1 City of Portola
AGENDA
Regular Meeting
June 12, 2024 06:00 PM
35 Third Ave, Portola, CA 96122
https://www.cityofportola.com/
t:https://zoom.us/j/3583067836
Mayor Pat Morton • Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Murphy • Councilmember Bill Powers • Councilmember Leah Turner
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
The City Council welcomes you to its meetings which are regularly held the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the City Hall Council Chambers. Your interest and participation is encouraged and welcome.
As a courtesy, the City Council meeting is also accessible to the public via live streaming at:
https://zoom.us/j/3583067836 or by phone at: Phone Number 1.669.900.6833; Meeting ID: 358 306 7836. Online and telephonic access does not guarantee the public the ability to observe the meeting in the event there is a disruption or connectivity issues that affect broadcasting.
Members of the public who want to be assured that they have the ability to observe the meeting and make comment during the meeting, should attend the meeting in-person.
Any person desiring to address the City Council or any committee, commission or agency under the jurisdiction of the City Council, on any item not on the agenda may do so during public comment period. Public comment during the meeting will be accepted in person only.
Public Comment can be made by clicking on the"comment"section directly from the agenda, next to each agenda item.
Public comment will also be accepted via email sent to Deputy City Clerk, at [email protected] which if received at least 24 hours prior to commencement of the meeting will be distributed to the Council and posted to the City’s website prior to the meeting.
Meeting facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate the participation of the disabled in the City’s public meetings. If special accommodation for the disabled is needed, please notify the City at 530.832.6801 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
1. Call to Order
A. Pledge of Allegiance
B. Roll Call
2 2. Public Comments
Discussion Comment
This section is intended to provide members of the public with an opportunity to comment on any subject that does not appear on this agenda. Please note that California law prohibits the City Council from taking action on any matter which is not on the posted agenda, unless it is determined to be an urgency item by the City Council. Any member of the public wishing to address the City Council during “PUBLIC COMMENT” shall first secure permission of the presiding officer, stand; may give his/her name and address to the Clerk for the record. Each person addressing the City Council shall be limited to three minutes ordinarily, unless the presiding officer indicates a different amount will be allotted.
3. CITY COMMUNICATIONS
Discussion Comment
A. City Council Communications Including Committee Reports B. Staff Communications / Fire Report / Sheriff's Report / Air Quality Report C. City Manager's Report
4. Consent Agenda
Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
These items are expected to be routine and non-controversial. The City Council will act upon them at one time without discussion. Any Councilmembers, staff member or interested party may request that an item be removed from the consent agenda for discussion. Additional budget appropriations will require a four/fifths roll call vote.
A. Claims- Adopt Resolution No. 2580 authorizing payment of claims for the period of April 25th, 2024 though May 8th, 2024.
Accounts Payable: $123,898.55
Payroll: $26,177.73
Total: $150,076.28
AP Check Run #45841 – 45876
Payroll Check Run #17341 – 17343
Payroll Remittance Check #17344
B. Approval of the City Council Minutes for 5-22-24
5. Fill City Council Vacancy
Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
The City has received two letters of interest for the vacant City Council seat. The Council will review letter/s of interest in the vacant City Council seat and interview the two potential Council members.
Consider appointment of a Council member to serve until the General Election. 3 6. Mayor appointments for Integrated Waste Management Board and Community Development committee
Discussion Possible Action Comment
An appointment to the Integrated Waste Management Board was postponed from the April 24th Council meeting. In addition, with the Council member resignation there is an opening on the Community Development Committee.
The Integrated Waste Management Task Force meets in Quincy in coordination with Plumas County typically once a quarter. The bylaws state that the City is to appoint two members (one regular and one alternate). There is no requirement for elected officials or staff as community members are also appointed. Two appointments are needed.
The Community Development Committee meets intermittently to discuss community development issues and make recommendations to the Council. This Committee should consist of two Council members. One appointment is needed at this time.
7. Request to the City for funding to support the Big Boy Event July 10, 2024 Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
The Feather River Rail Society has submitted a request for funding to help with various aspects of their event. City staff has already met with Union Pacific and the Rail Society and discussed some ways the City can help.
Discuss the request, City staff participation and the use of water for the steam engine.
8. Public Hearing - Resolution No. 2579 General Plan Update Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
PUBLIC HEARING – Receive public comment and consider approval of RESOLUTION NO. 2579, approving the CEQA addendum and City of Portola General Plan 2045.
9. PUBLIC HEARING - Proposed 2024-2025 Budget
Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
Receive public comment on the proposed 2024-2025 budget for the City of Portola. Review any changes made to the budget since the budget workshop.
10. Discuss appointing a Hearing Officer for a public hearing on a Conditional Use Permit Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
The City currently does not have a Planning commission and the Interim City Manager has a conflict of interest in this matter.
11. Resolution No. 2581 - Calling a general municipal election for the City of Portola Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
A resolution of the City Council to call a general municipal election for the election of 3 City Councilmembers, the City Treasurer, and the City Clerk, as specificized by law, for the November 5th general election
Recommendation to adopt Resolution No. 2581
4 12. Resolution No. 2582 - Requesting consolidation with the County on the election Discussion Possible Action Comment View Item
A resolution is needed to request consolidation of the City of Portola municipal election with Plumas County's general election on November 5th.
Recommendation to adopt Resolution No. 2582
13. Adjournment
Resolution No. 2580 June 12th, 2024
RESOLUTION NO. 2580
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORTOLA
AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF CLAIMS FOR THE PERIOD
MAY 23, 2024, THROUGH JUNE 12, 2024.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
CHECK RUN: 45907 – 45965
PAYROLL
CHECK RUN: 173489 – 17349
REMITTANCE CHECKS: 17350 – 17351
DIRECT DEPOSIT RUN
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Portola has been fully advised that all such claims and demands are legal obligations of the City; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council has fully considered the claims and money demands and payment thereof as set forth below and in "Exhibit A" attached hereto and incorporated herein.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE: $126,407.06
PAYROLL: $ 48,200.49
TOTAL: $174,607.55
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT all claims and demands represented are just and proper and legal demands or claims against the City of Portola, and the payment of any such demands is approved and authorized.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 12th day of June, 2024 by the following vote:
AYES: ________________________
NOES: ________________________
ABSTAIN: ____________________
ABSENT: _____________________
Pat Morton, Mayor
ATTEST:
Jason Shaw, Deputy City Clerk
I, Jason Shaw, Deputy City Clerk of the City of Portola, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing Resolution was duly passed and adopted by the City Council at the City of Portola Regular meeting thereof held on June 12, 2024.
Jason Shaw, Deputy City Clerk
6/06/2024 1:40 PM DIRECT PAYABLES CHECK REGISTER PAGE: 1 PACKET: 00394 AP RUN 6.12.2024
VENDOR SET: 01 CITY OF PORTOLA **** CHECK LISTING ****
BANK: PC POOLED CASH - PLUMAS
CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK
VENDOR I.D. NAME TYPE DATE DISCOUNT AMOUNT NO# AMOUNT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 000010 RENO PAINT MART INC
I-202406062354 STREET PAINT R 6/12/2024 1,429.10 045907 1,429.10 000017 JENSEN PRECAST
I-202406062363 SEWER LINE REPAIR R 6/12/2024 2,332.03 045908 2,332.03 000025 AUTO & TRUCK ELECTRIC IN
I-202406062361 VEH MAINT/REPAIR R 6/12/2024 2,166.39 045909 2,166.39 000027 NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL & SAFETY SU
I-202406062352 MATERIALS & SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 432.00 045910 432.00 000033 MCGINLEY & ASSOCIATES INC
I-202406062337 SOLID WASTE CONSULTING R 6/12/2024 7,419.50 045911 7,419.50 000052 INDUSTRIAL CHEM LABS
I-202406062366 SEWER MAINT R 6/12/2024 849.78 045912 849.78 000069 MARLIN LEASING CORP - PEAC
I-202406062379 XEROX LEASE R 6/12/2024 514.80 045913 514.80 000070 THE BLUE MONSTERS
I-202406062377 CONCERTS IN THE PARK R 6/12/2024 1,000.00 045914 1,000.00 000071 FEDEX
I-202406062369 RETURN SHIPPING R 6/12/2024 248.36 045915 248.36 000072 MOTION & FLOW CONTROL PRO INC
I-202406062368 VEH/EQUIP REPAIR & MAINT R 6/12/2024 1,016.66 045916 1,016.66 000073 THE ALMANOR FOUNDATION
I-202406062388 ADVERTISING R 6/12/2024 300.00 045917 300.00 0008 ALWAYS ANSWER
I-202406062338 800 NUMBER R 6/12/2024 108.87 045918 108.87 0015 AMERIGAS
I-202406062330 SS FIREHALL PROPANE R 6/12/2024 74.33 045919 74.33 0022 AT&T
I-202406062343 LDWTP LONG DISTANCE R 6/12/2024 38.75 045920 38.75 0027 BASTIAN ENGINEERING
I-202406062386 PROF SERVICES R 6/12/2024 891.21 045921 891.21 6/06/2024 1:40 PM DIRECT PAYABLES CHECK REGISTER PAGE: 2 PACKET: 00394 AP RUN 6.12.2024
VENDOR SET: 01 CITY OF PORTOLA **** CHECK LISTING ****
BANK: PC POOLED CASH - PLUMAS
CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK
VENDOR I.D. NAME TYPE DATE DISCOUNT AMOUNT NO# AMOUNT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0031 BECKWOURTH FIRE DISTRICT
I-202406062378 FIRE PROF SERVICES R 6/12/2024 17,959.52 045922 17,959.52 0039 BULLET INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
I-202406062373 IT PROF SERVICES R 6/12/2024 3,813.00 045923 3,813.00 0052 CITY OF PORTOLA
I-202406062332 WATER/SEWER BILLS R 6/12/2024 3,766.82 045924 3,766.82 *VOID* 045925 VOID CHECK V 6/12/2024 045925 **VOID**
0078 ENCOMPASS
I-202406062341 XEROX COPIES R 6/12/2024 66.58 045926 66.58 0086 FOLCHI LOGGING & CONSTR., INC.
I-202406062359 ROAD BASE/LINE REPAIR R 6/12/2024 3,364.92 045927 3,364.92 0090 GRAINGER INC
I-202406062349 SEWER VEH REPAIR R 6/12/2024 202.45 045928 202.45 0093 GRIZZLY ELECTRIC/RANDY VERNON
I-202406062355 SEWER PROF SERVICES R 6/12/2024 5,157.21 045929 5,157.21 0103 IEDA
I-202406062370 LABOR RELATION CONSULTING R 6/12/2024 253.89 045930 253.89 0111 JEFFERSON SUPPLY COMPANY
I-202406062351 MATERIALS & SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 3,115.86 045931 3,115.86 0118 KANSAS LIFE INSURANCE CO
I-202406062333 EMPLOYEE LIFE INSURANCE R 6/12/2024 59.77 045932 59.77 0124 KOMATSU EUIPMENT
I-202406062362 LANDFILL POST CLOSURE R 6/12/2024 6,971.25 045933 6,971.25 0132 LEWISPORT USA
I-202406062356 SIGNS R 6/12/2024 295.64 045934 295.64
0133 LIBERTY UTILITIES
I-202406062334 CITY ELECTRIC R 6/12/2024 4,497.08 045935 4,497.08 0137 MARGRET WRIGHTS
I-202406062375 CONCERT IN THE PARKS R 6/12/2024 1,000.00 045936 1,000.00 6/06/2024 1:40 PM DIRECT PAYABLES CHECK REGISTER PAGE: 3 PACKET: 00394 AP RUN 6.12.2024
VENDOR SET: 01 CITY OF PORTOLA **** CHECK LISTING ****
BANK: PC POOLED CASH - PLUMAS
CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK
VENDOR I.D. NAME TYPE DATE DISCOUNT AMOUNT NO# AMOUNT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0141 MCI MEGA PREFERRED
I-202406062340 800 LONG DISTANCE CHARGES R 6/12/2024 54.65 045937 54.65 0148 NAPA SIERRA
I-202406062371 MATERIALS & SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 267.43 045938 267.43 0154 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GLOVES
I-202406062365 MATERIALS & SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 305.62 045939 305.62 0155 NSAQMD
I-202406062353 ENGINE PERMIT R 6/12/2024 218.76 045940 218.76 0159 OFFICE DEPOT
I-202406062331 OFFICE SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 114.45 045941 114.45 0162 OPERATING ENGINEERS
I-202406062387 EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE R 6/12/2024 13,663.00 045942 13,663.00 0169 PETE RHODE
I-202406062380 PA & SOUND JUNE R 6/12/2024 600.00 045943 600.00 0173 PITNEY BOWES INC
I-202406062342 POSTAGE MACHINE LEASE R 6/12/2024 469.75 045944 469.75 0175 PLUMAS ACE HARDWARE INC
I-202406062360 MATERIALS & SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 3,848.70 045945 3,848.70 0184 PLUMAS SIERRA RURAL ELECTRIC
I-202406062346 LDWTP ELECTRIC R 6/12/2024 1,150.71 045946 1,150.71 0185 PLUMAS SIERRA TELECOMMUNICAT
I-202406062345 CITY INTERNET SERVICE R 6/12/2024 387.00 045947 387.00 0209 SIERRA BOOSTER
I-202406062336 PUBLIC HEARING AD R 6/12/2024 98.45 045948 98.45 0211 SIERRA BUTTES
I-202406062385 BIKE RACE R 6/12/2024 16,000.00 045949 16,000.00 0212 SIERRA CONTROLS, LLC
I-202406062364 WATER/SEWER PROF SERVICES R 6/12/2024 4,799.12 045950 4,799.12 0218 SILVER STATE ANALYTICAL
I-202406062358 WATER/WASTE WATER TESTING R 6/12/2024 813.00 045951 813.00 6/06/2024 1:40 PM DIRECT PAYABLES CHECK REGISTER PAGE: 4 PACKET: 00394 AP RUN 6.12.2024
VENDOR SET: 01 CITY OF PORTOLA **** CHECK LISTING ****
BANK: PC POOLED CASH - PLUMAS
CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK
VENDOR I.D. NAME TYPE DATE DISCOUNT AMOUNT NO# AMOUNT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0231 SUCCEED.NET
I-202406062381 WEB HOSTING R 6/12/2024 67.85 045952 67.85 0234 SUPERIOR POOL PRODUCTS, LLC
I-202406062357 POOL MATERIALS & SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 1,779.09 045953 1,779.09 0239 THATCHER , INC
I-202406062367 CHEMICALS R 6/12/2024 938.15 045954 938.15 0240 THOMAS G. VALENTINO
I-202406062372 SOLID WASTE CONSULTING R 6/12/2024 1,991.62 045955 1,991.62 0252 UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
I-202406062374 ANNUAL BOX FEE R 6/12/2024 100.00 045956 100.00 0253 US BANCORP
I-202406062382 CITY CREDIT CARD CHARGES R 6/12/2024 3,227.58 045957 3,227.58 *VOID* 045958 VOID CHECK V 6/12/2024 045958 **VOID**
0256 USA BLUE BOOK INC
I-202406062350 MATERIALS & SUPPLIES R 6/12/2024 1,171.37 045959 1,171.37 0260 VERIZON WIRELESS
I-202406062335 CITY LANDLINES R 6/12/2024 523.28 045960 523.28 0260 VERIZON WIRELESS
I-202406062339 LDWTP DATA PLAN R 6/12/2024 108.05 045961 108.05 0260 VERIZON WIRELESS
I-202406062347 CITY CELL PHONES R 6/12/2024 896.68 045962 896.68 0264 WESTERN NEVADA SUPPLY
I-202406062348 WATER LINE REPAIR R 6/12/2024 3,149.98 045963 3,149.98 0275 EIP HOLDINGS II LLC
I-202406062344 BECKWOURTH REPEATER RENT R 6/12/2024 197.00 045964 197.00 1 TODD ROBERTS
I-202406062384 REIMBURSEMENT R 6/12/2024 120.00 045965 120.00 * * B A N K T O T A L S * * NO# DISCOUNTS CHECK AMT TOTAL APPLIED REGULAR CHECKS: 57 0.00 126,407.06 126,407.06
HANDWRITTEN CHECKS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
PRE-WRITE CHECKS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
DRAFTS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
VOID CHECKS: 2 0.00 0.00 0.00
NON CHECKS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
CORRECTIONS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
BANK TOTALS: 59 0.00 126,407.06 126,407.06
6/06/2024 1:40 PM DIRECT PAYABLES CHECK REGISTER PAGE: 5 PACKET: 00394 AP RUN 6.12.2024
VENDOR SET: 01 CITY OF PORTOLA **** CHECK LISTING ****
BANK: ALL
** REGISTER GRAND TOTALS *
* * T O T A L S * * NO# DISCOUNTS CHECK AMT TOTAL APPLIED REGULAR CHECKS: 57 0.00 126,407.06 126,407.06
HANDWRITTEN CHECKS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
PRE-WRITE CHECKS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
DRAFTS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
VOID CHECKS: 2 0.00 0.00 0.00
NON CHECKS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
CORRECTIONS: 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
REGISTER TOTALS: 59 0.00 126,407.06 126,407.06
** POSTING PERIOD RECAP **
FUND PERIOD AMOUNT
-----------------------------------------
100 6/2024 55,427.99CR
207 6/2024 1,312.49CR
208 6/2024 3,586.33CR
211 6/2024 232.50CR
215 6/2024 46.28CR
710 6/2024 18,259.40CR
720 6/2024 30,046.56CR
730 6/2024 17,495.51CR
===========================================
ALL 126,407.06CR
TOTAL ERRORS: 0 TOTAL WARNINGS: 0
1 City of Portola
Minutes
Regular Meeting
May 22, 2024 06:00 PM
35 Third Ave, Portola, CA 96122
https://www.cityofportola.com/
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Mayor Pat Morton.
A. Pledge of Allegiance
Led by Mayor Pat Morton
B. Roll Call
Present: Mayor Pat Morton, Councilmember Bill Powers, Councilmember Leah Turner
Absent: Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Murphy
Staff Present: Interim City Manager - Susan Scarlett, Deputy City Clerk - Jason Shaw, City Attorney - Steve Gross (remotely)
2. Public Comments
Lindsey Shaw from the public commended the City on its recent beautification efforts.
3. CITY COMMUNICATIONS
A. City Council Communications / Committee Reports
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Murphy was absent.
Councilmember Leah Turner: Nothing to Report
Councilmember Bill Powers: Attended the Plumas County Transportation Commission meeting. Thanked the Music in the Park team for getting the event ready for the Summer.
Mayor Pat Morton: Attended the Plumas County Transportation Commission meeting on Monday. Talked about budget and finances.
B. Staff Communications / Fire Report / Sheriff's Report / Air Quality Report Sheriff's Report: There was no sheriff's report.
Fire Report: Over the last month, Beckwourth Fire reported 33 calls in the City of Portola.
Air Quality Report by Targeted Airshed specialist Mikki Brown: June 1st-25th is the District's 2 sponsored free green waste disposal month for city residents.
There are 16 green waste curbside voucher applications available for the season. Services begin at the beginning of each month so any applications received after this Friday May 24th (to begin in June) will not be redeemed until the beginning of July. Thank you everyone who attended the Home Heating Event on May 18th. There are still Firewood and Chimney sweep vouchers available.
C. City Manager's Report
Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett:
• The Railroad Museum will be hosting the largest steam train the world, the Big Boy, on July 10th. We expect a large amount of people will visit the town to see the train and there will be plenty of photo opportunities
• We currently have many employment opportunities posted on the Portola website. In addition to City Manager, we have the Community Engagement Officer position posted, jobs for Public Works, and openings for Lifeguards for the pool. •The Pool has been cleaned and filled. Meeting with the new Pool Manager tomorrow to go over training and the schedule.
