thanks to Colleen Platt of MyValleySprings.com and CAP’s Calaveras Planning Coalition below is a summary of the two August Calaveras County PC meetings:

August 2017 Planning Commission Meetings Summary

August 10 PC Meeting (3-1/2 hrs; 2 commissioners absent—Laddish & Muetterties)

• EOT for La Cobre Mina (Copperopolis subdivision) – approved
• Amendments to Title 17 Sect. 17.98.060 “Project Reconsideration” – approved
• San Andreas SR 49 Gateway Corridor Presentation/ Workshop. MND is out for public comment; comment period ends Sept. 7. Hearing for adoption will be scheduled for September. Info is posted at www.sanandreas.sr49.org and MND is posted on County Project Documents page: http://planning.calaverasgov.us/Projects/CEQA-Documents
• Revisions to Planning Commission Procedures. Study session & discussion. Revisions made to draft; continued to Sept. 14. Colleen & Tom both commented & made suggestions (comments start at 1:37 on 8/10 PC meeting video)
• Planning Reports. P.M. told PC the BOS has remanded a cannabis appeal back to them. Wooster suggested the Cannabis Dispensary Ordinance be included in Cannabis EIR discussions.

August 24 PC Meeting (all present; 7-1/2 hr. meeting)

• West Point Dollar General TPM. Approved, with amendments to plans/MMs. The 3-hr. discussion included 1 hr. staff presentation/PC questions; 1/2 hr. Applicant/PC questions; 1/4 hr. Carl Baker from Caltrans ‘how to address concerns’; 40 min. public comment; 20 min. final PC discussion/direction. Over the last few months (& at the last minute), the Initial Study was revised to include Aesthetics & mitigation measures, and improvements were made to the project (as requested by the public): building colors; roof line; decorative wood brackets on awnings; trellises and vines; wood chips; trees retained on slope; self-lit signs changed; parking lot lights lowered; parking and signage lights put on timers to turn lights off at night after business is closed; monument size reduced; bike rack added.
• “Reconsideration” of Calderon Cannabis Denial. Bifurcated hearing, only to discuss whether PC can/should discuss “reconsideration” of an appeal the BOS has denied. PC decision: Deny reconsideration on basis: PC may not review/ reverse the final determination by the BOS; plus reconsideration is not for appeals but provides for resubmittal of projects.
• 3 Cannabis Appeals Denied, 1 Continued
• Planning Reports. 1) Dispensary Ordinance 17.91 will be updated to reflect new state law, and will come to PC at same time as Cannabis Ban EIR; 2) Cannabis Ban EIR has one Alternative added. The PC can recommend any Alternative or any variation on those themes. P.M plans to have the response to comments & Cannabis Ban EIR out Friday, Sept. 1; 3) Cannabis EIR PC Hearing Date: tentatively Sept. 28-29 and possibly October 2. The BOS hearing on the EIR is tentatively October 17; 4) theBOS denied the Richarson rezone from RR to RA, finding a rezone in a subdivision not appropriate.

The Aug. 10 PC meeting video is posted on https://calaverascap.com/video/ . The Aug. 24 video should be posted this afternoon.