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project focused on sustainable land use planning.
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Land Use Planning and Development
Is Blue Mountain Minerals lawsuit obstructionist?
Lawsuit disrupts business progress
By Darrell Slocum, President of the Tuolumne County Business Council
It is important to pay close attention to economic and community indicators in Tuolumne County because statistics and trends tell the story about our future. Â Our quality of life depends on continued viable economic development and a sustainable diversified economy. Â The alarming trend in Tuolumne County is that our population is declining, aging, and struggling economically. Â Specifically our population decreased every year since 2006 except one, over 50% of our population is over fifty years old and residents leaving Tuolumne County for employment increased 168.5 percent from 2002 to 2009.
In recent years a few small vocal groups significantly slowed or stopped many viable and needed projects approved by our elected officials by using lawsuits.  This obstructionist use of litigation must change.  We need a balance and better ways of working collaboratively to chart a viable future for Tuolumne County without litigation inhibiting needed economic opportunities.  These small vocal opposition groups like CSERC and Citizens for Responsible Growth will argue that our County is growing too fast and projects need more costly studies and delays.  Yet the truth is that our young families and children are moving away and California is one of the most regulated states for business and development.  The federal government’s shutdown of Yosemite, the devastating Rim Fire and the drought only make it more difficult as we all struggle to recover.
School enrollment …. is down sharply again this year adding to the steady decline over the last 15years. … Joe Silva (Superintendent) speculated that the young families in Tuolumne County leave the area because of the lack of jobs here.
Construction was one of the larger industries in Tuolumne County providing a diversity of jobs that employed many of our local high school graduates and working families.  Housing starts have sharply declined over the last 10 year due to the downturn in the economy, California’s arduous, expensive and time consuming permitting process and litigation or threats of litigation by opposition groups like CSERC and Citizens for Responsible Growth.
We need to support our community’s job creating businesses – not sue them.  The high cost of lawsuits is not just the legal bills of some faceless company.  We all pay the price in lack of jobs, higher cost of goods, housing, local taxes, and reduced community benefits and services.  If businesses can’t locate or expand here, they will move to other counties taking jobs and revenue with them where establishing a business doesn’t include misguided opposition and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills.  If we can’t attract or enable builders to provide jobs and an efficient and affordable mix of neighborhood housing for our younger and working class families, they will continue to leave to seek and employment elsewhere.
California has very stringent permitting requirements and yet small groups like CSERC and Citizens for Responsible Growth organize to delay projects, encumber them with additional costly restrictions and mitigation requirements, and significantly downsize them so they are not economically viable.  Then when the project is finally approved by elected officials, they often sue the county to stop it.  As a community, we need to find a better way to facilitate needed economic development than to face off in court.  Unfortunately, litigation has now been filed to delay the unanimous approval Blue Mountain Minerals recently received from both the Planning Commission and County Board of Supervisors to expand an area to deposit a mixture of excavated soil and gravel.  At the Jan. 7, 2014 Board of Supervisors hearing for the Blue Mountain Minerals approval, several community members and two elected supervisors spoke about how these senseless lawsuits are used as a weapon against viable economic development and the result is millions of dollars in lost revenue and services for county residents every year.  The Tuolumne County Business Council does not feel our residents and businesses should be held hostage by lawsuits  At that same hearing, John Buckley of CSERC stated that CSERC “doesn’t use litigation on every project.† We are very disappointed that CSERC is again continuing their vindictive history of failed litigation  against Blue Mountain Minerals in an attempt to further delay their approved project.  We ask that these litigious groups change their tactics and work with businesses on balanced solutions that are actually achievable and economically viable for our community.
Shrinking Stockton’s footprint
Stockton releases draft climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Record, February 12
Stockton releases draft climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Record, February 12
Housing plans piling up: Which will be built?
Developers across the region are submitting new plans for growth on undeveloped lands and reviving old ones.
Sacramento Bee, February 12
Developers across the region are submitting new plans for growth on undeveloped lands and reviving old ones.
Sacramento Bee, February 12
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