•Met with the Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District about the transfer of assets to the new fire district. Interim Fire Chief of Beckwourth Fire is helping us surplus the 48 Fire Truck.
•Public works has been painting the streets and filling in pot holes. Will soon be doing more in depth road repair work.
•Director of Public Works Todd Roberts is updating the signage around the City. •On May 29th, there will be a meeting held at the Library to go over the Cromberg Highway 70 project.
4. Consent Agenda
A. Claims- Adopt Resolution No. 2576 authorizing payment of claims for the period of May 9th, 2024 though May 22nd, 2024.
Accounts Payable: $106,760.45
Payroll: $26,704.88
Total: $133,465.33
AP Check Run #45877 – 45906
Payroll Check Run #17345 – 17346
Payroll Remittance Check #17347
3 B. Approval of the City Council Minutes from 5-8-2024 and the Budget Workshop Minutes from 5-8-2024
There were no public comments.
Councilmember Leah Turner motioned to approve. A second was made by Councilmember Bill Powers.
The roll call vote:
Aye Mayor Pat Morton Aye Councilmember Bill Powers Aye Councilmember Leah Turner Absent Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Murphy
5. Proposition 68 Resolution No. 2577 to be able to apply for grant funds.
Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett explained that this is Prop. 68 funding that was approved by the voters back in 2018 that the City still needs to spend. There is an opportunity to purchase 3 bathrooms, 2 for the River Walk, and 1 possibly for the West End Park.
Councilmember Leah Turner talked to Director of Public Works Todd Roberts about this earlier and thought it was a good idea. She did have a follow up question about the quotes and Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett explained the price difference was due to having to buy the plans for the bathrooms which was $5,000. They only had to buy the plans once though and not for each additional bathroom.
Lindsey Shaw from the public supports the resolution.
Councilmember Leah Turner motioned to approve. A second was made by Councilmember Bill Powers.
The roll call vote:
Aye Mayor Pat Morton Aye Councilmember Bill Powers Aye Councilmember Leah Turner Absent Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Murphy
6. Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Resolution No. 2578.
Interim Susan Scarlett went over that this a resolution put forth by City Engineer Dan Bastian for the RMRA funds in the amount of $57,724. These funds are for projects in the next year, not this current year. Projects can carry over but you can't use prior year funding for new projects.
For next years funding, the bridge will be included.
No public comments.
Councilmember Bill Powers motioned to approve. A second was made by Councilmember Leah Turner.
The roll call vote:
Aye Mayor Pat Morton Aye Councilmember Bill Powers Aye Councilmember Leah Turner Absent Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Murphy
7. PG&E Settlement Funds for Fire Departments
4 Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett explained that back in 2022, each Fire Department received $50,000 from PG&E from the settlement for the Dixie Fire. Staff feels at this time itis appropriate to give the balance of the funds, $17,959.52, to the new Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District.
No public comments.
Councilmember Leah Turner motioned to approve. A second was made by Councilmember Bill Powers.
The motion passed with the following vote:
3 In Favor 0 Opposed
0 Abstained 1 Absent Recused
8. Workplace Violence Protection Plan Review
Deputy City Clerk Jason Shaw went over the purpose and the particulars of the proposed Workplace Violence Protection Plan. He said it came about because of California SB 553 which mandates that we have a Workplace Violence Protection Plan and train all the employees on it.
This training has to be documented and conducted at least yearly. Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett further explained that the law allows for us to do the training in house and the Deputy City Clerk will be conducting the training for all the City Employees. He will do multiple training sessions to make sure everyone takes the training before the July first deadline.
No public comments.
Councilmember Leah Turner motioned to approve. A second was made by Councilmember Bill Powers.
The motion passed with the following vote:
3 In Favor 0 Opposed
0 Abstained 1 Absent Recused
9. Tax lien purchase of property through Plumas County
Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett wanted one more Council approval before using ARPA funds on the tax lien properties properties. No public comments.
Councilmember Bill Powers motioned to approve. A second was made by Councilmember Leah Turner.
The roll call vote:
Aye Mayor Pat Morton Aye Councilmember Bill Powers Aye Councilmember Leah Turner Absent Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Murphy
10. Intermountain change of service day information
Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett explained this is an informational agenda item. IMD is changing the service days for all residents to Monday instead of having half the Town be serviced on another day.
11. Adjournment
5 Meeting adjourned by Mayor Pat Morton at 6:36 PM.
Mikki Brown
817-718-5054
[email protected]
May 1, 2024,
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing this letter to express my interest in the vacant position with the City of Portola City Council. Below I will introduce myself to help the council understand why I might be a good fit for this councilmember appointment.
I moved to Plumas County, Portola specifically, in May of 2016. Before moving to Portola I had lived in many different countries, cities, and rural communities such as Australia, New Zealand, Northern Nevada (where I am from), down east Maine, and southeast Asia.
Since moving to Portola, I have not once wished to live anywhere else. My only child was born in Portola and I intend to watch her graduate from Portola High School. During my first few years living in Portola I raised her and enjoyed Plumas County’s rich backcountry. By 2018, I had started working at Feather River Food Co Op where I held various positions and met countless community members. By 2022, I moved on to Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District where I am employed today and still actively engaged with the community.
Through work and self interest I participate in the community by attending monthly Lost Sierra Chamber of Commerce meetings, Plumas County Fire Safe Council board and public meetings, Portola City Council twice monthly meetings, Tuesday Board of Supervisors meetings, and various other state and nationwide meetings related to my work with the air district. I currently serve on the C. Roy Carmichael Site Council. I also participate as a coach and assistant coach in my child’s soccer and baseball teams here in Portola and have since she started playing sports in 2022.
My personal interests include distance running, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and spending as much quality time with my family and friends as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter of interest.
Best,
Mikki Brown
REQUEST TO PORTOLA CITY COUNCIL
Funding to support Big Boy Celebration Event – July 10, 2024 The Feather River Rail Society is currently at work to prepare for a major event on July 10, 2024: the display of Union Pacific “Big Boy” Steam Locomotive 4014, the largest operating steam locomotive in the world. The UP is graciously allowing a day for the FRRS to exhibit the locomotive to the public during its upcoming “Westward Bound” tour. While there will be other locations in California and Nevada where the public can see this locomotive, either passing by or during stops at UP yard facilities, Portola will be to only location where the engine will stop in cooperation with a museum. This has the possibility of being a major event for the community. Some early indicators include the fact that, as of middle of May, all local lodging has already been booked and visitors are reportedly taking lodging in Reno and Truckee in anticipation of the visit. Within the first week of ticket sales, starting May 24, the museum had already sold over 200 tickets and have many more inquiries.
To help support this event, the FRRS is asking for a one-time monetary support from the City of Portola to help offset the preparation costs for the event.
The total request is for $4,000. The budget breaks down as follows:
$500 – general supplies, paint, cleaning materials
• Supplies to support clean-up, preparation and beautification of the museum grounds for the event.
$500 – event signage
• Directional, guide and information signage and mounting frames to help visitors navigate the museum grounds.
$1,000 – barricades and path marking materials (guide ropes / chains, chain posts, etc.) • Support the purchase of additional barricades, safety rails and path marking supplies to create the pathways and Big Boy public viewing area. Materials will mark the safe zones where the public can walk when outside the museum fencing. $2,000 – rental of Porta-Potties and sinks
• Help off-set the cost of providing these needed facilities. Will include ADA accessible units and hand washing stations
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Karen Downs, Contract Planner
MEETING: June 12, 2024
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING – RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION NO. 2579, APPROVING THE CEQA ADDENDUM AND CITY OF PORTOLA GENERAL PLAN 2045
Background
Every city in California is required to have a General Plan; a blueprint for growth and development that lays out specific strategies for land use, mobility, housing, open space, conservation, noise and safety.
The General Plan reflects the community’s values and directs the city’s day-to-day decisions, plans and priorities. About every 20 years the General Plan is revised to become more meaningful and relevant based on the current state of the city, with an eye toward the future.
The State of California has updated the General Plan Guidelines (2017). The GPG sets out each statutory requirement in detail and provides recommended policy language. The GPG is a resource to help the City accomplish its priorities and vision while meeting larger state goals, increasing community collaboration, and potentially improving competitiveness for funding opportunities.
The City Council gave previous direction to staff in 2019 to prepare a draft General Plan (General Plan 2045) that would incorporate and meet the State of California 2017 General Plan Guidelines (GPG). At that time, staff initiated a public review process and started reviewing the GPG.
Based on City Council direction to review individual General Plan Elements, staff scheduled a series of public workshops and Community Development Committee meetings to review the Elements and provide feedback to the City Council. Then in February 2024, the draft General Plan was reviewed at a City Council meeting.
Generally, the General Plan has been revised to include:
• Updates to reflect changes in State and Federal Law, including the California 2017 General Plan Guidelines.
• Updates to reflect completed projects and current operations and conditions, which have changed since the previous general plan was adopted.
• Elimination of goals and policies that have been accomplished and engineering standards from the General Plan which are maintained by the City or other externally regulating agency, such as Caltrans, in standalone documents.
2 • Typographical corrections regarding grammar, format, and consistency. • Updates to reflect the current status of approved projects, such as the Woodbridge at Portola project.
• Editorial changes, consisting of clarifications and cross referencing with internal documents.
The General Plan 2045 is attached for consideration.
Environmental Review
The GPG includes information on CEQA, and how to review the General Plan, and clarifies that a General Plan is considered a project under CEQA. “Because general plans govern the type and location of new development, new or amended general plans may lead to significant changes in the environment. The California Environmental Quality Act, also known as “CEQA,” requires cities and counties to study those potential environmental impacts as part of the adoption or update process (Pub. Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq.; see also CEQA Guidelines § 15378).
The City of Portola General Plan 2045 recommends no changes to existing land uses and presents a lower growth projection than provided in previous iterations of the General Plan. There are minor changes to address State law requirements, slight changes to policy numbering, and minor changes to certain policies, while maintaining existing Goals and the structure of the previous General Plan, as noted in the list of general revisions above.
Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15164(b), an addendum to a Negative Declaration may be prepared if only minor technical changes are required or if none of the conditions identified in CEQA Guideline Section 15162 are present. In the absence of substantial evidence to support a fair argument that the project changes may result in significant environmental impacts not previously studied, an addendum to the Negative Declaration is appropriate. The following review proceeds with the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 in mind.
The CEQA analysis discussion concludes that an addendum is appropriate for the proposed City of Portola General Plan 2045 project since the conditions set forth in Section 15162(a) are not present (see detailed analysis in the CEQA Addendum).
The CEQA Addendum is attached for consideration.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council open the public hearing, receive public comment, consider all comments and information, and then:
1. Approve Resolution No. 2579, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Portola Approving the CEQA Addendum and the City of Portola General Plan 2045. Public comment, discussion, possible action.
RESOLUTION NO. 2579
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PORTOLA APPROVING THE CEQA ADDENDUM AND
APPROVING THE CITY OF PORTOLA GENERAL PLAN 2045
WHEREAS, Section 65300 of the California Government Code requires that each planning agency shall prepare, and the legislative body of each county and city shall adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan for the physical development of the county or city, and of any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency’s judgment bears relation to its planning; and
WHEREAS, the General Plan, as mandated under Section 65300 et seq. of the California Government Code, constitutes the community’s policy document relative to the City’s long-term vision for its physical development and established policies for the development and redevelopment of lands both within the City’s existing corporate boundaries and within its Sphere of Influence; and
WHEREAS, the General Plan expresses the community’s development goals and embodies public policies relative to the distribution of future public and private land uses; and WHEREAS, the proposed City of Portola General Plan 2045 has undergone public review as a result of the public workshop process and the public hearing conducted by the City Council, and through any written comments received by the City in response thereto; and WHEREAS, the City of Portola General Plan 2045 constitutes a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (Guidelines); and
WHEREAS, Section 21003(a) of CEQA, as codified in the Public Resources Code, requires that local agencies integrate the requirements of that division with planning and environmental review procedures otherwise required by law or local practice so that all those procedures to the maximum feasible extent, run concurrently, rather than consecutively; and WHEREAS, the City of Portola General Plan 2045 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Addendum to the City of Portola General Plan Review CEQA Initial Study (IS)/ Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) (Addendum) has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of CEQA, Title 14, Section 15162 and 15164 of the California Code of Regulations; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that an addendum is appropriate for the proposed City of Portola General Plan 2045 project since the conditions set forth in Section 15162(a) are not present, and this fully complies with the requirements of CEQA providing an adequate environmental basis for informed decision making.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, FOUND, DETERMINED, AND
ORDERED by the City Council of the City of Portola, that based on the entire record before the City Council, all written and oral evidence presented to the City Council, and the findings made in this resolution, the City Council hereby:
1. Determines that the recitals above are true and correct and adopts them as its findings.
2. Certifies that the CEQA Addendum is adequate.
3. Certifies that the documents have been prepared in compliance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State CEQA Guidelines, and the City of Portola implementing procedures for CEQA.
4. Approves the City of Portola General Plan 2045.
5. Declares that the findings reflect its independent judgement and analysis.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 12th day of June, 2024 by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
________________________________
MAYOR, Pat Morton
ATTEST:
____________________________________
DEPUTY CITY CLERK, Jason Shaw
I, Jason Shaw, Deputy City Clerk of the City of Portola, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing Resolution was duly passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Portola at a regular meeting thereof held on June 12, 2024.
________________________________
DEPUTY CITY CLERK, Jason Shaw
City of Portola
General Plan
2045
Adopted by the City of Portola City Council
June XX, 2024
Resolution No. 2579
City of Portola
General Plan 2045
Adopted June XX, 2024
Resolution No. 2579
Portola City Council
Mayor Pat Morton
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Murphy
Councilmember Bill Powers
Councilmember Leah Turner
Vacant
Table Of Contents
Introduction ...............................................................................................................1-1 General Plan 2045 .........................................................................................................1-1 Summary of Report Findings.........................................................................................1-1 Background....................................................................................................................1-1 What is a General Plan? ...............................................................................................1-2 Public Participation in the General Plan Process.......................................................1-3 Authority and Statutory Purposes ................................................................................1-3 Time Horizon for the General Plan ...............................................................................1-4 The Vision of the Future .................................................................................................1-4 Features of the General Plan Vision ............................................................................1-5 Economic Setting...........................................................................................................1-7 Physical Setting and Resources....................................................................................1-9 Geographic Area of General Plan Study .................................................................1-12 Amendments to the General Plan ............................................................................1-12 Elements Addressed in the General Plan .................................................................1-12 Land Use Element ......................................................................................................2-1 Background....................................................................................................................2-2 Completeness Checklist & Required Contents..........................................................2-3 Potential Impacts for Flooding.....................................................................................2-4 Figure 2-1 FEMA Flood Map ...................................................................................2-6 Figure 2-2 Flood Hazard Areas...............................................................................2-7 Figure 2-3 Flood Hazard Areas with Zoning..........................................................2-8 Education .......................................................................................................................2-9 Figure 2-4 Educational Facilities Map .................................................................2-10 Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal.................................................................................2-11 Figure 2-5 Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal Map...............................................2-12 Circulation ....................................................................................................................2-13 Key Land Use Issues .....................................................................................................2-16 General Plan Diagram (Land Use Map) ...................................................................2-17 Figure 2-6 General Plan Diagram........................................................................2-19 Figure 2-7 General Plan Diagram – Core Area Land Use & Zoning ................2-20 General Plan Neighborhoods ....................................................................................2-21 Land Use Designations ................................................................................................2-24 Residential Land Use Categories.........................................................................2-24 Figure 2-8 Infill Neighborhoods.............................................................................2-25 Commercial Land Use Categories......................................................................2-28 Industrial and Manufacturing Land Use Categories.........................................2-30 Civic and Resource Protection Land Use Categories ......................................2-30 Overlay Designations............................................................................................2-31 Projected Population Growth ....................................................................................2-32 Table 2-1 Population Growth Projection ............................................................2-33 Projection of Land Area to Accommodate Future Growth...................................2-33 Table 2-2 Projection of Residential Units and Acres..........................................2-35 Table 2-3 Target Range of Land Use Mix ............................................................2-38 Land Use Policies and Implementation ....................................................................2-38 Community Design Element .....................................................................................3-1 Community Design Goals.............................................................................................3-2 Protection and Enhancement of Natural Amenities.................................................3-3 Building Quality and Durability.....................................................................................3-5 City Landmarks and Gateways ...................................................................................3-6 Figure 3-1 Major Gateway Entries .........................................................................3-8 Neighborhood Conservation and Development......................................................3-9 Civic Core and Public Spaces ...................................................................................3-11 Figure 3-2 Civic Core Area...................................................................................3-13 Commercial Areas.......................................................................................................3-13 Sierra Street and Riverfront Commercial ..................................................................3-16 Business Professional and Industrial Areas.................................................................3-18 Circulation Element ...................................................................................................4-1 Background....................................................................................................................4-2 Completeness Checklist & Required Contents..........................................................4-3 Key Circulation Issues ....................................................................................................4-4 Circulation Goals ...........................................................................................................4-7 Level of Service Standards ...........................................................................................4-7 Street Network and Classification................................................................................4-8 Table 4-1 Traffic Level of Service Conditions......................................................4-10 Figure 4-1 Existing Major Streets ...........................................................................4-12 Figure 4-2 Existing Streets in Need of Repair or New Construction..................4-13 Table 4-2 Summary of City Street Classification ................................................4-15 Figure 4-3 Minor Arterial Street.............................................................................4-16 Figure 4-4 Collector Street....................................................................................4-16 Figure 4-5 Urban Residential Street .....................................................................4-17 Figure 4-6 Low Density Residential Street............................................................4-17 Figure 4-7 New Roads in the Core Area.............................................................4-19 Circulation Policies and Implementation .................................................................4-24 Parking ..........................................................................................................................4-26 Bikeway and Pedestrian System ................................................................................4-27 Transportation System Management........................................................................4-30 Public Transportation...................................................................................................4-31 Rail4-33
Airport............................................................................................................................4-34 Economic Development Element.............................................................................5-1 Economic Development Goals ...................................................................................5-3 Business Innovation and Development.......................................................................5-3 Emphasis on Protecting Natural Amenities.................................................................5-4 Local Self-Reliance ........................................................................................................5-4 Affordable Housing, Education, and Training............................................................5-5 Infrastructure for Economic Development.................................................................5-6 Community Image and Quality of Life .......................................................................5-7 Regional Cooperation ..................................................................................................5-8 Timely Development Review Procedures...................................................................5-8 Expand Tourism and Visitor Opportunities ..................................................................5-9 Public Services and Facilities Element .....................................................................6-1 Public Services and Facilities Goals.............................................................................6-2 Projected Growth Relative to Public Facilities and Services ....................................6-3 Core Area Infill Development.......................................................................................6-3 Figure 6-1 Infrastructure Development Infill Areas...............................................6-4 Domestic Water .............................................................................................................6-4 Sewer...............................................................................................................................6-8 Major Drainage............................................................................................................6-11 Communications .........................................................................................................6-12 Electricity.......................................................................................................................6-13 Solid Waste ...................................................................................................................6-14 Education .....................................................................................................................6-15 Libraries .........................................................................................................................6-17 Recreation and Parks..................................................................................................6-18 Police Services..............................................................................................................6-19 Fire Protection ..............................................................................................................6-20 Safety Element ............................................................................................... Chapter 7 ** Adopted as a Separate Document per State requirements** Conservation and Open Space Element.................................................................8-1 Completeness Checklist & Required Contents- Conservation ................................8-1 Completeness Checklist & Required Contents- Open Space.................................8-2 Water and its Hydraulic Force......................................................................................8-5 Figure 8-1 Watershed Hydrologic Units.................................................................8-6 Reclamation of Land and Waters ...............................................................................8-7 Figure 8-2 Protected Areas ....................................................................................8-7 Water Conservation ......................................................................................................8-8 Energy Conservation .....................................................................................................8-9 Soil 8-10
Figure 8-3 Soil Survey .............................................................................................8-11 Water Quality ...............................................................................................................8-13 Open Space.................................................................................................................8-15 Middle Fork Feather River ...........................................................................................8-17 Outdoor Recreation ....................................................................................................8-19 Biological Resources....................................................................................................8-20 Figure 8-4 Wetlands...............................................................................................8-21 Table 8-1 Special Status Species .........................................................................8-22 Figure 8-5 Forests- Plumas National Forest..........................................................8-23 Archaeological, Historic, and Cultural Resources ...................................................8-25 Public Health and Safety ............................................................................................8-27 Mineral Resources........................................................................................................8-27 Noise Element ............................................................................................................9-1 Completeness Checklist & Required Contents- Open Space.................................9-3 Sensitive Land Uses ........................................................................................................9-3 Figure 9-1 Noise Map ..............................................................................................9-4 Table 9-1 Common Comparable Sounds............................................................9-5 Table 9-2 Maximum Allowable Noise Exposure ...................................................9-5 Table 9-3 Performance Standards for Non-Transportation Noise Sources .......9-5 Mobile Noise Sources ....................................................................................................9-6 Stationary Noise Sources...............................................................................................9-9 Air Quality Element..................................................................................................10-1 Primary Sources and Ambient Air Quality Standards..............................................10-1 Table 10-1 Ambient Air Quality Standards .........................................................10-2 Table 10-2 Federal and State Particulate Matter Standards ...........................10-3 Existing Conditions in Portola......................................................................................10-4 Air Quality Goals ..........................................................................................................10-6 Housing Element
** Adopted as a Separate Document per State requirements** City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
1. Introduction DRAFT
General Plan 2045
The City of Portola General Plan 2045 recommends review at regular intervals to ensure that the document is true to the original vision and principles of the City. Periodic adjustments to the General Plan may occur from time to time, as development opportunities emerge.
