February 28, 2008 Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting
Short Summary
The February 28, 2008 Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting was attended by 21 Citizens Advisory Committee members and approximately 40 members of the public. The meeting started with Director of Development Services Tim Snellings providing a meeting overview and introducing Dr. Ladona Knigge, Assistant Professor at the Department of Geography and Planning, CSU Chico. Dr. Knigge provided a presentation entitled “Balanced Planning for Sustainable Communities” in which she provided information on the three “E’s” of sustainability: Equity, Environment, and Economics. Dr. Knigge also used examples that helped to define sustainability, and explained how these definitions may apply to long-range planning for communities. At the conclusion this presentation Dr. Knigge answered questions and comments from Citizens Advisory Committee members.
Dan Breedon, Principal Planner with the Butte County Department of Development Services, briefly discussed the use of deer herd mapping in Butte County and the current effort to update the deer range mapping through the General Plan 2030 process. Mr. Breedon then introduced Henry Lomeli, Associate Wildlife Biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. Mr. Lomeli discussed Butte County’s major migratory deer herds and discussed land use practices that influence migration and wintering range. Kevin Sevier, Project Manager with Gallaway Consulting then provided an overview of a Technical Study and GIS Model for Migratory Deer Herd Habitat that is currently underway in conjunction with the Butte County General Plan 2030 process. Mr. Sevier explained the data sources that went into the creation of the model, and explained the objectives of this study. At the conclusion of these presentations a question and answer period took place between the presenters and the Citizens Advisory Committee.
Chuck Thistlethwaite, Planning Manager with the Butte County Department of Development Services, briefly discussed wildfire impacts in Butte County, and then introduced Jim Broshears, who is a retired Fire Chief for the Town of Paradise and who also serves on the Butte County Fire Safe Council then provided a presentation on wild fires, which focused on the fire history of Butte County from 1980 to the present, the wildland/urban interface, and the value of defensible space in protecting homes and communities from wildfire. Calli-Jane Burch, Executive Director of the Butte County Fire Safe Council then provided a presentation on the Fire Safe Council. Ms. Burch explained the Fire Safe Council’s mission, to develop programs that reduce wildland fire threats, and to help landowners develop fire safe practices. At the conclusion of these presentations a question and answer period took place between the presenters and the Citizens Advisory Committee.
Citizen Advisory Committee members had numerous questions for the all of the presenters and staff. A number of questions and comments were also taken from members of the public concerning the organization of General Plan 2030 and the need to address water resources and an optional water element to be included in General Plan 2030. In response to these requests Tim Snellings brought-up the idea of having a special Citizens Advisory Committee meeting in May or June of this year to discuss structural options and opportunities for the format of General Plan 2030. The meeting would also be used to discuss the pros and cons of optional elements and consolidated approaches to the format of General Plans, where General Plan Elements are combined to facilitate consistency. Mr. Snellings indicated that a plan for this meeting would be formed and that details would be provided in the coming weeks.
In closing, Tim Snellings discussed the next Citizens Advisory Committee meetings scheduled for April 10th, 17th and 24th, which would be devoted to the selection of the preferred alternative, and the importance of all Citizens Advisory Committee members to attend these meetings. More details on the location of these meetings will be sent to Citizens Advisory Committee members soon.
All of the PowerPoint presentations from this meeting are available on the General Plan website, www.buttegeneralplan.net. In addition, a video of the entire meeting is available for downloading at the website. A more detailed meeting summary will be posted to the website soon.