When asked why Willis prepared the agenda her response was, "The Board of Supervisors set up the committee so that planning and public works be involved." When asked if planning prepared and ran other community advisory meetings for other communities, Willis responded, "No." According to a previous planning commissioner the BOS requested that Willis "facilitate" the meetings.
A presentation was made by Willis pertaining to the lack of funding for the Copperopolis Community Plan and she informed the committee about a new timeline - that the project should be completed in 12 months. Further in the meeting, and on the agenda, Willis requested that meetings be reduced to quarterly meetings due to staffing issues. The committee agreed to continue to meet monthly from this point on without county staff and plans on beginning the November meeting revisiting the Copperopolis Vision.
Willis covered the aspects of a community plan - vision statement, desired uses, land use map, specific policies - and submitted an outline map of the Copperopolis boundary to the committee to color in with colors specific to land use. It was pointed out by one committee member that the map was not the boundary that the committee had requested on no less than three occasions and when asked where that map may be Willis stated it was still being worked on, further stating she had contacted land owners within the committees requested boundaries and asked what their preference for their land use would be. It was also noted that land the committee specifically requested not be included in the boundary map was included - a potential development at the base of tabletop to Lake Tulloch. Willis suggested the committee members drive about town with their outline maps and "see where a high school may be best located" as opposed to the location already designated in the Oak Canyon development with land deeded to high school. This request was met with questions from the committee with regards to changing the placement of schools when property in approved developments had already been deeded to schools and how a school site could then be changed.
The "approved tripling" of the population, as one committee member referred to it as, was the next subject discussed. According to Willis the approved buildable lots equal 12,000, to date, in Copperopolis. This does include the Tuscany Hills project at the end of Little John. There was discussion about the egress and access roads to Tuscany. Haley, of Castle & Cooke, said that Little John was the only road required by Public works and the project had been cleared. Garcia, from public works claimed this was not so. Discussion of this topic was not on the agenda and Willis re-lead the discussion.
Willis asked the committee to consider the capacity when designating land use. One color was questioned on the map and Willis stated it was designated open space. Haley said the area on the map designating 500 acres of open space SE of the end of Little John was not open space as there had been an agreement with the land owner - Buckley- to exchange land. Willis asked if this had cleared the county. Haley responded that the deal had been completed.
One committee member asked "Why am I here?" By 8 pm the committee had not made any motions nor had they voted on any issues.
For information made accessible by the County please CLICK HERE
By, Charity Maness