The City began its review of the General Plan on April 10, 2019 during a public Community Meeting. After a discussion of housing, safety, and general growth in the City, it was agreed that the themes of the General Plan (technology, recreation, and tourism) remain critical issues in Portola. The importance of community activities, façade improvement, improved alleyways, emphasis on the Railroad Museum and downtown activities, improved signage to downtown attractions, increased tourism, and improved businesses will all be the focus of this General Plan Update.
SUMMARY OF REPORT FINDINGS
The General Plan 2045 focuses on the newly released OPR General Plan Guidelines (2017) and reviews how the City’s current policies include resiliency efforts. OPR’s Completeness Checklist and Required Contents and Statutory Requirements for general plan elements is included for each Element.
BACKGROUND
Cities and counties in California are required to have a general plan to address physical development and containing, at a minimum, the required components of the mandated elements. To assist local governments in preparing general plans, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) provides and periodically revises guidelines for the preparation and content of local general plans.
The City of Portola updated its General Plan in 2000, with a comprehensive policy review/update in 2012. As required by State law, the Housing Element and Safety Element has been updated separately.
The currently approved General Plan includes the following Elements:
▪ Chapter 2- Land Use
▪ Chapter 3- Community Design
▪ Chapter 4- Circulation
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
▪ Chapter 5- Economic Development
▪ Chapter 6- Public Services and Facilities
▪ Chapter 7- Safety
▪ Chapter 8- Conservation and Open Space
▪ Chapter 9- Noise
▪ Chapter 10- Air Quality
▪ Separate Document- Housing
In 2016, the state adopted an amendment to Government Code §65302 that added to the required elements of the general plan either an environmental justice element, or related goals, policies, and objectives integrated into other elements, if the jurisdiction has a disadvantaged community (the definition of disadvantaged communities and other related funding provisions for disadvantaged communities and low-income communities are described on pages 26 - 28). In 2017, OPR released an updated version of the General Plan Guidelines, including detailed information on statutory requirements of the mandated general plan elements and complying with the new environmental justice mandate.
This Chapter of the General Plan outlines the City’s updated and reorganized general plan elements and policies to the OPRs “Completeness Checklist” of statutory requirements in the 2017 General Plan Guidelines. Each Element has been updated as necessary to meet State mandates, to respond to new state and local planning priorities, or to react to emerging climate change indicators or other physical changes in the City.
What is a General Plan?
The general plan links community values, visions, and objectives with decisions that affect the physical development of the community, such as subdivisions and public works projects. It is a comprehensive policy document that defines the type, amount, and location of future growth and development within the city and forms the base for the city’s planning activities and its decisions regarding development proposals. Each city and county in California must prepare a comprehensive, long-term general plan to guide its future (California Office of Planning and Research, 2003 General Plan Guidelines).
State law requires that subdivisions, capital improvements, development agreements, and many other land use actions must be consistent with the adopted general plan. Zoning and specific plans are also required to conform to the general plan.
The process of preparing, adopting, implementing, and maintaining the general plan serves to:
▪ Identify the community’s land use, circulation, environmental, economic, and social goals and policies as they relate to land use and development. ▪ Provide a basis for local government decision-making, including decisions on development approvals and exactions.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
▪ Provide citizens with opportunities to participate in the planning and decision-making processes of their communities.
▪ Inform citizens, developers, decision-makers, and other cities and counties of the ground rules that guide development within a particular community.
A General Plan is required to:
▪ BE COMPREHENSIVE It should incorporate the City’s entire planning area, look at the region as a whole, and encompass a broad range of issues. ▪ BE INTERNALLY CONSISTENT All of the elements have equal status. Consistency is required between and within elements, among text and diagrams, and among any area plans.
▪ HAVE A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE Look at the projected plan for the City’s growth and development.
Public Participation in the General Plan Process
The City Council directed staff to begin the public participation process for the General Plan 2045 in April 2019. Since then, General Plan topics related to growth and development have been discussed at Community Meetings and during regularly scheduled City Council meetings throughout 2019 and 2020. The draft General Plan 2045 was available for public review beginning July 2020 and was available for review at the public information counter and on the City’s website. At the direction of the City Council, “Brown Bag Workshops” were held on February 10, February 24, March 10, and March 31, 2021, with Community Development Committee meetings following the workshop to review public comment and provide direction for each Element. The intent of the Brown Bag Workshops was to garner both public input and review of each element in a way that was more digestible, with guidance from the Community Development Committee. The City Council will then hear additional public comment and review the recommendation of the Community Development Committee.
The City Council reviewed a draft on February 14, 2024 and directed staff to prepare a final draft with the appropriate environmental review document. A Public Hearing was scheduled before the City Council on June 12, 2024. Updates were incorporated as directed by the City Council based on community and City Council input.
Authority and Statutory Purposes
All cities and counties in California are required to prepare a general plan. California Government Code Section 65300 requires that the General Plan be a comprehensive, long-term document for the physical development of the City. The General Plan must weave together the many threads of individual and civic life that make up a community.
The fundamental goal is to describe how a complex set of circumstances will function City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
collectively to achieve a workable plan for the future. The General Plan provides direction for development.
Consistency with the General Plan
The General Plan links community values, visions and objectives with decisions that affect the physical development of the community, such as subdivisions and public works projects. State law requires that subdivisions, capital improvements, development agreements, and many other land use actions must be consistent with the adopted general plan.
Time Horizon for the General Plan
This General Plan looks forward to the year 2045. In the upcoming years, Portola looks forward to positive changes in the economy related to tourism and housing development.
However, since 2000, the City’s population has declined from 2,227 (2000 Census) to 2,104 (2010 Census) to 1,920 (2020 American Community Survey). However, because of the increased cost of housing in nearby cities, an increase in tourism, and an availability of housing development opportunities, population growth is expected to increase gradually, and the fundamental economy will shift from basic industries to tourism and new businesses that rely on telecommunications. The +/- twenty-year horizon is necessary to provide a context for planning major new road and infrastructure elements (such as water and sewer systems) that require a long time frame for planning, funding, and development.
The Vision of the Future
This General Plan will guide the City of Portola through an era of substantial change.
Although Portola is a relatively small community and isolated from the large population centers of California, the City will be affected by economic and technologic changes far beyond its borders. These changes include an increase in the retired population, more leisure time and affluence to enjoy attractive communities, and technologic advances that enable certain types of employment to locate in relatively isolated locations.
An increase in retired population brings a higher demand for second homes and recreation-oriented retirement communities. Increased leisure time and affluence enables more people to visit communities such as Portola. This will enhance the local economy and lead to more diverse employment opportunities. More employment opportunities lead to population growth and housing demand.
New technologies and demographic trends will change the way people work, communicate, travel, and shop. These changes will provide many new choices for individuals and provide new opportunities that will affect where people choose to live.
Company decision makers will select the location for company expansions and relocations largely on the quality of life available to themselves and their employees. Small City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
communities with a high level of natural amenities and near to larger supporting metropolitan areas will attract new businesses and enjoy sustained economic development. The challenge will be to accommodate and derive the benefits of economic development without diminishing the natural amenities and small-town environment that the current residents treasure.
This General Plan envisions Portola as the economic hub of the east Plumas County region.
The industries that sustained the community for more than a century: timber, mining, ranching and the railroad, have endured a steady decline due to changes in the national economy. However, a promising future lies in embracing and managing the population growth and economic development that will be attracted by the high level of amenity.
Quality of life and the preservation of the existing environment are essential to realize this vision. The type of new economic growth anticipated in this plan is totally dependent on retaining and enhancing the environmental quality found in the community today. The new residents and businesses that will be attracted to this community have choices to locate virtually anywhere they please. Retirees, small business entrepreneurs and those who choose the mountain setting, small community lifestyle and recreation opportunities have the choice of many communities. Portola will grow and prosper in the future only to the extent that it:
1. protects and sustains the natural amenities it currently offers,
2. manages the effects of growth, affordably maintains public services and infrastructure, and
3. provides opportunities for quality economic development.
Features of the General Plan Vision
The General Plan vision of the future of Portola includes the following characteristics and features. All of these elements contribute to the overall success of the community, the quality of life for residents, and the quality of the experience for visitors to the community.
Environmental Protection
Portola enjoys a high-quality, natural environment. The General Plan will contribute to protecting this environment by limiting the intensity of development within, and directing inappropriate development away from, environmentally sensitive areas.
Employment Growth
Employment opportunities will come with growth in tourism, local services and new businesses, and growth in the residential community. The Land Use Element will facilitate City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
job growth by providing suitable land area for new employers that is well located with adequate services and access.
Enhanced Retail Opportunities and Services for Residents New retail and services for area residents will come with new population growth in the eastern Plumas County region. This will enhance the convenience and quality of life for residents and will reduce the need to travel outside the region for shopping and service needs. As the commercial hub for east Plumas County, Portola will be the center for new businesses and services. This will occur if there are suitable sites for the new businesses in an attractive setting.
Clear Sense of Community and Place
The City will retain the distinct sense of place distinguished by the compact form centered on the Feather River. Creating a “sense of place” is less tangible than most characteristics, but it is important to the social and aesthetic quality of the City. Sense of place is a resident’s perception that the City is a unique place, with well-defined boundaries, a logical order in land uses, and a distinct commercial and social center. This enhances the overall aesthetics and quality of life in the City. Moreover, such attributes help visitors to quickly understand the organization of streets and land use in a community.
Efficient, Affordable Public Services and Utilities
The City will provide public services suited to and affordable to the residents. The location of land uses directly affects the cost of public utilities and services. For example, extensive backbone sewer and water pipe systems significantly increase both initial capital cost and on-going maintenance. Similarly, scattered, low-density residential use can increase the cost and diminish the effectiveness of police, fire, and recreation services. A compact city, with clustered housing in the rural areas, can help make public services and utilities more affordable and efficient.
Quality, Affordable Housing
The City will include a supply of quality housing affordable to the residents who work in the region. This is necessary for the economic development of the City. The Land Use Element will contribute by designating an adequate area for new housing and by excluding incompatible detrimental land uses from residential neighborhoods.
Safety
Safety from flooding, earthquakes, and wildfires will be achieved in part by not locating intensive land uses in harm’s way and, in part, by land use design that minimizes exposure and maximizes the ability to evacuate people in emergencies.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
Alternative Transportation Methods
The use of private vehicles will remain the primary mode of transport in this region.
However, the Land Use Element will contribute to minimizing the effects of automobile traffic by creating a compact community. By locating the more intense land uses along roads that can accommodate the higher traffic levels, it will be feasible to walk or bicycle for some daily trips. Public transit can serve the more intense land uses clustered along transit routes.
Economic Setting
The City of Portola in 2020 is shaped by the industries that created and sustained it through the late 19th and 20th centuries. Portola developed around the railroad and highway.
The railroad established the primary form of the City when it was platted in 1909; but timber, mining, and ranching have all contributed to the historic development and evolution of the town. As these industries expanded, the town prospered and grew. As these same industries declined, Portola experienced a long period of economic stagnation. Although timber, mining, ranching, and the railroad continue to play a role in the economy of this region, the future will depend on new types of businesses.
In the historic economy there was little need for commercial or industrial land use other than the commercial development along Sierra Street and Commercial Street.
Consequently, Portola has little area available to provide economic development opportunities for small businesses that may seek space in the City.
The preparation of this General Plan coincides with new circumstances that promise a bright future for the City of Portola. The City is truly at a crossroads created by circumstances beyond its borders. If properly prepared, the City can ensure sustained economic growth, and maintain the existing quality of life for current and future residents.
This General Plan defines a future based on these new circumstances.
The new circumstances that will drive economic development in Portola reflect broad changes in technology and demographic trends far beyond this community. Technology will change the way in which people will work, shop, communicate with others socially and in business, and engage in leisure activities. These changes will make it more likely that individuals will choose a place to live based on quality-of-life issues, rather than traditional economic considerations.
With telecommunications technologies and inexpensive, prompt delivery services, it is now possible to locate many types of businesses virtually anywhere. Office work, mail order sales, small manufacturing, and a wide range of other activities that historically had to locate in a major population center can now be located where the business decision makers choose. Portola is in a position to nurture this type of business as a cornerstone of City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
economic growth. In order to attract new businesses, the City will need to offer a variety of office, light industrial, and commercial space.
The amount of land area allocated to business development cannot be precisely established in the General Plan. However, it is essential that the City designate areas for commercial and business parks to accommodate economic development opportunities.
Demographic forces will also affect the growth and development of many communities.
An aging, relatively affluent population will also make retirement and recreation choices based on quality-of-life issues. As the “baby-boomer” generation reaches retirement age in the next two decades, a large population of relatively affluent households will be seeking to locate in communities that offer a high level of quality of life. The most attractive retirement areas will be smaller communities within a few hours’ drive of the metropolitan areas where these people spent much of their lives. The demand for retirement housing will be met in existing small towns, such as Portola, as well as large, master planned communities.
Tourism and recreation will also be a cornerstone of economic development in Portola.
Tourism will create new service jobs and will also introduce the area to visitors and will thereby invite further population growth. Finally, job growth in the Reno area and in east Plumas County will create a demand for affordable housing and secondary jobs in Portola.
Tourism will also be a growing factor in the future economy. The Railroad Museum, the River Park (described in the Land Use Element, Section 2.7.2), the Feather River itself, and Old Town Commercial area are existing or potential attractions for tourists. The City will provide a number of venues or activity centers to host large- scale events. The impact of the tourist visits and the growth of recreation activities in the east Plumas County region will be felt in retail, lodging, and service business growth.
Quality of life is fundamental to capturing a “fair share” of the growth that will result from these new circumstances. The key is to balance the need for new growth, including jobs, services, retail, and housing with protecting the natural resources and amenities in community. Indeed, without those natural resources and amenities, the fundamental attraction of the community will be lost, and the economic growth needed to survive and prosper will be diminished.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
Physical Setting and
Resources
The challenge to blend new growth with
environmental protection is great, but
Portola attributes offer significant
advantages, including some that are
virtually unique. The conditions in the
existing community and the surrounding
region, both manmade development
and the natural environment, are
fundamental to determining the
potential for future land use.
Regional Location
Portola is located just 45 minutes from Reno on an all-weather highway, as shown in Figure 1-1. Highway 70 is a significant trans-Sierra route that brings commerce to the City. For businesses in Portola, Reno offers a larger market for services and supplies, a potential labor pool, and transportation connections. With the Reno/Tahoe International Airport so near, Portola can ship and receive materials as readily as any major metropolitan area. The Reno/Tahoe International Airport is also a portal for tourists attracted to Portola and the east Plumas County region.
This proximity to a major employment market enables residents to hold relatively high paying jobs and support a household in Portola. Out-commuting to jobs is not a desirable long-term strategy for Portola, but the Reno area employment is a stable source of income that can help Portola grow its own economy and employment base.
Portola is the major urban center for several historic and emerging recreation/residential communities. These existing and developing communities: Graeagle, Blairsden, Whitehawk Ranch, Grizzly Ranch, and Gold Mountain, among others, will attract both seasonal and permanent population that will require services and shopping. As these communities mature, the population will become more permanent and will require yearround services.
Mountain Setting
The City sits at the east end of the narrow Humbug Valley flanked on the south by Beckwourth Peak (7252 feet) and on the north by peaks reaching to 6200 feet. The mountains offer distant vistas when viewed from the town.
The City extends away from the river and into the forest on both sides of the valley. Distinct drainages to the river provide open space corridors and divide the City in small City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
neighborhoods. On the south side of the river the drainage way has been preserved in a City park corridor. On the north side of the river, a drainage way interrupts the neighborhood street pattern.
The City and surrounding area is gently sloping. The maximum slope is typically less than ten percent. Steeper slopes, up to twenty percent, are found along the major tributary drainages and the mountain sides to the north and south. Generally, the steeper slopes are not a major factor in land use decisions because the steep slope areas are located away from the planned urban areas. Locally, steep areas limit the development potential and interrupt the neighborhood street pattern.
Feather River
The Middle Fork of the Feather River is a Federal Wild and Scenic River and is the dominant visual element in the City. The river channel is only about 100 feet wide, but the river plain varies between 500 feet and 800 feet wide. The river plain is an attractive area that includes both riparian habitat and mature ponderosa pines.
Distinct Boundaries
A low pass establishes a distinct entry to the City as one travels west on Highway 70 from Sierra Valley. The City entry is equally well defined at the west portal. The south side of the City and the rail museum buildings come into view as one driving east from Delleker rounds a curve in the highway adjacent to the river.
Compact Form
Portola is a compact City with boundaries and physical character defined by natural features. The City of Portola currently covers an area of 1268 acres, about two square miles. The Middle Fork Feather River, the Union Pacific Railroad and Highway 70 run parallel through the valley and divide the City in distinctly separate north and south sectors.
Existing land uses are located in a clear, functional pattern. The primary institutional uses are clustered in a core along Gulling Street. These include the hospital, City Hall, the library, a City park, a County Sheriff substation, the Post Office, and the schools.
Distinct Commercial Core Areas
The primary regional services and highway commercial uses are located along Highway
70. Businesses serve both the local population and the regional traffic drawn by recreation opportunities. The commercial strip includes regional services such as banking, restaurants and automobile services. South of the river, the Old Town commercial area along Commercial Street provides small scale, local services and retail, and has the potential to become a tourism and recreation center for the region.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
Railroad Museum
The railroad museum is a unique facility that attracts rail enthusiasts, as well as casual visitors. It provides a focal point for tourism and an anchor for economic development in the Old Town area. The City of Portola recognizes the importance of the museum to the character of the City and as an attraction to visitors in the community. The City Council endorses enhancements to the museum.
