Calaveras Planners Pass on Home Lots Decision

By Dana M. Nichols August 19, 2011 Record Staff Writer August 19, 2011 12:00 AM SAN ANDREAS – The Calaveras County Planning Commission decided Thursday not to decide whether it would be wise to allow more home lots in Forest Meadows, an upscale Murphys subdivision that is prone to major wildfires but has only one public road in and out to nearby Highway 4. Instead, they punted the job to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.... Read More

EPA Reconsiders Stormwater Discharge Limits

The Environmental Protection Agency last Wednesday decided to reconsider the imposition of a nationwide cap on how much sediment can be part of the stormwater draining from a construction site, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The agency’s announcement comes more than 18 months after NAHB sued EPA over its first proposal to develop a numeric limit for the turbidity, or cloudiness, of stormwater discharges, which the... Read More

Elderberry Beetle News

The US Fish and Wildlife Service is requesting more scientific and biological information from the public and species experts about the valley elderberry longhorn beetle to determine whether the beetle, currently a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), should be proposed for delisting. Based on a review of the petition to delist the species and information available in our files, it was determined there is substantial scientific... Read More

General Plan Update Should Come Under Grand Jury Scrutiny

By Nick Baptista / The Valley Springs News/ July 27, 2011 The 2010-11 Calaveras County grand jury report released a month ago cited “publicity in (T)he Valley Springs News” as helping prompt the oversight panel composed of ordinary county citizens to investigate what was happening with the Jenny Lind Fire Protection District. We have another suggestion for the newly impaneled 2011-2012 grand jury: Take a look at what’s going on,... Read More

Rebecca Willis Is New Planning Director for Calaveras County

The Board of Supervisors has announced the appointment of Rebecca Willis as the new Director of Planning effective August 1, 2010. Ms. Willis has over twenty (20) years of experience. She served as the community development director for the city of Oakley for the last six years, and prior to that, the city of Dixon. Earlier in her career, she was a planner for the cities of West Sacramento, Rancho Cucamonga, and San Dimas. Rebecca’s experience... Read More

Planning Successes and Challenges

Calaveras River Estates, recently approved by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, sets some standards for good planning.  The project is for four 40-acre parcels; the remaing 350 acres of the project is being turned over to the Mother Lode Land Trust.  Public access to the Calaveras River, which flows through the project, will be granted by a 10-foot wide pedestrian path. Members of MyValleySprings.com advocated for approval of the... Read More

Update on CCWD’s Urban Water Management Plans

In our last newsletter, published in April, Calaveras Planning Coalition Facilitator Tom Infusino created a clear guide to Urban Water Management Plans (UWMP).  This was published in anticipation of the release of a new UWMP from the Calaveras County Water District. That report has now been released.  On behalf of the Planning Coalition, Tom Infusino submitted extensive comments on the plan, spoke to the issue at a meeting of the CCWD Board of Directors,... Read More