Current Projects

Since 2006, CAP/CPC accomplishments have been in four areas: the general plan update, community plan preparation, water plans, and technical assistance to threatened neighborhoods.

Calaveras County General Plan

CAP and the Calaveras Planning Coalition (CPC) continue to promote a comprehensive update of the Calaveras County General Plan with full public participation. The update has been ongoing since 2006, during which time the CPC has turned ordinary citizens into effective General Plan advocates. We have been there for every set of meetings and every hearing and every study session. We have submitted volumes of comments. We have consistently advocated for a general plan that will direct development to existing community centers and, thereby, maximize infrastructure, prevent sprawl, and protect open space values.

As the county prepares its responses to comments on the General Plan draft environmental impact report (EIR), the Coalition is developing additional policies, measurable objectives, quantified standards, and program details to fill the gaps in the proposed General Plan. We are also crafting a reasonable General Plan alternative, but in spite of this there may not be enough votes on the Board of Supervisors to ensure a legally defensible general plan that balances public benefit with private interests. We anticipate that the General Plan will not be completed before the end of 2019.

CAP/CPC supports coordinated long-term land use, water, and transportation planning among the county, local water agencies, and the Calaveras Council of Governments(COG). When planning for the future, we want all local entities to use the same population and economic growth projections, to include the same infrastructure projects, to acknowledge the same fiscal opportunities and limitations, and to focus, not on the biggest and most controversial infrastructure  projects, but on the most supported and achievable projects. We hope that if these entities listen to each other and listen to the people they serve, they will succeed in financing and completing necessary infrastructure projects. These projects, in turn, will stimulate the private sector to produce a desirable and achievable level of economic development. To that end, the CPC provides comments and testimony on local and regional water and transportation planning such as COG’s Regional Transportation Plan in addition to our participation in the General Plan update.

Developments on the General Plan Update (GPU): 

The Planning Commission held its GPU hearings in May and June of 2019, and the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors approved the GPU on November 12, 2019. Although the CPC consistently advocated over 13 years for a general plan that protects open space values and sufficiently mitigates the impacts of growth and development, the Board of Supervisors adopted an updated General Plan that violates state planning law and the California Environmental Quality Act. On December 9, 2019, the CPC filed a case in Calaveras County Superior Court challenging the General Plan Update. For brief summaries of these events see the “Press Releases” section of this website.  Click to read the Petition for Writ of Mandate; Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief Pursuant to General Plan Law, the California Public Records Act, and the California Environmental Quality Act .

Community Plans

Though many efforts were made by various planners and politicians to eliminate the existing community plans from the General Plan and to deny new plans to unplanned communities, the CPC provided technical staff and advocacy to assist communities in updating or in drafting new plans to address the unique needs of their communities. Many of these plans have already been included in the General Plan update, and additional community plans may be included as the process continues.

Water Planning

The CPC closely reviews planning efforts by the Calaveras County Water District and other local water agencies. The CPC encourages water conservation and reclamation to ensure that water is available for a broad spectrum of beneficial uses including fish, wildlife, and recreation, in addition to domestic, commercial, industrial, institutional, and agricultural uses. The CPC supports the maintenance of healthy watersheds.

Since 2006, some of our greatest accomplishments have been in water planning. For example, the CPC was an active participant in the preparation of the 2013 Mokelumne-Amador-Calaveras Integrated Regional Watershed Management Plan, which makes many regional water quality, water conservation, and resource restoration projects eligible for state funding. The CPC was also actively involved in the 22-month collaborative process that resulted in the 2015 adoption of the inter-regional MokeWISE plan to address future conservation and development of the resources of the Mokelumne River. 

We have consistently advocated for Wild and Scenic designation for the upper Mokelumne. In July of 2018, 37-miles of the Mokelumne River were officially designated Wild and Scenic by the State of California.  This was a major accomplishment for the Foothill Conservancy, which is a member of the CPC.

Community Group Planning Assistance

Perhaps the CPC’s most appreciated successes come from providing technical assistance and mutual aid to isolated rural neighborhoods that are besieged by proposals for bad land use projects. Over the years we have helped groups of residents throughout Calaveras County to avoid proposed neighborhood developments that had the potential to cause flooding, dry up wells, and even risk public safety by the release of toxic air contaminants. We have helped local community groups oppose bad projects that threatened their quality of life including an illegal golf course and an asphalt plant proposed for a residential neighborhood adjacent to the Calaveras River. In addition, we have helped community members work with developers and the Planning Department to resolve design issues for new development, such as the Dollar General store in West Point.