Recreation Resources
Portola residents enjoy a high level of recreation amenities in the surrounding forest, and in the City’s parks and community facilities. Recreation-oriented tourism, such as fishing at Lake Davis, has been a fundamental component of the local economy. There are substantial opportunities for expanding recreation including mountain biking, bicycle touring, fishing, golf, camping and a wide range of other activities.
Historic and Cultural Resources
The local area is rich in historic resources that can attract visitors to Portola. In addition, the natural setting provides opportunities to host cultural events and permanent facilities, such as museums that offer additional visitor attractions. Historic features within Portola include the Railroad Museum and the Williams Cabin. Nearby features include the Beckwourth Cabin and Johnsville historic mining museum within the Plumas-Eureka State Park.
Public Services
The City is unique in the east Plumas County region in the ability to provide public services required by urban development. The City can use basic infrastructure, including sewer and water systems, to direct and moderate urban growth.
Hospital and Medical Services
The Eastern Plumas Hospital located in Portola serves the residents of eastern Plumas County. Access to a quality hospital, ancillary health and emergency medical services are an important consideration for households, notably senior citizens, seeking a new home. The hospital is an important asset in Portola’s economic growth potential.
Education and Training Resources
Portola is the location of the elementary, middle and high school serving the local region.
In addition, the Feather River Community College has a main campus in nearby Quincy, offering residents additional education opportunities. The nearby University of Nevada, Reno offers a broad spectrum of courses.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
Geographic Area of General Plan Study
This General Plan examines three geographic areas: the current City boundary, the current Sphere of Influence boundary and a General Plan Study Area boundary. The General Plan Study Area is approximately 17 square miles. The City of Portola currently occupies about two square miles. The purpose in establishing the Study Area boundary significantly larger than the existing City is to identify and evaluate the areas surrounding the City that may affect the future economic viability, traffic, services, and aesthetic quality of the City.
In addition, since many issues such as air quality, traffic and economic development, extend beyond political boundaries, the law provides for planning outside of the jurisdiction’s territory.
The General Plan must cover all territory within its boundaries as well as “any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency’s judgment bears relation to its planning,” (Government Code Section 65300). A local government can formally communicate its concerns for the future of lands under its neighbors’ jurisdictions by this means. “Cooperative ‘extraterritorial’ planning can be used to guide the orderly and efficient extension of services and utilities, ensure the preservation of open space, agricultural, and resource conservation lands, and establish consistent standards for development in the plans of adjoining jurisdictions” (State of California General Plan Guidelines). It is for these purposes that the City of Portola General Plan Study Area boundary extends beyond the existing Sphere of Influence. However, the City of Portola will not necessarily seek to initiate annexation of land that is either in the Sphere of Influence or the General Plan Study Area.
The area included in the General Plan Study Area considers proximity to the City, access to Highway 70, the terrain, and the potential for further urbanization as defined by land uses in the Plumas County General Plan.
Amendments to the General Plan
To ensure that the General Plan is true to the original vision and principles it should be reviewed at regular intervals of approximately five years, and as required by State law.
Periodic adjustments to the General Plan may occur from time to time, as development opportunities emerge.
Elements Addressed in the General Plan
The California Government Code identifies seven mandatory elements of the General Plan. In addition to the mandated elements, the Government Code authorizes other General Plan elements which, in the judgment of the local legislative body, relate to the physical development of the community. Once adopted, these optional elements become an integral part of the General Plan with the same force and effect as the mandatory elements. The Portola General Plan is intended to guide the City in expanding City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
economic growth and opportunities, while emphasizing quality of life issues, notably environmental conditions. Consequently, the General Plan includes the optional Community Design Element, Public Services and Facilities Element, and Economic Development Element. These elements are intended to focus the plan on community quality, economic development, and environmental protection.
The Government Code permits a city to combine elements and issues in the General Plan as appropriate to the local conditions. The Portola General Plan takes advantage of this provision in combining the mandatory Open Space Element with the mandatory Conservation Element.
The City of Portola General Plan 2045 includes the following elements:
▪ Land Use (mandatory)
▪ Community Design (optional)
▪ Circulation (mandatory)
▪ Economic Development (optional)
▪ Public Services and Facilities (optional)
▪ Safety (mandatory)
▪ Open Space and Conservation (combined mandatory elements) ▪ Noise (mandatory)
▪ Air Quality (optional)
▪ Housing (mandatory)
Organization of the Elements
Each element provides goals, policies, and implementation measures. The policies and implementation measures are grouped by sub-topic. The policy statements are followed by implementation measures that relate to those policies. For certain topics the implementation measures may relate to more than one policy, just as the policies may relate to more than one goal. Where the policies and implementation may relate to a topic in another element, the policy is cross referenced to the other element(s).
An example of the format for the goals, policies, and implementation measures follows:
Goal LU-1. Enhance the quality of life and physical environment in the City.
CD-P-20. Establish a special pedestrian area in Old Town to accommodate tourism and shopping and services for local residents.
CD-I-37. Adopt guidelines for commercial buildings that reflect the history of the region, and compatible with the climate.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Introduction
Each goal, policy, and implementation measure include an identifying number. The letter code identifies the element in this General Plan. The letter following the element identification indicates “P” for policy, or “I” for implementation. The policies and implementation measures are grouped under an appropriate heading for quick identification. The number following the identifier code is the number of the policy or implementation measure. The numbers are sequential and continuous through each element.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
2. Land Use Element DRAFT
This Land Use Element establishes the physical framework for development in Portola. It defines the location, use characteristics, and intensity of land uses throughout the City.
Authority
The Land Use Element is mandated by the California Government Code. The statute requires:
“a Land Use Element which designates the proposed general distribution, location, and extent of the uses of the land for housing; business; industry; open space, including agriculture, natural resources, recreation and enjoyment of scenic beauty; education; public buildings and grounds; solid and liquid waste-disposal facilities; and other categories of public and private uses of land”
Relationship to Other Elements
The Land Use Element is a cornerstone of the General Plan. All other aspects of the General Plan relate to the land use and the physical form of the City. The City form is established in the land use policies and the General Plan Diagram. The type, intensity and location of land use described in the Plan directly influences, and is influenced by, economic development potential, housing, traffic generation and circulation patterns, requirements for public services and utilities, safety from hazards, and environmental protection. All of these factors interact for the enhancement of the overall community.
The other General Plan elements are linked through the Land Use Element. In turn, the Land Use Element is influenced, and constrained in some instances, by the goals and policies established in other elements. Existing and potential land use in the City and surrounding area is affected by environmental factors. These factors establish design requirements that will influence the character and density of development and, in some instances, limit the potential for new development.
The Land Use Element and the Open Space and Conservation Element are closely related in that they both deal with the use of land. The Open Space and Conservation Element addresses the management of land and resources in the areas where urban development is excluded or minimized. Similarly, the Safety Element is linked to land use by defining potential hazard areas and limiting the extent and character of development that will be permitted in such areas.
Land use drives the need for circulation and public infrastructure, and thus the Land Use Element is linked to the Circulation Element and the Public Facilities Element. Land use is also linked to the Housing Element by defining the land area and conditions for housing opportunities, and by establishing the employment-generating land uses that will create City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
additional housing demand. Finally, the Land Use Element defines the land uses that influence the economic opportunities and fiscal stability of the community, and thus is linked to the Economic Development Element.
The Land Use Element is perhaps most closely linked to the Community Design Element.
The two elements address the fundamental issues dealing with the use of land and development of urban uses. The Land Use Element focuses on the definition of land use categories and the location of land uses. The Community Design Element addresses the details of community form, and the quality of the built environment. The two elements are organized in parallel fashion to facilitate cross-referencing.
The land use element must reflect the specific contents from other elements. For example, the land use element must account for “rivers, creeks, streams, flood corridors, riparian habitats, and land that may accommodate floodwater for purposes of groundwater recharge and stormwater management,” as identified in the conservation element (Gov.
Code § 65302(d)(3)). The law also requires the land use element to correlate with the circulation element (Gov. Code § 65302(b)); and to use the noise element (Gov. Code § 65302(f)) as a guide for establishing a pattern of land use that minimizes the exposure of community residents to excessive noise.
Background
The most fundamental decisions in planning begin with land use. The City’s Land Use Element contains goals, policies, and implementation actions related to the four topics of Land Use, Growth Management, Community Design, and Neighborhoods. Per Government Code §65302 (a), a land use element designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of land for housing, business, industry, open space, natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty, education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste disposal facilities, greenways (as defined in Section 816.52 of the Civil Code), and other categories of public and private uses of land. The 2017 General Plan Guidelines includes a Completeness Checklist to help ensure that the land use element addresses all required issues. The table below details the requirement and how it is addressed in this General Plan.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Completeness Checklist & Required Contents
California
Government
Code
Section
Brief Description of Requirement Addressed in General
Plan
General distribution, location, and extent of:
65302(a) Housing:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Business:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Industry:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Open space:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Education:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Public Facilities:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Solid and liquid waste disposal:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a)(1) Timberland production:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Other:
Density and intensity, Potential for flood?
√
65302(a) Greenways, as defined in Civil Code Section
816.52
√
65302(a) Identify areas subject to flood plain mapping, and annual review
√
65302(a)(2) Impact on military land use compatibility and readiness
√
65302(b)(1) Correlation with the Circulation Element √
Includes a diagram or diagrams √
Government Code section 65302(a) describes the required content of a land use element.
Specifically, the land use element must designate the proposed general distribution, general location, and extent of land uses for:
• Housing, business, and industry
• Open space, including agricultural land, watersheds, natural resources, and recreation
• Recreation facilities and opportunities
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
• Educational facilities
• Public buildings and grounds
• Future solid and liquid waste facilities
• Greenways
• Timberland Preserve Zone lands
• Areas subject to flooding, identified by either flood plain mapping prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources or mapped flood areas adopted by the local community on Flood Insurance Rate Maps
• Military land use compatibility and impacts to military readiness • Other categories of public and private uses of land, such as marine protected areas
Potential Impacts for Flooding
In 2007, Assembly Bill 162 amended sections of the Government Code related to local planning, which created overlapping requirements for flooding issues in the land use, conservation, and safety elements as follows:
• Require the Land Use Element to identify and annually review those areas covered by the general plan that are subject to flooding as identified by flood plain mapping prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources (DWR);
• Require, upon the next revision of the Housing Element, on or after January 1, 2009, the Conservation Element to identify rivers, creeks, streams, flood corridors, riparian habitat, and land that may accommodate floodwater for purposes of groundwater recharge and stormwater management; and
• Require, upon the next revision of the Housing Element, on or after January 1, 2009, the Safety Element to identify, among other things, information regarding flood hazards and to establish a set of comprehensive goals, policies, and objectives, based on specified information for the protection of the community from, among other things, the unreasonable risks of flooding.
In the City’s General Plan, flooding issues are mainly discussed in the Safety Element. The following OPR-recommended data is included in the Land Use Element:
• Identification of waterways used in flood management; and • Identification of potential for flooding impacts per land use designation.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
The City’s various general plan elements include text, maps, goals, policies, and implementation actions regarding flooding. The relationship between this information and land use is presented to meet the intent of the statutory requirements. The City will perform an annual review of the Land Use Element for those areas covered by the plan that are subject to flooding identified by FEMA or the Department of Water Resources. For further discussion on this topic, see the Safety Element.
A FEMA Flood Map that depicts areas of potential flooding within the incorporated City limits is included below. Individual projects are required to be reviewed when an application is submitted to the City, and individual parcels can be reviewed at any time at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center at https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-1
FEMA Flood Map
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-2
Flood Hazard Areas
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-3
Flood Hazard Areas with Zoning
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Education
The City’s Land Use Element includes public schools, which are designated as Public/Quasi-Public land use, private schools, and preschools described by name and site size in text and located on the General Plan Map. In addition, the Circulation Element includes policies for school locations and transportation safety. There are no career colleges or adult education centers located in the City.
The schools in Portola, as shown in Figure 2-2 serve students that live in the City and surrounding communities, and have a current population of:
• C. Roy Carmichael Elementary School: +/- 350 students • Portola Jr. / Sr. High School: +/- 280 students
• Long Valley Charter School- Portola Resource Center (grades K-12): +/- 100 students
Policies are included in the General Plan to ensure that development in Portola will be reviewed by the School District for future educational facility needs.
School facilities also provide for other community needs including recreation and community meeting facilities. The City has joint use agreement with the County and School District for use of the school facilities. The City also participates in outdoor education opportunities with the School District (i.e. park facilities).
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-4
Educational Facilities Map
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal
The City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and Landfill are identified with a Utilities Land Use designation on the General Plan Land Use Map and shown below in Figure 2-5. Additional information regarding solid and liquid waste disposal is included in the Public Services and Facilities Element.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-5
Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal Map
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Circulation
The Circulation Element deals with the physical infrastructure of transportation including the streets, bikeway, and pedestrian networks. It also deals with the programming and operation of the circulation system such as rideshare programs and the operation of transportation system. It is crucial that the Circulation Element and the Land Use Element are consistent and that the Land Use Element allows for the implementation of the Circulation Element. The General Plan Land Use Map includes land use designations that allow for the new roads in the Core Area as designated ion the Circulation Element.
Conversely, the Circulation Element includes goals, policies, and implementation measures that implement the Land Use Element. See Figure 4-7, New Roads in the Core Area from the Circulation Element.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 4-7(From Circulation Element)
New Roads in the Core Area
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Overall Land Use Goals
The land use goals will guide the overall development of the City. Guiding policies and implementation policies based on these goals will direct infill development, expansion of new land use areas, and improvement of existing land uses.
Goal LU-1. Provide for land uses that expand employment, education, recreation, and cultural opportunities for residents and reinforce Portola as the commercial and service center for eastern Plumas County.
Goal LU-2. Protect and preserve natural environmental features and amenities.
Goal LU-3. Reinforce strong urban design, quality development, and a compact City form.
Goal LU-4. Encourage mixed land uses but provide physical separation or design buffers between incompatible land uses.
Goal LU-5. Retain the existing commercial and civic core as the cultural and functional center of the City.
Goal LU-6. Reinforce land use and development patterns that encourage walking and the use of local public transit within the community.
Goal LU-7. Complete infill development of the unimproved portions of the City.
Goal LU-8. Maintain access to open space within the urban portions of the City, particularly the Middle Fork Feather River.
Goal LU-9. Provide multiple locations for recreation and cultural activities within the existing City core area.
Goal LU-10. Ensure that the mix of land uses results in a balance between public revenues and public service demands.
Goal LU-11. Establish orderly growth in new development areas to ensure logical public service areas.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Key Land Use Issues
Jobs/Housing Balance (Housing, Business, and Industry)
“Jobs/housing balance” is the relationship between the number of jobs (business and industry) and the number of housing units available within the community. In a balanced community, workers can find decent housing adequate to their household needs and affordable to their household income. Job growth and economic development depends on a supply of quality, affordable housing. A jobs/housing imbalance is detrimental to the economic stability of a community.
It is assumed that most households have between 1 and 1.3 workers. Therefore, the ideal condition for a small city is that number of local jobs is about equal to or slightly higher than the number of households. Where the number of jobs is in balance with the number of housing units there is less need for workers to commute outside the community to find work.
Such is not the case in most contemporary American cities. Long commutes indicate that jobs and housing are not balanced. The future will find Portola residents working in a variety of settings: at home, at small businesses in town, at one of the nearby recreation communities, and commuting out to Reno and elsewhere. The General Plan is a tool for guiding land use so that jobs and housing grow together.
Public Service Land Area Requirements
Although the City has not seen population growth in recent years, it is imperative that the City plans for possible growth because there are approved housing developments. New population will generate the need for additional space for schools, parks, and institutional uses. The civic and commercial core should be augmented by multiple activity centers such as parks, public squares, and public buildings. The intent is to provide several locations that can accommodate special events and places of interest to attract tourists.
Multiple activity centers will also provide spaces that can be coordinated to host large, multi-venue special events, or to host multiple small events concurrently.
Balance Community Growth with Revenues Required for Public Services Growth in land use will provide additional revenues but will also place additional service burdens on the City of Portola. The challenge to cities is to balance growth with funds for required new services. All components, residential as well as commercial and industrial, are necessary to the overall stability of a city. The intent is to ensure that the City can provide needed public services and that the land uses generate sufficient revenues to fund services adequate to meet public needs.
Types of Land Use
Once the overall form of the City and the general location of land use is established, the type of land uses, or “land use categories” applied in the Land Use Element are described City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
in the General Plan Diagram Section of this element. The Land Use Element establishes land use categories tailored to meet the specific needs of the City. Economic development opportunities, housing needs and environmental characteristics are among the factors that determine the appropriate land use categories.
The land use categories established in this General Plan will be implemented through the City Municipal Code, Zoning Ordinance.
Community Form, Scale, and Character
The developed portion of the City should retain its distinct, compact form with clear, welldefined edges. The existing civic and commercial core area should be retained and reinforced as the functional and social center of the City for residents. The scale of the City should permit walking and bicycling (during the appropriate seasons) to major activity centers such as shopping, recreation facilities, and schools. Commercial, employment, recreational and institutional land uses should be conveniently located to the residential neighborhoods. High activity areas should be located to facilitate the use of public transit.
The general form, scale and character of land use in the community, and the connection to open space and the location and character of public space are addressed in the Community Design Element.
Open Space and Natural Features
The land uses must ensure that scenic corridors and natural features are protected from incompatible development. Urban development should be located and designed so that natural features, such as creeks, the Feather River, the surrounding forest, and mountain vistas, are preserved as the defining visual characteristics of the City. The intent is to enhance the relationship of the creeks, forests, and river to the adjacent land uses by improving access for recreation, and by enhancing the view from the adjacent land uses.
Land Use Location
The Land Use Element defines the location of all planned land use in the City, the Sphere of Influence and the General Plan study area. The distribution and intensity of land use is influenced by the physical characteristics of the City, the compatibility of land uses and proximity to major circulation routes, among many other factors. Preservation of open space and natural features integral to the character of the community are primary considerations in determining the appropriate location of land uses.
General Plan Diagram (Land Use Map)
The Land Use Element illustrates the location of each land use category in a General Plan Diagram, or land use map shown in this Element as Figure 2-6. The location of each land use is affected by environmental constraints, compatibility with other land uses, the overall City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
concept for development of the City, and the capacity of the circulation systems and public infrastructure systems to accommodate development. The text and policies of the Land Use Element and the General Plan Diagram establish a framework for the physical development of the City. As required by state law, land use classifications, shown as letter designations, labels or graphic patterns on the Diagram, specify a range for population density and building intensity for each type of designated land use.
The location of land uses in this General Plan considers environmental conditions, the compatibility of land uses, the capacity of the circulation system and the basic sewer and water systems to accommodate growth in subareas of the City. The General Plan Land Use Diagram also takes into consideration the urban form of the City and the distribution of activity centers that support community life and tourism.
The Land Use Map also identifies areas subject to flooding as identified by flood plain mapping prepared by FEMA or DWR, education facilities, and solid and liquid waste disposal facilities.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-6
General Plan Diagram – Land Use Map (Full-Size Map available at https://cityofportola.specialdistrict.org/files/e249de509/ZONING-MAP-806.pdf) City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-7
General Plan Diagram – Core Area Land Use & Zoning
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
General Plan Neighborhoods
The General Plan Study Area, including the land within the existing City and the surrounding land outside the City, is divided into neighborhoods that are useful in describing the General Plan land use concepts and intentions. Each neighborhood may contain more than one Land Use designation.
