DPLU staff answers general plan update questions

The Feb. 9 hearing on the update to the county’s general plan featured county Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU) staff responding to questions or claims raised during the three previous hearings by public speakers and members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

The county supervisors’ action for the Feb. 9 hearing was to receive the staff report and to continue the hearing to March 16. County staff will continue to work with stakeholders to address questions, and the continuance will also give the county supervisors time to review the report, which included property-specific requests and responses to substantive issues.

“An incredible amount of work has gone into what is before us today,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

Public testimony consumed Oct. 20, Nov. 10, and Dec. 8 hearings on the general plan update. A total of 19 group presentations and 172 individual speakers provided input. DPLU staff provided the report to answer the claims presented by speakers as well as questions county supervisors had in response to those claims.

“This is just an incredible amount of information,” said Supervisor Greg Cox.

The DPLU staff report also noted that potential changes, including property-specific zoning, were classified as minor, moderate, and major depending on their impact and whether the Environmental Impact Report for the general plan update would require revisions. The property-specific requests consisted of 173 from property owners, 34 from others, and 24 from previous referrals with 84 of those being classified as minor if changed, 58 as moderate, and 89 as major.

The density-related issues addressed in the report covered the Purchase of Agriculture Conservation Easements program, the proposed Transfer of Development Rights program, Williamson Act contracts to preserve agricultural use, fiscal impacts of density reduction, groundwater impacts, fire risk reduction, and supplemental information about density reduction.

The content-specific issues were policy flexibility, future general plan amendments, specific plan areas, special study areas, residential density determination, fire response and travel time standards, acceptable levels of service for roads, and the proposed Road 3A in Valley Center.

Future development and conservation issues cover deference to community plans, conservation subdivision avoidance requirements, a multi-family building allowance for planned residential developments in conservation subdivisions, subdivision design, groundwater ordinance lot sizes, alternative septic systems, and open space maintenance responsibility.

Other identified issues were community and sponsor group positions, state climate change legislation, impacts to unrecorded maps of pending projects, agricultural preserve designators, and the follow-up process.

The March 16 hearing will also include presentations by the county’s groundwater specialist, by the consulting firm which performed the economic impact study, and by the San Diego Association of Governments.

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