Local environmental leader addresses forest management, drought and more on CCTV

Local environmental leader John Buckley eloquently and succinctly addresses forest management, drought, climate change, water supply and more relevant and pressing issues in our Sierra Nevada communities. This excellent interview was broadcast on Calaveras Community TV and is well worth a half an hour of your time! John Buckley is the Executive Director of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (CSERC), a Tuolumne county based... Read More

Supporters enjoy guided hike at Red Lake

CAP supporters Bob Leitzell and family hold their Clif bars after a great hike around Red Lake At our silent auction fundraiser in fall of 2019, Bob bid on a guided hike, hosted by the facilitator of the CPC, Tom Infusino. While they had to delay their plans due to COVID, they were finally able to get together this July to hike around Red Lake on Carson Pass. Tom shared his knowledge of the local wildflowers and the history of the Mormon Emigrant... Read More

CPC v. Board of Supervisors

On December 9, 2019, the Calaveras Planning Coalition (CPC) filed a case in Calaveras County Superior Court that convincingly asserts the General Plan Update (GPU) is incomplete and in violation of planning law. The case also calls for the County to release the 2011 Mintier-Harnish draft General Plan, which, to date, the County has withheld from the taxpayers who paid for it. CLICK HERE FOR LAWSUIT UPDATES or read why we filed this lawsuit... Read More

Home-Outward: Hardening our Homes against Wildfire

“The challenge is getting our society to understand that we have opportunities that don’t entail controlling extreme wildfire conditions, that we have opportunities for changing the ignitability of our homes to the point where we can avoid these disasters” “We’re not gonna get outta this problem by logging the forest. The only way out of this problem is we gotta solve for climate change and we gotta get to... Read More

Helping Developers Navigate the 2019 General Plan – the Checklist

One role of a County’s General Plan is to provide developers with clear guidelines, standards and practices to implement the goals of the General Plan. “The general plan is more than the legal underpinning for land use decisions; it is a vision about how a community will grow, reflecting community priorities and values while shaping the future.”– California General Plan Guidelines The 2019 General Plan adopted by Calaveras... Read More

CCWD updating its Urban Water Management Plan

The Public Review Draft of the Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) 2020 Urban Water Management Plan Update is now available for public review and comment.  Draft Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) Update for required 5-year update cycle. Latest update incorporates new analyses related to water supply vulnerabilities, climate change risks, and drought water supply reliability. Also includes new Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), defining... Read More

Conserving California – 30% by 2030

An exciting new plan to conserve 30% of  lands and waters in California by 2030 needs your input!  The Plan 30 x 30 aims to conserve 30% of the planet’s lands and waters by the year 2030. President Biden has embraced the plan, and Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order makes California the first state in the nation to formally adopt the plan. Now it is time for the rubber to meet the road as a “biodiversity collaborative”... Read More

Open Space Zoning Without an Open Space Plan

A long range and comprehensive plan for the preservation and conservation of open space lands is a statutory requirement (CA Government Code § 65563) for the open space element of the general plan, and open space zoning must be consistent with that adopted long-range and comprehensive open space plan (CA Government Code § 65910). The open space plan, of necessity, also requires an inventory of open space lands (CA Government Code § 65560(b)).... Read More

Open Space Zoning – Letter to BOS

To: The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors From: Muriel Zeller, 2640 Stagecoach Drive, Valley Springs, CA 95252 Regarding: Zoning Ordinance Update, January 12, 2021 Board Meeting Agenda Item 26 Date: January 11, 2021 Honorable Supervisors, The Calaveras County Zoning Update Code Analysis prepared by Miller Planning Associates and Mintier Harnish states on page 14, “…General Plan Implementation Measure COS‐1A, Open Space Zoning... Read More

County Improves Accessibility of Zoning Update Map after encouragement from MVS.com

As Calaveras County planning staff move forward with the Zoning Update, regional groups have been diligent in their participation throughout the process. Recently MyValleySprings.com (MVS) seems to have made some headway with the County after multiple requests for improvements to be made to the GIS Map and related zoning update information. The original view showed only land use designations – it was not easy to figure out how to make the map... Read More