North Neighborhood
This area contains the existing neighborhood north of Highway 70 extending up to Joy Way. The primary role of this neighborhood is to retain the existing stock of housing and to encourage infill in the existing lots. Further development is constrained by the lack of sewer, water and finished streets to serve the existing lots.
Rural North
North of Joy Way is an area of rural large lot development. This area will most likely build out in the existing pattern of one-acre to five-acre home sites but may also include clusters of smaller residential lots. They effect a transition between the small lots within the City and the forest and meadows further to the north and west along Lake Davis Road. There is additional potential in this area for large lot development and visitor commercial or recreation use, such as a guest ranch, conference center, or retreat.
South Neighborhood
This area contains the existing neighborhood south of Commercial Street and west of Gulling Street, including Ridgewood. As with the North Neighborhood, the primary land use purpose here is to retain and improve the existing stock of housing and to encourage infill in the existing lots. This area also includes undeveloped land east of Third Street that requires additional sewer, water, and road improvement to make existing lots available for use.
Sierra Street Commercial Core
The Sierra Street (Highway 70) Commercial Core will be the regional business center and a tourism and recreation center. Land uses will include conventional retail and service businesses oriented to the regional needs, restaurants, tourist-oriented lodging, retail and service shops, space for public events and recreation. The core extends from one end of the City to the other along Highway 70. The east end is oriented more to offices, small shops, and local-serving businesses on the north side of the highway. The west end is envisioned as oriented to regional as well as local businesses. A site suitable for redevelopment as a shopping center with a market and other shops and services is designated.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
River Park (River Walk)
The river front along the north side of the river provides a unique setting for commercial and service land uses. Businesses, shops and restaurants, lodging and public spaces are envisioned along the south side of Sierra Street to the river. Existing buildings overlooking the river can be converted to resident services and tourist business use.
Old Town
This includes the area along Commercial Street and extends to Colorado Street and the old railroad hospital site on the west. The intent is to establish a special commercial and tourist core area with shops, restaurants, public space for recreation and leisure activities.
The Portola Railroad Museum is a key element in this area that will attract visitors to the City.
Southeast Quadrant
This area includes the mix of residential, light industrial, and institutional uses (park, churches, hospital, and cemetery) east of South Gulling Street. Although platted as individual lots in the original City subdivision map, this area includes substantial vacant land and has limited sewer, water, and roads. It can be redeveloped in any pattern suitable for more modern development. This area is planned to become an expanded residential neighborhood and a new business/light industrial center. It may also include additional public or private institutional uses such as a conference center, a health center, recreation facilities, and other special purpose facilities.
Portola Highlands
This area south of the high school has long been designated as a residential neighborhood.
Uses as approved in the Tentative Map include commercial, business professional/light industrial, various types of housing clustered in the relatively flatter areas and low-density housing in the steeper areas, and an extensive open space and trail system.
Southwest Quadrant
The southwest quadrant is located along the south side of the river, west of the existing City boundary. This area is suitable for providing additional housing. Development of this area will provide the local circulation routes that could ultimately be required for connection to a second crossing of the river near Delleker.
Portola Heights
Portola Heights is an existing underdeveloped neighborhood immediately west of the City and north of Highway 70 (not in the City limits, but some lots are served by City sewer and water). The area is designed and designated for small-lot residential development. The developed portions have public sewer and water provided by the City. It is anticipated City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
that this area will develop in the existing pattern with minor changes for more efficient development.
West Neighborhood
To the west of Lake Davis Road and north of Portola Heights is an area suitable for a new residential neighborhood. The area includes a 160-acre parcel owned by the US Forest Service that would have to be acquired or exchanged, and annexed to the City, to allow new development. The location could easily be served by the City sewer and water system and is relatively flat. It would accommodate residential uses in clusters and additional park/recreation land to serve the City residents. Development of this area would include a through street that connects the Lake Davis Road to Highway 70 west of Delleker and thereby provides a northern route paralleling the highway.
Highway 70 Corridor
The Highway 70 Corridor extends from the existing City boundary to Mabie on the west.
The corridor includes the existing Delleker area, and the commercial, quasi-industrial and residential uses permitted by the County along the highway. With relatively flat land and good highway access this area will continue to attract development. The General Plan anticipates additional commercial, light industrial, institutional, and residential uses in this area. The Community Design Element establishes design concepts and standards that will enhance this area such that it will provide an attractive entry to the City.
West Meadows
Between the Highway Corridor and the steep slopes to the north is an area that may develop in cluster residential use. The residences will be in predominantly low-density designations, but medium density residential development may occur where the housing is clustered for aesthetic reasons and to avoid environmentally sensitive areas.
Northeast Quadrant
The area east of the existing City boundary and Sphere of Influence is primarily designated for residential and recreation use. The area extends to east of Grizzly Road in the County and includes the Cedars project area. The General Plan does not propose changes to the uses in this area.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Land Use Designations
The Land Use Element is required to include a statement of the standards of population density and building intensity recommended for the various districts and other territory covered by the General Plan. This section describes the types of land use the City will need to meet environmental protection, economic development, jobs/housing balance and public service goals. The land use categories established in this General Plan define the range of activities that are permitted in Portola.
The categories define specific classes of land use, but they are intended to provide flexibility in implementing the General Plan policies. Under state law, the Land Use Element of the General Plan must establish standards of population density and building intensity for each land use category.
The density/intensity standards do not indicate that development projects will be approved at the maximum density or intensity specified for each use. Zoning regulations consistent with General Plan policies and/or site conditions may reduce development potential within the stated ranges. The City’s Zoning Ordinance contains more detailed provisions and standards for regulating the use and intensity of permitted development.
More than one zoning district may be consistent with a General Plan land use category.
Residential Land Use Categories
Four residential land use categories are established to provide for development of a full range of housing types appropriate in the City. Housing densities are stated as the number of housing units per gross acre of developable land, excluding areas subject to physical, environmental, or geologic constraints and areas dedicated for green ways or natural resource protection. At least one housing unit may be built on each existing legal lot designated for residential use. Dwelling units may be clustered within a General Plan land use category according to standards established in the City’s Zoning Ordinance and in the Community Design Element of this General Plan.
Residential units in addition to the number of dwellings permitted in the conventional zoning districts may occur as:
• second dwelling units on single family lots permitted by the City’s Zoning Ordinance;
• state-mandated density bonuses for provision of affordable housing; and • residential units included in the various commercial land use categories.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Figure 2-8
Infill Neighborhoods
General vicinity of
undeveloped properties
that require streets, water
and sewer service in order
to be developed
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Rural Residential (RR): Up to 0.2 units per gross acre (5-acre minimum parcel size)
The Rural Residential (RR) category is intended to accommodate large estate residential properties at the periphery of Portola. This designation will allow private equestrian facilities and tourist or recreation commercial uses such as a guest ranch, equestrian center, a golf course and golf training center, cross-country ski area, or conference center. Special use structures such as lodges and recreation activity structures may also occur. Such uses allow non-resident over-night guests or participants that are not included in the population for this residential category.
Development will typically be single family residences and accessory structures. In order to protect environmental resources, such as meadows and creeks, the residential lots may be clustered in densities that are higher than the nominal density permitted in this designation. Where appropriate to the environmental setting and the type of development, attached dwellings will be considered in the Zoning Ordinance under conditional use permit provisions. Dwelling units may be clustered on smaller lots provided that:
• Plumas County standards for septic systems are met, except that any lot less than 2.5 acres in size shall have public sewer and water. • A minimum of 25 percent of the project is allocated to permanent open space.
• The average density in the cluster area does not exceed 0.4 units per gross acre.
• The minimum lot size in the cluster development shall be 1/3 acre with a minimum frontage of 100 feet.
Examples of an appropriate cluster or attached type of development include a guest ranch or conference center. The design of such structures and the associated improvements shall be consistent with the environmental setting. This will typically mean buildings in proportion to the surroundings, use of traditional, durable materials and minimal site grading.
The local roads in the Rural Residential designated areas may be constructed to a rural standard where the average lot is one half acre or larger in size.
The Rural Residential uses are located in areas constrained by slopes, meadows and environmentally sensitive areas. The land use restrictions defined in the Open Space and Conservation Element and the Community Design Element will affect the potential density and location of residential development in this category. The category will typically be in proximity to low density residential use and open space but may be near compatible commercial uses and higher density special purpose residential uses.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
The average density assumed for General Plan buildout calculations is 0.2 units per gross acre.
Low-Density Residential (LDR): From 0.2 to 1 unit per gross acre (1 acre to 5 acre parcels)
The Low-Density Residential designation is intended to provide single family lots and related uses similar to those currently found on the periphery of the City. The category will typically provide a transition to medium density residential use from rural residential land use, but may be near compatible institutional and commercial uses and higher density special purpose residential uses.
Development within this land use category will typically be single family residences and accessory structures. Accessory structures are limited to garages, storage structures, planting sheds and green houses, and similar structures ancillary to the primary residence.
This designation will also allow tourist or recreation commercial uses such as a guest ranch, equestrian center, a golf course and golf training center, cross-country ski area or conference center. Such uses allow non-resident over-night guests or participants that are not included in the population for this residential category.
Roads and other public improvements may be developed to rural standards, as described in the Circulation Element and the Community Design Element of this General Plan, provided that the roads can meet the standards for maintenance, and on-street parking, where permitted.
Clustering is encouraged to avoid areas of environmental sensitivity and to minimize the length of roads and public utilities. The maximum density in this designation may be increased to 2 units per gross acre for clustered development with smaller lots if a minimum of 25 percent of the project is allocated to permanent open space, and the average density does not exceed 1 unit per gross acre. The minimum lot size in the clustered development shall be 1/4 acre with a minimum frontage of 80 feet. Any lot less than 2.5 acres in size shall have public sewer and water.
The average density assumed for General Plan buildout calculations is 1 unit per gross acre.
Medium-Density Residential (MDR): From 1 to 8 units per gross acre (1 acre to 4,000 square foot parcels)
The Medium-Density Residential designation is intended primarily for single family detached dwellings on individual lots, although this density range will also accommodate duplex and attached dwellings, including apartments and condominiums. Typical lots would range from 6,000 to 20,000 square feet, however, lots as small as 4,000 square feet may be permitted in cluster configurations to avoid environmentally sensitive areas.
This category includes the existing urban style residential neighborhoods in the City.
Neighborhoods in the medium density land use category will include the standard City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
residential street with curb and gutter as described in the Circulation Element and the Community Design Element.
The average density assumed for General Plan buildout calculations is 4 units per gross acre.
High-Density Residential (HDR): From 8 to 15 units per gross acre) (4,000 square foot to 2,250 square foot parcels)
The High-Density Residential category provides for attached or multi-family dwelling units.
Such units are to be located in close proximity to public services and commercial uses but may also be included as a component in recreation-oriented developments in the peripheral areas of the City. The minimum building area allocated for each dwelling unit in a multi-unit project shall be 2,250 square feet of net area (i.e. exclusive of streets, open space and other public rights-of-way). Lot sizes will include a minimum of two residential units and will typically be a minimum of 5,000 square feet.
Dwelling types may include attached or detached single-family housing, duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and apartments.
The average density assumed for General Plan buildup calculations is 10 units per gross acre.
Home Occupancy
All residential uses will allow home occupancy businesses subject to the standards established in the City’s Zoning Ordinance. It is anticipated that the percentage of individuals working at home will increase during the twenty-year span of this General Plan.
At home workers may include telecommuters, professional service sole practitioners, small service businesses, mail order businesses, and other entrepreneurial endeavors. It is the intent of this General Plan to support such activities as a means of furthering local economic development. The residential design standards are intended to provide the flexibility to include most types of small business within the premises.
Commercial Land Use Categories
Although Portola is a relatively small community the commercial land uses, both existing and potential, are varied. Therefore, the General Plan Diagram identifies two distinct commercial land use categories.
For nonresidential uses the land use intensity is addressed as the maximum percent of a lot that can be covered by a building. The Zoning Ordinance shall provide specific exceptions to the building coverage limitations for uses with low employee densities, such as wholesaling and distribution, or low peak-hour traffic generation, such as a hospital.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Core Commercial (CC)
The Core Commercial category is intended to accommodate the businesses, institutions, and services for the residents of Portola and eastern Plumas County. It includes retail and service businesses oriented to tourists and travelers, eating and drinking establishments, commercial recreation, service stations, financial, business and personal services, motels, public recreation and social services. Open air cafes and retail sales are permitted in this land use designation provided that the outdoor sales and restaurant areas are separated from the pedestrian walkway and street by a low, open type fence. Umbrellas, canopies and other temporary coverings, pedestrian scale lighting and signs will be permitted in these areas as regulated by the City Zoning Ordinance.
The Core Commercial designation will include live/work/sales environments to support the local production of arts such as sculpture, murals, paintings, furniture, and similar artists products. The product of such activities may be sold, and the artist may maintain living quarters on the premises. The intent is to encourage the development of artist and craftsman workshops as a component of local economic development and the character of the community.
The Core Commercial designation is generally applied to properties on Commercial Street and the Sierra Street (Highway 70) corridor.
The maximum allowable building coverage is 50 percent. Limitations on the size and location of parking and the orientation of the buildings and design standards may restrict the building coverage to less than 50 percent. The parking requirements in this category are described in the City’s Zoning Ordinance. Each use shall have sufficient parking to meet the requirements set forth in these standards either in a parking lot on-site, or in a common parking area within 800 feet of the site.
Commercial Mixed Use (CMU)
The purpose of the Commercial Mixed-Use designation is to establish locations that include residential use in addition to employment centers, retail commercial, professional office, tourist commercial, visitor-oriented commercial activities, including hotels and motels, private commercial and public recreation facilities, convention and meeting facilities, recreational vehicle parks, campgrounds, retail shops, restaurants, and related services.
Properties fronting on the river are suitable for small retail, lodging, restaurants, services, and office space. The uses are to be oriented to the river view and the recreation amenities planned along the north side of the river. Other than pre-existing uses, residential uses cannot be the primary land use and must be a minimum of four dwelling units per acre. The Commercial Mixed-Use category may also be used as a transition between the commercial uses and adjacent residential neighborhoods. The maximum building coverage ratio (exclusive of residential uses) is 50 percent.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Service Commercial (SC)
Service Commercial is intended for commercial uses that have heavy truck traffic, are engaged in the sale of bulk products, such as sand and gravel, or automobile repair and tire sales. Service commercial uses typically require large retail space, large storage areas, and large parking areas. The Service Commercial areas are located along Sierra Street, primarily in Delleker. The maximum building coverage ratio is 50 percent.
Industrial and Manufacturing Land Use Categories
Business Professional/Light Industrial (BP/LI)
The Business Professional/Light Industrial designation is intended to accommodate light industrial, light assembly regional services, public and private commercial recreation, small warehouse and distribution, communications and information services, mail order services, and research and development businesses appropriate to the City’s setting.
The designation is intended to accommodate relatively small buildings in wooded settings.
Buildings will be integrated with the site and the maximum building coverage will be 50 percent. Design standards specified in the Community Design Element will guide the development and use of this designation such that business uses in this will be compatible with and may be integrated with other uses in the City.
Civic and Resource Protection Land Use Categories
Public/Quasi-Public (P/QP)
This designation includes civic and institutional uses such as the City Hall, the library, the hospital, the post office, parks, and schools. Private institutional uses include meeting halls, private schools, and churches.
Utilities (U)
The Utilities designation includes the “infrastructure” in the community, such as the landfill, wastewater treatment plant and ponds, and the railroad. Development within these areas is generally restricted to the facilities associated with the primary utility.
Open Space/Conservation (OSC)
The Open Space and Conservation designation covers those areas of the City in which development is constrained by an historic, cultural, aesthetic, or natural environmental condition. These areas include drainages and the river front area.
Open space areas may permit rural residential uses, recreation uses, visitor commercial or interim uses, such as special events under conditions prescribed in the City Zoning City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Ordinance, the Community Design Element and the Open Space and Conservation Element.
Overlay Designations
Wild and Scenic River (WSR)
The Middle Fork Feather River is Federally designated as a Wild and Scenic River. The Wild and Scenic River Act (Public Law 90-542, October 2, 1968) declares that “. . .certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations”. The Act prohibits new commercial or industrial uses which do not preserve the free-flowing condition of the river, and which do not protect the river’s immediate environment. The Act also requires protection of the bank lands by means of acreage, frontage, and setback requirements on development.
The General Plan Land Use Diagram does not include a separate category for the Feather River corridor other than the Federal Wild and Scenic River designation. However, the General Plan includes specific development and open space standards and guidelines intended to guide use of this special resource. The Community Design Element includes specific design standards for the buildings along the river and community access to the river (Section 3.7). The Public Services and Facilities Element includes recommended recreation facilities to be included in the river corridor, and the Circulation Element describes the bikeway connections that will use the open space adjacent to the river. The Conservation and Open Space Element includes specific policies for the use of the land within the Wild and Scenic River designation.
Floodplain (FP)
The area immediately adjacent to the Middle Fork Feather River falls within a designated Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain. This floodplain is a special flood hazard area that is inundated by a 100-year flood. The use of the land within the 100-year flood plain is regulated by standards that require all occupiable development to be above the predicted flood elevation.
Projected Population Growth
The land area required to accommodate future development is determined by population increases and economic development. The land plan seeks to maintain a balance between population and economic growth, and the effects of growth.
The Portola population grew steadily from 1910 to 1950 but declined from 1950 through 1970. From 1970 through the early 1990’s population gained slowly but did not recover to City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
the same level of population found in 1950. Population growth was modest through the 1990’s, then slowly declined from 2000 to 2020.
This General Plan accommodates new population growth in Portola is likely to come from three primary sources:
1. Population growth in California and northern Nevada will generate a spillover effect as people seek to relocate to small communities from increasing development in more urban areas.
2. An aging population will generate an increase in retirees seeking small communities for second homes or a permanent retirement home.
3. Economic development will generate new job growth in service and tourism industries, and growth in small businesses whose leaders can choose a location based primarily on quality-of-life considerations.
The cumulative effect of these factors is difficult to project because the current population in the City is very small. The overall growth rate in California will increase the pressure for population growth throughout the state, but the rate of increase will not be matched in all areas. Individual communities will grow faster or slower than the overall state projection.
Moreover, in a small community like Portola the annual percent of growth is not as significant as the actual number of new residents. Because the community is relatively small, population projections based on an annual average percentage increase are not meaningful. With a population base just under 2,000 residents, a relatively small increase in absolute population could translate to a high growth rate, yet there would be little noticeable effect on the community from year to year.
Nonetheless, the cumulative effect over time will be noticeable, and significant in a small community such as Portola. Table 2-1 summarizes a projection of population growth in the City through 2045, a twenty-five-year time horizon. The table applies three growth rate assumptions: 1 percent, 2 percent and 3 percent.
At a compound growth rate of 3 percent annually the population in the City will reach a total of 4,020 persons in 2045, a net increase of 2,100 persons.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Table 2-1
Population Growth Projection
Annual Population Change
Year 1% 2% 3%
2020 1,920 1,920 1,920
2021 1,939 1,958 1,978
2022 1,959 1,998 2,037
2023 1,978 2,038 2,098
2024 1,998 2,078 2,161
2025 2,018 2,120 2,226
2026 2,038 2,162 2,293
2027 2,058 2,205 2,361
2028 2,079 2,250 2,432
2029 2,100 2,295 2,505
2030 2,121 2,340 2,580
2031 2,142 2,387 2,658
2032 2,164 2,435 2,737
2033 2,185 2,484 2,820
2034 2,207 2,533 2,904
2035 2,229 2,584 2,991
2036 2,251 2,636 3,081
2037 2,274 2,688 3,173
2038 2,297 2,742 3,269
2039 2,320 2,797 3,367
2040 2,343 2,853 3,468
2041 2,366 2,910 3,572
2042 2,390 2,968 3,679
2043 2,414 3,028 3,789
2044 2,438 3,088 3,903
2045 2,462 3,150 4,020
Projection of Land Area to Accommodate Future
Growth
Full development of all land use in the General Plan Study Area would accommodate a population substantially larger than 4,020. However, the population growth anticipated in this Land Use Element can be accommodated within the existing City boundary if adequate land area is allocated in appropriate locations, and the necessary supporting land uses and infrastructure is available when needed. If additional land is annexed to City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
the City, the potential population will increase in proportion to the development potential of the new land area.
