Attachment A
GPUSC Chair Gardner’s Memo to the City Council
19-6
GPAC has not taken a summer vacation but continues working through the various elements. A review of the Recreation element focused on a goal of parity for recreational resources throughout the city.
Members felt that it is important to look not just at overall recreational acreage but the type when evaluating, using the example that parts of the peninsula look recreation rich on charts because of the extensive beaches included but do not have many parks. In the Natural Resources element, the consensus was to be less specific in types of energy sources to accommodate future technology innovations. GPAC approved of moving the drafts forward, and they were presented to the PB&R commission at its August meeting. The Natural Resources Element will also go to the Coastal Tidelands committee for review. For the Safety element, both the subcommittee and the GPAC as a whole focused on evacuation and the lack of knowledge about the how and where of it. GPAC approved the draft to move forward. The Arts and Culture/Historical Resources elements have been presented to the Board of Library Trustees for input and will go to the Arts Commission. Both the Noise and Land Use element subcommittees have met but have more work to do before presenting their drafts to GPAC as a whole.
The Outreach subcommittee is working with the General Plan consultants to craft an effective plan for generating public involvement in review of the draft elements.
An ongoing concern with the General Plan is the balance between creating a document that serves as a road map for the city’s future, but at the same time is not so rigid that it prevents future City Councils from dealing with new circumstances. GPAC is as king the City Attorney’s office to help in drafting a preface to the General Plan that will encourage adherence to the policies but allow the flexibility to deal with unforeseen changes that may occur.
Nancy Gardner
Chair, General Plan Update Steering Committee
19-7