The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2008-11-13 Packet - SpecialCITY OF UKIAH CITY COUNCIL AGENDA Special Meeting Ukiah Valley Conference Center "Red Room" 200 S. School Street Ukiah, CA 95482 November 13, 2008 *6:00 PM 'Or as soon as the meeting may be held in conjunction with the Redevelopment meeting. ROLL CALL 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Council Consideration and Possible Approval of a Letter to the Board of Supervisors Commenting on the County's General Plan Amendment. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT 4. ADJOURNMENT Please be advised that the City needs to be notified 24 hours in advance of a meeting if any specifc accommodations or interpreter services are needed in order for you to attend. The City complies with ADA requirements and will attempt to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities upon request. Materials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection at the front counter at the Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, CA 95482, during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm I hereby certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing agenda was posted on the bulletin board at the main entrance of the City of Ukiah City Hall, located at 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, California, not less than 24 hours prior to the meeting set forth on this agenda. Dated this 10th day of November, 2008. Linda Brown, City Clerk November 13, 2008 Honorable Board of Supervisors l_' r =_, iJ Mendocino County 501 Low Gap Road Ukiah, CA 95482 RE: Ukiah City Council Comments Concerning the Mendocino County Draft General Plan Honorable Chairman Wattenberger and Members of the Board: The Ukiah City Council welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Mendocino County Draft General Plan. Even though the Draft Plan does not include the Ukiah Valley or the immediate area surrounding the City of Ukiah, we are committed to working as a partner with the County of regional planning issues. As the County seat and population center, the City of Ukiah plays an integral role in the lives of Mendocino County citizens, and the City is dedicated to assisting the County preserve and enhance this unique quality of life. A tremendous amount of work has gone into the Draft Plan and we commend the dedicated community members, County Staff, groups and organizations, and Consulting team on preparing a complex document for public scrutiny. The Council has reviewed and discussed the Draft Plan and in the spirit of partnership offers bath organizational/structural suggestions, as well as comments regarding the goals and policies. Organization and Structure of the Plan General The organization of the Plan seems to be lacking coherence -it's hard to follow because the planning principals, goals, and policies are all listed separately and are not directly linked together. For example, the Development Element has 56 pages of text before the goals are presented. Then 223 policies are listed. We suggest that there should be a "flow' between goals, policies, and implementation programs to understand how they bond together. A goal should be listed, followed by directly related policies, followed by specific implementation measures supporting those policies. An interesting recent example of a unique approach to this standard format is the 2007 Marin Countywide Plan. Each Element has brief Background and Key Issues and Trends statements that are followed by the goals, policies, and implementation measures. Prior to listing the Goals and Policies, the document asks "What are the desired outcomes?" Then the question is asked, "Why is this important?" This question is answered with a brief statement of how the goals and policies relate to the planning principals and the essence of the plan (sustainability, environment, economy, equity). The final question is "How will results be achieved?", which is followed by the Implementation Program. This approach allows the reader to understand what the plan is. We recommend the County consider a similar approach so the reader can understand what the Plan is for Mendocino County. Additionally, It would be helpful if the Plan include a summary of the essence of the Plan - A statement in the Introduction of what the Plan is for Mendocino County over the timeframe of the planning period. Some policies have "Action Items" and some do not. What are Action items? Are they Implementation Measures? We were unable to find a description or explanation of "Action Items." There is reference to goals, policies and "programs", yet we could not find any "programs." Are Action Items "Programs?" We couldn't find a reference or explanation of "Programs." • The Introduction describes "Planning Principals" as "the broad principals upon which the goals, polldies, "objectives", and action items of this General Plan are based." We couldn't find any "objectives" in the document. Lack of a Framework. The "Today's Issues" section lists key issues that shape the plan, but there doesn't seem to be a framework that allows the reader to understand how the goals and policies support the listed planning principals and relate back to the key issues. Perhaps there should be a summary statement with each goal linking it to the key issues and explalning how it supports the planning principals. No Implementation Section There is reference to an "Implementation Section" in the Introduction, yet I could not find the Implementation Section. Measuring Success or Failure • There should be a method for evaluating and measuring the success or failure of implementation of each element. This provides more meaning to the Plan and allows the decision makers, staff, and the general public to track success. The 2007 Marin Countywide Plan uses an "Indicator", "Benchmark", and "Target" approach. Here is an Excerpt from the 2007 Marin Countywide Plan describing this approach: "A frequent criticism of general plans and their implementation is that there is insufficient feedback to know whether progress is being made in meeting the plan's goals and promoting its policies. The Countywide Plan takes several important, innovative steps in addressing this concern by incorporating indicators, benchmarks, and targets. These are nonbinding informational tools to monitor progress. 2 This process will provide an opportunity to consider the need for new or revised Countywide Plan strategies or implementation measures. In addition to Countywide Plan monitoring, these metrics are intended to go beyond the scope of the Plan and track progress in Marin in a variety of areas. Measuring progress is important to determining the effectiveness of any plan. An indicator is a measurement that assists in demonstrating movement toward or away from Plan goals and policies. Proposed indicators have been crafted to be understandable, representative, and relevant. Benchmarks establish a "starting point" -the state of an indicator as of a particular point in time (for example, the year 2000). A target is a quantifiable outcome that provides a framework for measuring progress." Example Goal, Indicator, Benchmark, and Target Goal T Indicator Benchmark Tar et _ ~ Provide housing for ' Increase the number of In 2007, 50 affordable Construct 7s i ;special needs affordable housing housing units were affordable housing ~ populations I units . constructed. units in 2009. The Indicator, Benchmark, and Target approach need not be binding, but rather an evolving informational tool that would be visited and discussed regularly. We suggest that the Mendocino Countywide Plan include a tool for tracking implementation and measuring success. Additionally, an Implementation Table similar to a Mitigation Monitoring Program Table should be added that would list each "Action Item", who is responsible for implementation, potential funding sources, priorities, and timeframes. II. Overall Planning Principals Principal 2-1 a: We agree with this important planning principal -That conservation of natural resources, farmland and open spaces are essential to maintaining the rural quality of life. However, we believe that the second bullet point could be expanded to better fulfill the Principal: "Direct new commercial and residential growth to cities and community areas where development can be supported by existing or planned infrastructure and public services, and environmental impacts can me minimized."{ III. Goals The Land Use Development Goals listed on page 3.0-57 should be expanded to include the following Goals: • "Accommodate the major share of future growth within the four existing cities and their expansion areas and within selected unincorporated communities, which are planned to have adequate water and sewer capacities." 3 "Locate future growth within the cities and selected unincorporated communities in a compact manner using vacant "infill" parcels and lands adjacent to existing development." IV. Objectives We suggest adding the following Objectives to provide direction for working towards the above two new Goals: "Limit the amount of population growth and development in rural portions of the County outside of the cities and the selected unincorporated communities." "Coordinate and partnership with the cities to maximize cooperative land use and to minimize environmental and economic impacts." "Strongly encourage "infill" urban development within the cities before allowing urban development in the unincorporated communities in the County." "Avoid urban sprawl by prohibiting extension of sewer and water services outside of designated urban areas, and oppose extension of sewer and water services outside of cities without annexation." Thank you for the opportunity to comment of the Draft Mendocino Countywide Plan, and we appreciate your consideration of our suggestions. Douglas Crane, Mayor On Behalf of the Ukiah City Council 4