The estimate of the required land area is determined by the projected population in twenty years, the average number of persons in a dwelling, and the average density (dwelling units per acre). Land area for commercial uses, schools and parks are added to support the projected population. This estimate provides a general guideline, not an absolute benchmark for future land use allocations. Within broad ranges of land use mix the City can assign specific land use and adjust to accommodate changes in demand over the period of this General Plan.
Average Household Size
The average household size during the General Plan time horizon is assumed to be 2.34 persons per household (2010 Census). The household size may fluctuate over a period of decades. For example, if Portola attracts a significant number of retired persons the average household size may actually decline over time.
Average Dwelling Density
For the purposes of estimating future land area required, it is assumed that the average density of all dwelling units constructed in the next twenty years will be three units per acre.
This allows for a mix of higher density infill development on existing urban lots at approximately seven units per acre, and development of new residential neighborhoods including small lots and multi-family residences, manufactured housing, and larger single family and estate lots. The dwelling density is the average number of dwelling units on a developed acre in the City. Dwelling density depends on many other factors, such as the type of employment available, the amount of infill development that occurs, the percentage of retirees that locate in the City.
The land area allocated for residential use in the Land Use Element will accommodate the highest level of growth anticipated, five percent. This will be considered the “build-out” population for this General Plan. However, the General Plan will also be effective if a lower rate of growth occurs. At an average of 2.8 persons per household the number of dwelling units required to house the projected population is shown in Table 2-2.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Table 2-2
Projection of Residential Units and Acres
Year 1% 2% 3%
Dwellings Acres Dwellings Acres Dwellings Acres
2020 764 255 764 255 764 255
2021 772 258 779 260 787 263
2022 779 260 795 265 811 271
2023 787 263 811 271 835 279
2024 795 265 827 276 860 287
2025 803 268 844 282 886 296
2026 811 271 860 287 912 304
2027 819 273 878 293 940 314
2028 827 276 895 299 968 323
2029 836 279 913 305 997 333
2030 844 282 931 311 1,027 343
2031 852 284 950 317 1,058 353
2032 861 287 969 323 1,089 364
2033 870 290 988 330 1,122 374
2034 878 293 1,008 336 1,156 386
2035 887 296 1,028 343 1,190 397
2036 896 299 1,049 350 1,226 409
2037 905 302 1,070 357 1,263 421
2038 914 305 1,091 364 1,301 434
2039 923 308 1,113 371 1,340 447
2040 932 311 1,135 379 1,380 461
2041 942 314 1,158 386 1,421 474
2042 951 317 1,181 394 1,464 489
2043 960 321 1,205 402 1,508 503
2044 970 324 1,229 410 1,553 518
2045 980 327 1,253 418 1,600 534
Land Area Required for Jobs/Housing Balance
The land area requirements for development of the City also include the non-residential land uses, public facilities and open space. Retail and service commercial, businessprofessional and industrial land use will increase as the population of the City and east Plumas County increases. Tourism and other economic development may increase the demand of service and retail commercial land above that created solely by population growth.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
The precise amount of commercial land area cannot be projected, but an approximation of the land area required can be estimated on the basis of an average jobs/housing ratio.
The jobs/housing ratio depends on:
• the number of resident workers,
• the number of households,
• the average commercial or industrial space required per employee, and • the average density of housing supply.
An estimate of the ratio of land required for a balance of jobs and housing in the City is based on the following assumptions. On average, there will be 1.3 workers per household, that is, each dwelling unit will have 1.3 workers. However, this average could be less if the population includes a large percentage of retired persons. The percentage of retired persons cannot be estimated in this General Plan.
Land Area Required to Accommodate Employed Residents
The land area required to accommodate each worker varies greatly from industry to industry. For the purposes of establishing a balance of land use in the General Plan it is assumed that on average each worker will require approximately 500 square feet of workspace. The average commercial space in Portola covers approximately thirty percent of the land. Each acre of non-residential land use can accommodate about 25 employees. At a ratio of 1.3 workers per dwelling unit and an average of three dwelling units per acre, there are approximately four resident workers for each acre of residential land use. On this assumption, one acre of commercial, business/professional, or industrial land is required to balance six acres of residential use.
Land Area Required for Institutional Uses and Public Services Public facilities, including schools, parks, hospitals, civic centers, and fire stations require additional land area on the ratio of approximately 1 acre for each 10 acres of residential use. Open space and natural resource areas occupy approximately 30 percent of the total land area in the community.
Land Area Required for Fiscal Balance
The revenues required to support City services come from many sources, but two of the most important continue to be sales tax and property tax. In the foreseeable local government financing environment cities must consider the balance between the demand for services and the potential for new development to generate revenue. The overall health of the community depends on a balance of land uses. Non-residential uses may generate high revenues relative to service demands, but the residential uses are necessary to support the non-residential uses. The intent in this Land Use Element is to ensure that the overall balance of land use is sustained over time.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
Infill Neighborhoods
The City includes three neighborhoods that were bypassed and not developed in the early years of the City growth. Despite being located near the center of the City, see Figure 2- 2, these neighborhoods were passed over because the terrain made the area uneconomical to develop. Nonetheless, the lots were subdivided, and exist today as legal lots. Development of these areas remains impractical for individual landowners due to the high cost of extending roads, sewer, water and other utilities to single family residential lots.
Yet, the neighborhoods are ideally located relative to existing and planned services and retail areas. These infill areas will provide additional land area needed for population growth and economic development. Due to the high cost of development for individual owners it is likely that the City of Portola, or other public or private entity in cooperation with the City, will take the lead in organizing the property owners to plan and develop these areas. Organizing and developing these lots may require reconfiguring them to provide larger lots and/or new lot shapes and street alignments to conform to the terrain.
In 2002, 2007, and 2009 the Planning Commission and City Council sent letters, made direct contact with property owners, and conducted a survey with information regarding the formation of an assessment district (for road improvements) and Specific Plan areas (for the potential of reconfiguring neighborhoods). Generally, property owners were not interested in forming an assessment district or Specific Plan. Further analysis should continue as directed by the Planning Commission and City Council.
Growth Monitoring: Balancing Land Use and Public Needs
The mix of land use in the City should be monitored periodically to inform future decisions on land use, public service levels, and capital investments. The process for monitoring growth should occur in the annual budgeting process. The annual budget statement should include a summation of the overall mix of land use.
The mix of land uses in the City will vary from time-to-time. The changes in land use will be particularly noticeable because Portola is a small community. Any single new industrial use or a single new residential subdivision will affect the balance of land uses. There is a range of land uses that will provide a balance of jobs and housing, adequate space for public uses, fiscal stability, and quality of life.
This range provides a general guideline for the mix of all land use in the City. It is not intended to be a specific measure of community health and stability and should be expected to shift and change over five to ten years. The mix of land uses in the City is a mosaic that will change and evolve as the community continues to diversify and mature.
The range established in this Land Use Element is intended to gauge the course of future development. The range in Table 2-3 should be considered a picture of the unfolding future. Individual development proposals should be evaluated as to how well they contribute to completion of the picture. If the picture is incomplete, such as a shortage of City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
adequate space for new jobs, or parks or new housing, the City should seek to maintain the balance and complete the picture. This can be done by amending the General Plan to change the available supply of land and implementing strategies to accelerate economic development.
Table 2-3
Target Range of Land Use Mix
Land Use Type Percent of Total Land Area
Residential Low/Medium Density 55% to 65%
Residential High Density 3% to 6%
Commercial and Other Non-Residential 9% to 12%
Public Land Use (including roads) 15% to 20%
Urban Open Space 20% to 30%
Urban open space in Table 2-3 primarily includes the undeveloped land along stream corridors and other open space set aside for safety, habitat protection, or aesthetic purposes. The Feather River is a substantial area that significantly increases the percentage of open space within Portola, compared to what may typically be found in other communities. Open space is an important characteristic of the City of Portola. A discussion of open space policies is found in the Conservation and Open Space Element (Section 8.5) in this General Plan.
Land Use Policies and Implementation
Policies: Land Use
LU-P-1. The City shall manage and plan for growth in population and economic development.
LU-P-2. The City shall encourage a pattern of development that promotes the efficient and timely development of urban infrastructure and preserves valuable natural and environmental resources.
LU-P-3. Growth shall mitigate its own impacts and shall provide a positive benefit to the community.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
LU-P-4. The City shall consider the regional context for growth when evaluating a development proposal or opportunity within the City boundary.
LU-P-5. Growth must provide a strong diversified economic base and a reasonable balance between employment and affordable
housing.
LU-P-6. Growth should occur on the basis that projected revenue of all land uses in the City will be sufficient to support public service costs.
LU-P-7. The City shall encourage a development pattern that is contiguous with the boundary of the City.
LU-P-8. Development shall be managed to ensure that adequate public facilities and services, as defined in the Public Services Element, are planned and provided and the public health, safety, and welfare is protected.
LU-P-9. The City of Portola will accommodate projected population and employment growth in areas where the appropriate level of public infrastructure and services are planned or will be made available concurrent with development.
LU-P-10. The City will assert its authority in reviewing proposals for residential, commercial, or industrial development in unincorporated areas within the General Plan Study Area. Urban development should occur within the City boundary.
LU-P-11. The City may initiate studies to investigate the potential of annexing areas within its Sphere of Influence or expanding the Sphere of Influence boundary. The studies should be focused on those areas that would be logically served and planned by the City in a manner consistent with the City General Plan goals and policies and the City's Annexation Policy.
LU-P-12. The City will consider applications for annexations that are consistent with the City's Annexation Policy and:
a. Are contiguous with City boundaries and provide for a logical expansion of the City;
b. Create clear and reasonable boundaries;
c. Ensure the provision of adequate municipal services; d. Are a fiscal benefit to the City and its residents;
e. Are consistent with State law and Plumas County Local Agency Formation Commission standards;
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
f. Are consistent with the General Plan.
LU-P-13. The City may consider expanding its sphere of influence to incorporate areas that logically should be planned and serviced by Portola. Pursuant to LU-P-11, the City shall consider the following factors when making determinations involving sphere of influence boundaries:
a. Present and planned land uses in the area;
b. Present and probable need for public facilities and services in the area;
c. Present capacity of public facilities and adequacy of public services;
d. Existence of any social or economic communities of interest in the area; and
e. Open space and forest lands.
LU-P-14. The City shall seek to encourage development of the infill areas and may participate in public-private development arrangements to implement this policy.
LU-P-15. The City shall encourage and support the exchange of US Forest Service land for urban land use and open space within the City sphere of influence.
LU-P-16. The City shall manage growth in such a way to ensure that significant open space areas will be preserved.
LU-P-17. The City shall review the General Plan’s residential and commercial capacities every five years and modify, as necessary, to reflect development that has occurred, its impacts, evolving market and economic conditions, and consistency with community values.
Implementation: Land Use
LU-I-1. The City will continue to pursue a regional approach to planning and growth in the eastern Plumas County area. The City will seek public comment and early consultation with applicable agencies for major projects proposed either within or outside Portola. The intent of this consultation will be to provide public input to the process and to coordinate planning efforts between jurisdictions and minimize the impacts of growth to Portola and the surrounding region.
LU-I-2. The City Manager will coordinate preparation of a five-year public services report to the City Council in concert with that year's budget City of Portola General Plan 2045 Land Use Element
report. This report should document growth trends the capacity and level of service for public services and facility planning efforts.
LU-I-3. The City Manager will coordinate preparation of a five-year land use summary report to the City Council in concert with the that year's budget report. This report will document the growth in residential and commercial development and estimate the increase in employment in the City over the previous five year period.
LU-I-4. The land use summary shall include a reference to the range of land use mix in Table 2-3 in this Land Use Element and determine the then current and five-year projection of land use in the City.
LU-I-5. With input from the public and the affected property owners, the City shall initiate a study to determine an appropriate and feasible land plan for the infill areas. The City shall coordinate the preparation of a specific plan that may result in reconfiguration of existing lots to achieve a more efficient and feasible land use and street plan.
LU-I-6. With input from the public and the affected property owners, the City shall initiate a plan for providing infrastructure to the infill areas.
The plan will include a finance plan to enable the development of infrastructure funded by the properties that benefit from the improvements.
LU-I-7. The City will forward development applications that affect student population to the school district for review of future educational facility needs.
LU-I-8. The City will amend its Zoning Ordinance to include that development projects are reviewed for compliance with Firewise standards.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
3. Community Design Element DRAFT
Surrounded by mountains and forests, and located around creeks and meadows, the Feather River and Humbug Valley, Portola is inherently an attractive community. One challenge to living in this setting is to develop a built environment that is compatible with the natural amenity. Poor quality design and construction, and poor maintenance of existing buildings, has the ability to seriously detract from the surrounding beauty and diminish the very features and character that attract people to live here. This is not to imply that human occupation of the forest and mountains is inherently incompatible with the natural surroundings. Indeed, attractive buildings designed to be compatible with the natural surroundings have the ability to inspire, and to be an attractive complement to the natural setting. The community can be designed to sustain and be in harmony with the environment.
The first priority is to not destroy the natural amenities that make the area so attractive. The guidelines are simple. Do not remove more trees than necessary to construct a building or maintain Firewise standards and do not unnecessarily modify the natural landform or the natural flow of water through grading. Compliance with these fundamentals will inherently protect the natural character of the community. The companion priority is to develop the community in a manner that is compatible with and protective of the surroundings. The Community Design Element defines specific details for development of the City. These details address building characteristics and common area features such as landscaping, signs, neighborhood design, and community form.
Authority
The Community Design Element is an optional element of the General Plan under Section 65303 of the Government Code.
“The general plan may include any other elements or address any other subjects which, in the judgment of the legislative body, relate to the physical development of the county or city.”
Relationship to Other Elements
The Community Design Element establishes intent and guidance for community development and is closely related to the Land Use Element. The Land Use Element defines the location and use of land. The Community Design Element defines the characteristics of the land use and provides guidelines and standards for development.
This is the basis for new development standards that will be applied in the subsequent amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, the Improvement Standards, and Subdivision Ordinance in the Municipal Code.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
The Community Design Element includes guidelines for developed area relationship to open space and forested areas, and guidelines for development in sloping or highly erodible areas. These fundamentals are also addressed in Open Space and Conservation Element and the Safety Element. The Community Design Element is also related to the Circulation Element in the recommendations for street, parking, public transit, and pedestrian and bike system features.
Community Design Goals
The fundamental goal for the Community Design Element is to encourage development that:
• is economically and environmentally sustainable; relates well to the natural setting;
• is sustainable because it is well constructed of durable, quality materials appropriate to the setting; and
• offers memorable buildings and spaces.
The underlying principle in this Community Design Element, indeed throughout the General Plan, is that natural amenities and the man-made environment are not mutually exclusive.
Portola residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the built environment integrated into the natural beauty of the region.
Goal CD-1. Guide development of the community in a manner that will sustain the natural resources and amenities and will be economically sustainable over time.
Goal CD-2. Foster creativity and design excellence consistent with community objectives, the environmental characteristics of the area and the economic conditions inherent in a small, rural community.
Goal CD-3. Ensure that development will be compatible with the natural features that define the existing City and surrounding area.
Goal CD-4. Establish high standards so that the future development will be attractive, distinctive, and functional.
Goal CD-5. Protect natural environmental features and integrate the built environment with the natural environment.
Goal CD-6. Establish quality development appropriate to the local history, culture, and natural environment.
Goal CD-7. Build for long term durability and economic life cycles.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
Goal CD-8. Establish well designed, distinctive gateways, lighting, and signage that will distinguish Portola as an attractive community.
Goal CD-9. Retain and enhance the existing, well-defined form of the City.
Goal CD-10. Provide public spaces to accommodate visitors with minimal impact on City residents.
Goal CD-11. Establish attractive, well-designed, and distinctive districts such as Commercial Street and a business park to enhance employment and economic development opportunities.
Goal CD-12. Enhance and preserve the existing neighborhoods and restore or replace existing housing stock in the older neighborhoods.
Protection and Enhancement of Natural Amenities
Policies: Protection of Open Space and Natural Resources CD-P- 1. Where contiguous to open space, development will be designed to provide views to meadows, creeks, rock outcroppings and other natural features.
CD-P- 2. Meadows and riparian corridors along drainage ways and the river are to be maintained in the natural condition. No structures will be permitted in meadows or riparian corridors other than small structures incidental to recreation, agriculture, forest management, environmental management, or education activities. Such structures may include open pavilions, seating areas, small informal amphitheaters, kiosks, open shelters for recreation, small structures for storage required for maintenance, and similar basic structures.
Major structures such as lodges, residences, restaurants, resorts and other similar buildings will not be permitted in a meadow or riparian corridor.
CD-P- 3. The edge of the City adjacent to forests and meadows will provide a transition from urban to open space by reducing the intensity of land development.
CD-P- 4. The urban portion of the City will be clearly distinct from the unincorporated area along the major roads entering the City.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
CD-P-5. The City will ensure that Firewise (NFPA) Standards are implemented throughout the City.
Implementation: Protection of Open Space and Natural
Resources
CD-I-1. All applications for tentative maps, conditional use permits, and planned unit developments pursuant to the Municipal Code will be required to show:
• the location and character of any natural features, such as a spring, meadow, rock outcropping, or defined drainage way; • the location of trees to be removed in the development; • a grading plan that indicates cut and fill banks.
CD-I-2. The Zoning Ordinance shall be amended to ensure that all new development complies with Firewise (NFPA) Standards.
CD-I-3. The review of all such applications will consider the effect of the proposed development on major natural amenities, such as a large rock outcrop or view to a major peak.
CD-I-4. Adopt design guidelines for development adjacent to creeks that include consideration of the following:
• streets abutting the bank;
• discourage rear lot lines along creeks;
• provide public access and visual easements to creeks; City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
• linkages to other open spaces and open space systems; • trails for pedestrians and bicyclists;
• planting for erosion control and riparian enhancement with native shrubs, groundcover, and riparian trees.
CD-I-5. Work with Plumas County to support implementation of the Scenic Highways policies in the County General Plan.
CD-I-6. Work with the United States Forest Service (USFS) to implement the Wild and Scenic Rivers standards in the Plumas Forest Master Plan.
CD-I-7. Maintain view corridors to the river along the existing streets leading from Highway 70. New development or redevelopment of existing properties abutting or within these corridors must be designed to maintain the view to the river.
CD-I-8. Through Code Enforcement activities and public education, the City shall encourage existing properties to maintain Firewise (NFPA) standards.
Building Quality and Durability
Policies: Building Quality
CD-P-6. New construction, and redevelopment of existing buildings, should use durable materials that will age well and will require minimal maintenance.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
CD-P-7. Use of native materials and design features associated with the history of the area is encouraged.
Implementation: Building Quality
CD-I-9. The Building Inspector will provide information to building permit applicants on suitable building materials and forms for the Portola area.
CD-I-10. The City will take the opportunity with City buildings and public improvement projects to demonstrate cost effective use of suitable materials.
CD-I-11. The City Planning Commission and/or City Council will consider the durability of materials and the appropriate use of materials in conjunction with other considerations in review of development applications.
City Landmarks and Gateways
The existing City boundaries are well-defined by natural landforms. Traveling west on Highway 70, one enters the east end of the City over a low pass that establishes a distinct entry to the City (refer to location “A” in Figure 3-1). Driving east from Delleker, one enters the City around a curve in the highway adjacent to the river, and the south side of the City where the rail museum buildings come into view (refer to location “B” in Figure 3-1). This approach provides a natural gateway and an attractive view up the river toward the Gulling Street Bridge.
Policies: City Landmarks and Gateways
CD-P-8. Enhance the visual impact of the natural features that mark the major entries to the City.
CD-P-9. Establish visual landmarks throughout the city that will guide visitors to major activity areas.
CD-P-10. Retain views and public access to the river from Highway 70.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
Figure 3-1
Major Gateway Entries
Implementation: City Landmarks and Gateways
CD-I-12. Continue to work with Plumas County to establish design standards and land use controls on the unincorporated area in a corridor extending along Highway 70 and along the Lake Davis Road and County Road A-15 within 2 miles of corporate limits of the City.
CD-I-13. Continue to maintain land at the east and west entries to the City along Highway 70, including gateway features which includes major signs, a small visitors parking area, an information kiosk with information and directional signs, interpretive signs and a small picnic area, as applicable.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
CD-I-14. Encourage design standards for gateway features that reflect the historic character of the town. This may include elements of railroad, mining, ranching, timber, or recreation, but is not intended that any gateway feature incorporate all these elements.
CD-I-15. Continue to implement a landmark and sign feature to direct people to the Old Town commercial area, the railroad museum and the Civic Center in highly visible locations throughout the City, including, but not limited to, the southwest corner of the intersection of Gulling Street and Highway 70.
CD-I-16. Establish requirements for providing landmark features in new development. Landmark features may include gateway elements and landscaping, special lighting and paving, and sculptural elements.
CD-I-17. Continue implementation of the City Improvement Matrix as amended as a design standard for major streets that differentiates them from small collector and residential streets through landscaping, signs, and lighting. Refer to the landscape guidelines for the City streets in this element and the street standards in the Circulation Element.
Policies: City-Wide Directional Signs
CD-P-11. Continue the City-wide sign program to encourage a common design element and provide directional features to guide people in the city.
Implementation: City-Wide Directional Signs
CD-I-18. Continue to implement the public directional sign program that includes three dimensional elements as well as signs. The intent is to establish a common design theme throughout the City. At a minimum, the public directional sign program will include directions to City Hall, the library and parks, the sheriff’s substation, the Railroad Museum, Old Town and the hospital. The sign program will include a standard lettering style and color, and background color and base materials so as to provide a uniform image that is easily recognizable as part of the City program.
Neighborhood Conservation and Development
The City contains many old neighborhoods that predate the common use of automobiles.
The character of these neighborhoods is small, individualized homes that reflect the City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
distinctive tastes of many occupants over several decades. The General Plan goal (CD12) is to enhance the existing neighborhoods and restore or replace the existing housing stock. The underlying purpose of this goal is to create more attractive neighborhoods that will retain property values and encourage private investment in individual properties.
Policies: Residential Neighborhoods
CD-P-12. Improve the overall streetscape in residential neighborhoods by providing improvements such as a public sidewalk, street lighting, and directional signs, in accordance with the City Improvement Matrix as amended.
CD-P-13. Actively enforce the Municipal Ordinance sections regarding trash collection and disposal in residential yards, and the replacement or renovation of dilapidated or unsafe buildings.
Implementation: Residential Neighborhoods
CD-I-19. Assist in the organization of neighborhood associations for the purpose of identifying and implementing local improvement projects. Assistance may include the provision of mailings, meeting facilities, and research.
CD-I-20. Maintain a category in the annual municipal budget for local improvements such as street tree planting, annual clean-up days, sidewalk installation and repair, and similar local activities to enhance the visual quality of the City.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
CD-I-21. Establish an inventory of dilapidated properties as candidates for restoration or removal.
CD-I-22. Identify sources of funding and community support for restoration of residential properties for low-income households.
CD-I-23. Continue implementing code enforcement strategies aimed at reducing blight and increasing safe living conditions.
Civic Core and Public Spaces
It is anticipated that Portola will grow as the economic center and an attraction to visitors to Eastern Plumas County. The City needs an attractive core area that can accommodate large numbers of visitors without detracting from the quality of the natural environment and the quality of life for residents. This will be done by maintaining the compact form of the major institutional and commercial uses, by designating the core area as an extended “visitor’s center”, and by establishing high quality building design and amenities throughout the core area. The general boundaries of the core area are shown in Figure 3-2.
Policies: Civic Core and Public Spaces
CD-P-14. The existing civic core area, including City Hall, the post office, library, sheriff substation, Courthouse, and City Park shall remain the institutional center of the City. The City will seek to expand the City offices as necessary to keep pace with the service demands of increased population.
CD-P-15. The commercial core area of the City, including Highway 70, Commercial Street, the Railroad Museum area, and the civic center core will provide multiple locations to accommodate visitor activities. The intent is to enable the City to host large single events in multiple centers of activity, such as a craft or music festival, or to host different small but concurrent events.
CD-P-16. The multiple venue locations will be linked by a vehicle and pedestrian system and accessible by public transit and parking.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
Implementation: Civic Core and Public Spaces
CD-I-24. Invest in expansion of public services and other civic uses into the core area.
CD-I-25. Provide support uses, such as parking, pedestrian spaces and sidewalks, and public transit access to ensure that the civic core area remains viable.
CD-I-26. Adopt a Public Events Master Plan to identify multiple event centers and define their potential function. The Public Events Master Plan will include an operations component for coordinating multiple venue events and a facilities component that describes the venues and their supporting services and infrastructures.
CD-I-27. Identify the network of parking areas, pedestrian connections, public transit stops, and public activity spaces in the Public Events Master Plan.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
Figure 3-2
Civic Core Area
Commercial Areas
Policies for the commercial areas are closely linked with the standards for the civic core and public spaces. In part, the intent is to provide public spaces within the commercial core area that encourage public activity and patronage of the retail and service businesses.
There are two distinct commercial areas, Old Town and Sierra Street. Old Town is envisioned as a small-scale retail and service area with restaurants, small shops, and service for tourists as well as local residents. The proximity of the Railroad Museum offers City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
special opportunities for visitor-oriented services and retail. A high level of pedestrian amenities (including broad sidewalks, shade, seating, fountains, low level lighting) will establish a unique character for this commercial area.
Sierra Street and the adjacent side streets will provide the more conventional business center for the City and the region. Auto-oriented businesses catering to local residents, as well as travelers along Highway 70, will be the primary uses in this area. Although it is a primary traffic route of regional significance, the Sierra Street corridor should incorporate pedestrian amenities as well. Continuous sidewalks setback from the street edge, shade structures, seating areas, and pedestrian scale lighting and signs will provide a more pedestrian friendly corridor.
Policies: General Commercial
CD-P-17. Establish design standards to retain and enhance the Old Town core area and Sierra Street corridor as the primary commercial and tourism centers in the east Plumas region.
CD-P-18. Establish quality design of buildings on Commercial Street and the Sierra Street corridor to identify them as the center of primary commercial activity.
CD-P-19. Signs and lighting for commercial and office uses will contribute to a common theme element that becomes a visual symbol for the City.
CD-P-20. Encourage preservation and enhancement of commercial buildings with architectural character or historic significance.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
Implementation: General Commercial
CD-I-28. All applications for commercial use pursuant to the Municipal Code will be required to show the location and features of any exterior space intended for public use.
CD-I-29. All applications for commercial use pursuant to the Municipal Code will be required to show access to parking and the pedestrian route to the parking area.
CD-I-30. Adopt guidelines for commercial buildings that reflect the history of the region, and compatible with the climate.
Policies: Old Town Commercial Area
CD-P-21. Establish a special pedestrian area in Old Town to accommodate tourism and shopping and services for local residents.
CD-P-22. Provide a direct, clear, and convenient pedestrian connection between Commercial Street and the Railroad Museum.
CD-P-23. Provide additional parking on the perimeter of the Old Town areas along First Avenue, and in other convenient locations.
CD-P-24. Provide convenient pedestrian connections between parking areas and the Commercial Street businesses.
Implementation: Old Town Commercial Area
CD-I-31. Adopt a Street Lighting and Sign Program for placement of a unique sign and lighting standard in all commercial areas along Sierra Street. The program will adopt a lighting and sign structure standard that will be a form and constructed of materials that evoke the history of the City and surrounding area. The form will include one or two standard locations for placement for individual business signage, and a lighting fixture that casts light downward on the sidewalk and the adjacent street. Business signs will be front lighted and must be within size parameters and proportions established by the City program.
CD-I-32. Adopt standards and an improvement plan for Commercial Street that includes at a minimum:
• pedestrian level street lighting;
• special sidewalk pavement or a boardwalk along the store fronts;
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
• crosswalk signs, striping and special paving;
• street furniture including benches, trash collection
containers, directional and interpretive signs;
• designated areas for street vendors, performing arts, and train watching;
• guidelines for building facades, window and door
treatments;
• canopies over the storefront sidewalks;
• street trees;
• on-street parking.
CD-I-33. The City will work with the merchants and landowners in the Old Town area to install a street lighting program consistent with the pedestrian use of the street and the “Old Town” theme.
CD-I-34. The City will work with the Railroad Museum Association to improve the visibility and attractiveness of the main museum buildings when viewed from Highway 70.
CD-I-35. Encourage the Railroad Museum Association to include a landmark architectural element, such as a clock tower, in the museum facilities.
CD-I-36. Develop a reuse plan for the former railroad hospital site for commercial or public access uses that will include attractive new structures and landmark elements.
CD-I-37. As additional commercial uses develop, adopt standards and an improvement plan for a landscaped corridor along First Street, Second Street, Pacific Street, California Street and Main Street to provide a pedestrian corridor from the west end of Commercial Street to the museum.
Sierra Street and Riverfront Commercial
The commercial uses along the south side of Sierra Street are a special condition because of the interface with the river. The Sierra Street corridor has the unique advantage of being contiguous to the Feather River along a substantial portion of the reach through the City.
This provides very attractive views and opportunities for access to the river corridor. The River Park extends for one half mile from Beckwith Street to the US Forest Service Park. The Feather River is a special resource because it retains the character of a relatively City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
unimproved water course. As a federally designated Wild and Scenic River, the Feather River has a natural, scenic quality. Unlike many communities that developed with buildings facing away from a natural amenity, such as the river, Portola retains undeveloped edges along the north bank of the river. This provides opportunities that are unique to Portola for recreation, public open space, and a strong identity.
The purpose of these policies is to ensure that the future development of commercial use along the south side of Sierra Street will take advantage of this unique opportunity by providing access and an attractive interface with the open space corridor. The intent is to provide a distinctive character for Sierra Street that relates to the river, and to the role as “main street” for the eastern Plumas Region.
Policies: Sierra Street and Riverfront Commercial
CD-P-25. Pedestrian and bikeway connections will be provided by businesses between Sierra Street and the River Park corridor from the west gateway to the USFS park.
CD-P-26. Businesses will provide a view toward the river from the main sales or dining area where feasible. Decks and terraces oriented to the river are encouraged.
CD-P-27. Refuse, storage and service areas will be screened and/or located to have minimum visual impact from the river.
CD-P-28. Small-scale signs oriented to the river that identify the business will be allowed pursuant to approval of an Administrative Permit.
CD-P-29. The City shall continue to seek to acquire land for recreation and public purposes.
Implementation: Sierra Street and Riverfront Commercial CD-I-38. The City will implement a program to support installation of a sign and lighting structure along Sierra Street. The location of the structure will be coordinated with adjacent landowners but will be placed to facilitate spacing the structure at approximately regular intervals along the street.
CD-I-39. City review of any building permit for new construction or renovation, conditional use permit, rezone, or other entitlements for commercial use along the south side of Sierra Street shall consider:
• siting with respect to the views toward the river;
• orientation of sales areas, dining areas, terraces and decks overlooking the river;
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
• pedestrian access corridors between Sierra Street and the river corridor within blocks;
• pedestrian walks between the businesses and the River Walk pathway;
• provision of small signs oriented to the river to identify the businesses;
• provision of amphitheater seating or other seating areas overlooking the river.
Business Professional and Industrial Areas
Historically, industrial uses within the City were few, and primarily related to railroad operations. Office uses are typically located in small buildings in the commercial areas.
The General Plan is based on the premise that the quality of life in the City will attract new businesses not previously associated with the community. Such businesses will include office uses, light manufacturing, and assembly. The City currently offers very little land area, and few improved buildings suitable for such businesses. They will require relatively small, affordable space to become established and grow. Perhaps more important, the space will need to be of high quality and amenity to attract and retain quality businesses.
The Land Use Element identifies new land use categories for businesses, including Commercial Mixed Use (CMU) and Business Professional-Light Industrial (BP/LI). The Land Use Diagram (Figure 2-2) designates specific locations within the City to accommodate these uses.
These policies are intended to ensure that the business professional offices and light industrial uses are compatible with the natural setting, functional in the emerging telecommunication technologies, and distinguished by a high level of amenities.
Policies: Business Professional and Industrial
CD-P-30. Encourage the development of high-quality business professional and industrial parks that accommodate a range of small business activities.
CD-P-31. Business and industrial parks will provide an attractive landscape and sign program including directional signs and major entry features.
CD-P-32. Truck access and storage areas will be screened from view from the primary street frontage and any adjacent residential use.
CD-P-33. Business and industrial parks will provide pedestrian and bicycle access and bicycle parking.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Community Design Element
CD-P-34. Business and industrial parks will be designed to be integrated with the natural setting to provide an attractive workplace and minimize the impact on the environment.
Implementation: Business Professional and Industrial
CD-I-40. City review of any building permit for new construction or renovation, conditional use permit, rezone or other entitlements for business professional and industrial use shall consider:
• siting with respect to natural features such as creeks, meadows, rock outcroppings and significant trees in the adjacent forest; • the scale of the proposed buildings relative to adjacent land uses;
• location of truck access and storage areas;
• pedestrian access, and bicycle access and parking areas; • location of and character of major signs and landscape features, and directional signs.
CD-I-41. The City will designate the location of major sign and gateway features for business and industrial park locations.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
4. Circulation Element DRAFT
The Circulation Element deals with the physical infrastructure of transportation, including the streets, bikeway, and pedestrian networks. It also deals with the programming and operation of the circulation system, such as rideshare programs and the operation of transportation systems.
Authority
The Circulation Element is authorized in Government Code Section 65302(b) that states that the General Plan is required to include:
“A Circulation Element consisting of the general location and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, transportation routes, terminals, and other local public utilities and facilities, all correlated with the Land Use Element of the plan.”
The statute specifically identifies public utilities and facilities as components of the Circulation Element but permits jurisdictions to organize elements in a manner appropriate to the community. The Portola General Plan addresses the public infrastructure, including sewer, water, energy, and utilities, in the Public Facilities and Infrastructure Element.
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
Circulation and land use are closely linked elements that provide the framework for much of the General Plan. The location and intensity of land uses determines the need for circulation system components, and in turn, the capacity of the circulation system often determines the location and feasibility of land use. In combination with land use, the circulation system may affect air quality, plant and animal habitats, environmental noise, energy use, community appearance and other environmental considerations.
Coordination between the Land Use Element and the Circulation Element:
▪ encourages walking and bicycle trips by promoting a compact urban form with neighborhood destinations close to residents;
▪ makes public transit feasible through coordination of the intensity and location of land uses; and
▪ reduces the length and number of vehicle trips outside of the community by promoting mixed-use development and by providing employment centers, shopping and services within the City.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Relationship to Regional Transportation Programs
The circulation system in the City is linked to the circulation network in Plumas County and beyond. Planning for future circulation improvements must address the existing and planned roads, bikeways, and transportation services that extend beyond the City. This Circulation Element is intended to be compatible with the Regional Transportation Plan for Plumas County, 2020, and as periodically updated.
Background
The comprehensive goal and vision of the City’s Circulation Element is to ensure Portola is a city in which alternative forms of transportation and mobility are so available and attractive, that use of an automobile is a choice rather than a necessity. The City’s Circulation Element was adopted in 1997, with a number of new goals, policies, and implementation actions added in 2011 as part of the General Plan update process, including several 2011 General Plan Certified FPEIR mitigation measures. Per Government Code §65302(b), the Circulation Element consists of the general location and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, transportation routes, terminals, military airports and ports, and other local public utilities and facilities, all correlated with the Land Use Element. The 2011 goals, policies, and implementation actions are not considered a substantial update to the Circulation Element, but, together with the 1997 goals, policies, and implementation actions, they do comply with the California Complete Streets Act of 2008. Table 3 shows the result of comparing the City’s 2011/1997 Circulation Element to the 2017 Completeness Checklist.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Completeness Checklist & Required Contents
California
Government
Code
Section
Brief Description of Requirement Addressed in General
Plan
General location and extent of existing and
proposed:
65302(b)(1) Major thoroughfares √
65302(b)(1) Transportation routes √
65302(b)(2) Public Transportation √
65302(b)(2) Bicycle √
65302(b)(2) Pedestrian √
65302(b)(2) Automobile √
65302(b)(2) Commercial goods √
65302(b)(1) Existing and proposed terminals (i.e. airport, train station, bus station)
N/A
65302(b)(1) Military airports and ports N/A
65302(b)(1) Other local public utilities and facilities (i.e. water, sewer, stormwater systems,
telecommunications and broadband,
electric vehicle charging stations, electricity,
and natural gas lines)
√
65302(b)(2) Needs of children, persons with disabilities, and seniors
√
65302(b)(1) Identified funding for infrastructure √
65302(b)(1) Correlated with Land Use Element √
Land Use
The Land Use Element establishes the physical framework for development in Portola. It defines the location, use characteristics, and intensity of land uses throughout the city. It is crucial that the Circulation Element and the Land Use Element are consistent and that the Circulation Element allows for the implementation of the Land Use Element. The General Plan Land Use Map includes land use designations that allow for the new roads in the Core Area as designated ion the Circulation Element. Conversely, the Circulation Element includes goals, policies, and implementation measures that implement the Land Use Element. See Figure 4-7, New Roads in the Core Area from the Circulation Element.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Key Circulation Issues
Individual Independence
Flexibility and personal independence are characteristics of the existing circulation system. People are accustomed to using personal automobiles to travel at will. The circulation system must retain this level of independence, but also seek to include alternatives that will reduce reliance on automobiles as the primary mode of transportation.
Economic Development
The circulation system will play a significant role in fulfilling the tourism and economic development goals established in this General Plan. The system must provide clear and convenient access for tourists, visitors, and travelers along Highway 70. Elements of the circulation system, such as the improved bike paths, the mountain bike trails, a local shuttle system and the railroad, not only serve a transportation need, but may also be an attraction to visitors.
Tourism and regional service businesses will be a growing component of the local economy. The circulation system must provide convenient access for business patrons in the form of parking and direct access routes. For the tourists, the circulation system must not only provide access, but should also become an attraction by providing special travel modes and experiences. In order to successfully serve tourists, the circulation system must be easy to navigate to points of interest and must provide short-term parking and local transportation.
The circulation system can enhance the potential for economic development in the City by providing transport for goods and services and by providing convenient travel for workers to jobs. Within the City and the neighboring areas, the emphasis is on making the trip to work convenient and safe, and facilitating alternatives to the single occupant automobile.
Local economic growth can also occur through local residents working outside the community. Commuter bus services, ride sharing and other measures that enhance the opportunity to work outside the community can indirectly enhance the local economy in the short term by raising the income of residents. However, in the long term, a large percentage of out commuting workers will diminish the potential growth of the local economy. The ultimate objective is to establish a strong local economy that relies on a resident work force employed in the City and neighboring area. Refer to Section 2.6 in the Land Use Element for additional discussion of the jobs and housing balance in the City.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Time Horizon
Perhaps more than other elements in the General Plan, the Circulation Element must take a very long-term view. Physical infrastructure, such as the road system, establishes a framework that is very difficult to alter. Land uses may change, and buildings be torn down and reconstructed, but the route of the public streets and utility corridors are typically fixed in place over time. Therefore, the circulation system components must be carefully considered for their long-term impacts on land use and community form.
Moreover, many major infrastructure components, such as a bridge crossing or major new road, are relatively expensive and must be planned long in advance in order to accrue sufficient funding. For these reasons, the Circulation Element, particularly that portion addressing major infrastructure improvements, must look beyond the twenty-year horizon typical of other elements in the General Plan.
Safety
Safety is a fundamental goal for all components of the circulation system. Conventional design standards typically address the safety requirements for streets, bicycle paths, and pedestrian networks. However, Portola has specific needs that require special attention to safety concerns. These include the need to design safe routes for evacuation in emergencies, and the special design considerations for streets and bike and pedestrian paths in mountainous, winter conditions. The special conditions in Portola also relate to the intent to accommodate a mix of bicycles, pedestrians, and vehicles of various types.
Special conditions also will occur when the City is the site of special events that accommodate large numbers of visitors.
Multi-modal System
The circulation system will be more efficient and will provide better flexibility and conveniences if all modes of transportation are coordinated. This means that different modes connect at central locations where people can easily transfer from one mode to another. An example would be to establish a transit center where a regional bus, a park-and-ride lot, a local shuttle, a jitney or cab service, a primary pedestrian path, and a primary bicycle path can all connect. The different modes must also be coordinated in time so that the connections are convenient.
Cost Effective
Travel and movement of goods and utilities requires expenditures of money, energy, and time. An efficient circulation system serves to minimize these expenditures by reducing the need for travel, and by reducing the time and distance of necessary travel.
Reduction of travel can be accomplished by clustering travel destinations (retail, services, schools, and so on) close to the residents’ home so that walking or public transportation is feasible. The Land Use Element where the land uses that attract traffic City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
are clustered in a compact urban form that will facilitate the use of public transportation and walking.
An efficient circulation system will also help to reduce the expenditure of public funds for new construction through design that reduces the length and width of roads to the minimum actual requirement. The General Plan Land Use Element will help minimize the need for new infrastructure expenditures by maximizing the use of, and by directing new development to the existing roads.
Energy Efficiency
Fuel required for transportation is a significant energy demand in any community.
Relatively low fuel costs have enabled expansion of substantial development throughout California. However, small, relatively remote communities such as Portola are particularly vulnerable to increases in fuel costs. Fuel costs typically tend to be higher in such communities, and if fuel prices increase, as is likely over the next two decades, the effect can seriously hinder economic stability and development. Higher energy (fuel) costs will demand more of individual household incomes for typical daily travel and may make it uneconomic to travel to jobs outside the area, therefore, residents may be forced to relocate. The use of ride sharing, and other trip reduction methods will reduce dependence on increasingly expensive fuels. The policies in this Circulation Element encourage trip reduction methods as a means to reduce dependence on expensive fuels before they become prohibitively expensive and diminish the economic potential and quality of daily life in Portola.
Higher fuel costs may also diminish the level of services as businesses and suppliers find it uneconomical to deliver goods and services to the area. Finally, and perhaps most serious, is the potential loss in tourism as people reduce their travel due to the high cost of fuel. Fuel prices will be determined far beyond the influence of this City, but the General Plan must seek to minimize the vulnerability to energy costs by developing alternative modes of travel within the City and facilitating alternative means for tourists to travel to the area.
New Technologies
The General Plan is a long-range planning document and must be flexible enough to consider new technologies. For example, the use of electric vehicles and other alternative fuels have skyrocketed in recent years. The City of Portola has been reviewing ways to better accommodate the use of electric vehicles and alternative fuel sources. As the planning horizon for this General Plan is another 20+ years, new technologies will emerge and the City is ready to include new technology into the circulation plan.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Impact on Natural Features
The circulation system must include design standards that minimize the physical effect of circulation improvements on the natural environment, and the need to design systems that are safe and functional in the winter.
Air Quality
Unlike many urban places, vehicle traffic has not been the primary source of air pollution in Portola. However, the climate conditions that create the winter air pollution problem indicate the potential for increased pollution within and near the City. Measures designed to minimize reliance on vehicles are necessary to reduce the potential for air pollution increases in the community.
Circulation Goals
The goals for the circulation system reflect the broader the goals of this General Plan.
These include improvement of the existing community, economic development, expanded tourism, aesthetic quality in the built environment, public and personal safety, and environmental protection.
Goal C-1. Upgrade all existing streets to current improvement standards.
Goal C-2. Extend the circulation network, including streets, bike and pedestrian paths, and transit routes to in-fill areas and new growth areas in a manner that is energy and cost efficient, safe, and minimizes impact on the natural environment.
Goal C-3. Improve the circulation network, including streets and parking, rail, transit, and pedestrian paths to enhance economic development and tourism.
Goal C-4. Expand transportation alternatives within the City, including public transit, walking and bicycling.
Goal C-5. Expand the circulation system to accommodate and attract new businesses and visitors (tourists).
Level of Service Standards
The effectiveness of the streets to carry traffic is measured by a standard evaluation criterion, the Level of Service (LOS). Traffic engineers use LOS as a quantitative measure to describe traffic conditions, and as a means of evaluating future traffic conditions.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Level of Service is a measure of the existing or projected traffic compared to the theoretical capacity of the street or intersection to safely accommodate traffic. Factors taken into consideration include volume of traffic, street and intersection design, signal timing, and other variables. Each LOS is assigned a letter, ranging from “A” (less than a 5 second wait at intersections and no restrictions on speed along arterials) to “F” (delays of more than one green cycle at intersections and “stop and go” movement along the street). LOS is normally used to describe the morning or afternoon peak-hour conditions when traffic is the heaviest. Table 4-1 describes the Level of Service categories.
The LOS criteria are useful aids in identifying potential problems with street capacity, and the land uses that generate traffic. However, LOS is a generalized evaluation tool and must be tempered by interpretation of local conditions. For instance, minor adjustments in the timing of a traffic signal, adding turning lanes, limiting the points of access from adjacent properties and other modifications can improve the actual operation of a given street or intersection.
The current traffic conditions in Portola do not normally approach the levels experienced in more urban areas. Most existing streets and intersections in Portola operate well within the range of LOS C or better, although the Plumas County Regional Transportation Plan (2000) identifies SR 70 (Sierra Street) within the City operating at LOS D during peak traffic conditions. The Caltrans "Guide for the Preparation of Traffic Impact Studies" (Guide) states that Caltrans endeavors to maintain a target LOS C on State Highway facilities.
The Guide is consulted when State Highways are affects.
Street Network and Classification
The street system in Portola consists of three general classes of street:
• local, small-scale streets that serve the residential neighborhoods; • local, rural roads that serve the low-density residential areas; and • larger collector and arterial streets.
Much of the existing street system was built before private automobiles came into common use. The streets follow a grid pattern established when the City was originally platted in 1909. The grid does not relate to the topography and many streets stop at a ravine or steep slope. This results in discontinuous streets in portions of the older City.
These areas were subdivided into individual lots but have no streets or other public improvements to serve those lots. The street pattern developed outside the original grid pattern is typically circuitous and follows the natural terrain. At the perimeter of the City the grid pattern transitions to an informal pattern of rural streets flanked by larger lots.
The street system was not designed to accommodate modern traffic, or to park cars on residential lots. The narrow, residential lots found on older streets typically do not have sufficient width for a driveway, and on-street parking and snow removal are not City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
convenient. The streets are laid out in short blocks only 350 feet long by 300 feet wide.
This enables people to walk in relatively direct routes within the City, but it requires a substantial amount of land to be paved, and is not practical in steep terrain.
The majority of the 14 miles in the Portola road system existed at the time the City incorporated in 1946. This includes .55 miles of paved major collector street, 4.43 miles of paved minor collector street and 15.92 miles of paved local streets, as shown in Figure 4-
1. Minor arterial streets are important routes for intra-county regional circulation. In Plumas County, the minor arterial circulation system consists of all State Routes including:
SR 70, 89, 36, 147, 49, and 284. Only SR 70 (Sierra Street) directly affects Portola.
SR 70 (Sierra Street) is the primary street through the City. The highway has a 100 foot right of way through the center of the City, but flares to 120-foot-wide right-of-way at the east of the City and 160-foot-wide right of way to the west. The highway was widened to four lanes in 1997 with full curb, gutter and sidewalk along portions of the street. Curb, gutter, and sidewalk improvements were not installed where the highway abuts a driveway or parking apron. The back of the sidewalk abuts the property boundary and fronts individual buildings in some locations. On-street parking occurs where there is a curb, and in those locations, there is no room for additional parking in front of buildings.
Major collector streets provide greater access to more localized destinations for regional circulation. These streets typically are designed to provide access for regional traffic between the State Routes. In Portola, only West Street (Lake Davis Road) is designated by the County Regional Transportation Plan as a major collector.
Minor collector streets provide additional access to local attractions for regional traffic and serve as local collectors for the residential street system. The County Regional Transportation Plan identifies Beckwourth Street, Gulling Street, Commercial Street, First Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Sixth Avenue, Pacific Street, Main Street, and County Road A-15 as the primary collector streets in the existing street system. Traffic within and outside the City cause these streets to function as collectors although they have the standard 60- foot wide right-of-way found on all City streets.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Table 4-1
Traffic Level of Service Conditions
Street Conditions
A study of existing street conditions (Bastian Engineering, November 19, 1998) indicates that several older streets are in need of repair due to deteriorating subbase, deteriorating pavement, and other serious conditions. These streets will require upgrading in order to maintain a minimum standard of maintenance. In addition, many street sections were never constructed and remain unimproved. Many other streets exceed 6% grade and are difficult to travel during snow and ice conditions. The streets in need of repair are shown in Figure 4-2.
Repair or reconstruction of these streets is essential to maintain the current level of service and to avoid significant on-going maintenance costs. A fundamental objective of the Circulation Element is to upgrade the existing streets to current standards and to extend the unimproved streets in the in-fill areas described in the Land Use Element, notably Section 2-6.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Street Standards
Extension of local streets to serve new development in the areas at the perimeter of the City requires design standards and street patterns that are more responsive to the terrain and environmental conditions. These street standards may be different from the existing streets in the older parts of the City. The new streets will typically extend into forested areas that are somewhat steeper than the developed portion of the City. Therefore, the street system needs to be more flexible, both in alignment and street width than the historic street standards.
Each classification of City street is designed to standards appropriate to the conditions and intended use. In general, the standards use the minimum level of street crosssection needed for traffic safety and emergency access and evacuation. The intent is to minimize grading and the amount of land paved for streets. In addition to requiring less grading and paving, narrower streets will tend to slow traffic, and may indirectly discourage vehicle use. Where combined with a convenient and safe pedestrian route, narrow streets will encourage residents to walk rather than drive. Beyond fundamental traffic safety concerns, street design should emphasize ease of maintenance, ease of snow removal, simplicity of construction, visual character, and pedestrian access. Ease of maintenance suggests a relatively narrow paved section and simple rolled curb and gutter, or no gutter in rural settings, rather than the more formal standing curb.
Street standards for various conditions existing or expected to occur in Portola are summarized in Table 4-2.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Figure 4-1
Existing Major Streets
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Figure 4-2
Existing Streets in Need of Repair or New Construction
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Minor Arterial and Collector Streets
The level of new residential and employment growth anticipated in the General Plan Land Use Element will not lead to urban type development experienced in many other communities. Consequently, the volume of traffic associated with major arterial streets in urban areas is not anticipated. There will be a need for streets capable of carrying traffic at volumes and speeds greater than acceptable in typical residential areas. Therefore, arterial and collector street standards are planned to accommodate these higher demand levels should they occur as the community grows. Cross-section diagrams of the minor arterial street and the collector street classification are shown in Figures 4-3 and 4-4 respectively.
Urban Residential Streets
The typical street in residential neighborhoods must be sufficiently wide to carry local traffic at relatively slow speeds (25 m.p.h. or less). The street should allow for on street parking and a public sidewalk. The streets should be designed to facilitate snow removal and storage. A cross-section diagram of the urban residential street is shown in Figure 4-
5. Low Density Residential Streets
Extensions of local streets to serve new development areas require design standards and street patterns that respond to the terrain and environmental conditions. The new streets will typically extend into forested areas that are somewhat steeper than the developed portions of Portola. Therefore, the street system needs to more flexible than the existing street standards, both in alignment and street width. A cross-section diagram of the lowdensity residential street is shown in Figure 4-6.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Table 4-2
Summary of City Street Classification
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Figure 4-3
Minor Arterial Street
Figure 4-4
Collector Street
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Figure 4-5
Urban Residential Street
Figure 4-6
Low Density Residential Street
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Traffic Calming
Traffic speed is a concern where local and collector streets are relatively straight and there are few intersections. Within the developed portions of the City, in residential and school areas, and where there are pedestrian crossings or sidewalks along the street, it is desirable to slow traffic to safe speeds. This is accomplished through “traffic calming” measures. These may include signalized or signed intersections, round-abouts and traffic circles, and other physical improvements that cause drivers to slow and be more aware of other vehicles and pedestrian or bicycle traffic.
Major Streets Master Plan
The Major Street Master Plan defines the framework of major streets. It is intended that the City retain the existing compact form. In-fill development is encouraged in the Land Use Element as a significant means of accommodating new growth. Consequently, selected existing streets will continue to function as the major streets. Nonetheless, there are potential growth areas within and adjacent to the existing City boundary that will require major new roads where development is permitted.
New Arterial Streets and Collector Streets
Development in the areas north and south of the existing urban area, as well as in-fill development, will generate the need for additional routes parallel and connecting to Highway 70. The conceptual routes are described here and are shown on Figure 4-7.
The intent is to provide collector streets through the potential major new development areas identified in the General Plan Diagram.
County Road A-15/Colorado Street/First Avenue Realignment is intended to route traffic from County Road A-15 to Gulling Street. A-15 may be realigned north along a newly constructed Colorado Street and will curve onto a new alignment of First Avenue through the vacant parcel. The realignment will provide a new route to the Railroad Museum and access to parking along the north side of First Avenue to serve the commercial uses on Commercial Street. Commercial Street will continue to be a public street for traffic but may be designed to accommodate wider pedestrian sidewalks and slower, lower volume vehicle traffic. This is consistent with the intent to make Commercial Street a pedestrian oriented service and shopping street, as described in the Land Use Element Section 2.6.1 and the Community Design Element Section 3.1. This proposed realignment is not meant to discourage any repaving/reconstruction of the road.
First Avenue/Gulling Street/Hospital Drive Intersection will be reconstructed to raise the intersection and lower the grade along First Avenue. The existing right-of-way for Portola Avenue between south Pine Street and Gulling Street will be declared surplus and made available to the adjacent property owners. This reconstruction will facilitate the use of First Avenue as the primary route to Road A-15.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Figure 4-7
New Roads in the Core Area
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
South Gulling Street will extend south into Area B and provide a connection to the proposed business park and residential area, and the new collector street connecting South Fifth Street to County Road A-15.
South Fifth Street will be extended south and west around the hospital to connect Taylor Street to the proposed Gulling Street extension.
Area B Collector will be a new street that extends west from the Gulling Street extension around the south side of the high school and connects to County Road A-15.
This will provide a connection from County Road A-15 to the Gulling Street extension and ultimately to the South Fifth Street extension.
Major Streets in Future Growth Areas
Annexation of new growth areas will require new routes to provide local circulation both parallel and connecting to Highway 70. The primary movements will be north and west of Highway 70.
West Street/ Delleker Collector will connect from West Street in the vicinity of Carmichael School west to an extension of Delleker Drive north from Highway 70.
Delleker Drive will extend north to connect to the West Street/Delleker Drive Collector.
West Meadow Loop will extend west from Delleker Drive and connect to Highway 70 in the vicinity of Mabie.
Future development of the area to the north of the existing City boundary, notably the Teanna Ranch and Grizzly Creek Road area will require additional roads. Generally, these roads will serve relatively low-density development and will be reviewed and approved with future development.
Local Public Utilities and Facilities
The City provides public utilities includes water, sewer, and stormwater systems. These utilities are further addressed with mapping in the Public Services and Facilities Element.
Other utilities include electricity (Liberty Utilities) and the possibility of electric vehicle charging stations, and telecommunications and broadband facilities (Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications).
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Figure 4-8
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Infrastructure
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Traffic Signals
With the relatively low traffic volumes on most local streets throughout Portola traffic signals have not been needed. However, the volume of traffic on Highway 70 (Sierra Street) does require signalization at the Gulling Street intersection. Additional signalization may be required in the future as traffic volumes increase.
Truck Routes
Highway 70 will remain the primary route for commercial traffic through the City and is intended to accommodate adequate movement of goods by trucking. Truck traffic on all other collector streets will be limited to local deliveries.
Major Destinations
Portola is a small, rural City, but has destinations that people come to enjoy, especially from the local region. These locations are identified below.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Figure 4-9
Portola Major Destinations
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
Funding Sources
Funding for road improvements and maintenance comes primarily from the City’s general fund or is required to be provided with development projects at the developer’s expense. Certain large, long-range projects are funded through Caltrans State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funding. Funded projects include:
1. Portola McLears Road from the Portola city limits to Main Street, Portola (0.60 mi). Note: This appears to include small runs on Colorado St. and Third Ave in the city limits.
2. Main Street in Portola from Portola McLears Road (Third Ave) to Western Pacific Way/First Avenue (0.10 mi)
3. Western Pacific Way/First Street in Portola from Main Street to Pacific Street (0.06 mi)
4. Pacific Street in Portola from First Street to Commercial Street (0.05 mi)
5. Commercial Street in Portola from Pacific Street to Gulling Street (0.18 mi)
6. Gulling Street in Portola from Commercial Avenue to Route 70 (0.25 mi) As available, grant funding may also be used for transportation projects, as approved by the City Council in accordance with the City’s Grant Policy.
Circulation Policies and Implementation
Policies: Street System
C-P-1: Maintain traffic Level of Service LOS C on residential streets, arterial and collector streets and at all intersections.
C-P-2: Make efficient use of existing street facilities and complete the street systems in the underdeveloped portions of the City as they are developed.
C-P-3: When there is increased demand from new development, the street system will be expanded to serve new development areas.
C-P-4: New development will pay a fair share of the costs of street and other traffic and transportation improvements based on the traffic generated and impacts on service levels.
C-P-5: New streets will be designed and graded to have minimum impact on natural features.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-P-6: The road system must provide for evacuation of residents, access, and tactical locations for fire fighters, and defensible space around structures. The residential streets in new development areas shall be designed to provide a clear evacuation route. The primary evacuation route shall be reasonably direct, and streets shall flow toward safety in a logical fashion.
C-P-7: All roads must be designed to minimize hazards from snow and ice conditions and facilitate snow plowing.
C-P-8: Street improvements will be designed to minimize traffic patterns that will increase air pollution.
Implementation: Street System
C-I-1: Conduct a traffic analysis on all development proposals for residential development in excess of 50 residential units and commercial development in excess of 10,000 square feet to evaluate the effect on LOS standards. This requirement may be waived by the City where a recent traffic analysis considered the impact of the proposed project. Caltrans "Guide for the Preparation of Traffic Impact Studies" will be consulted when SR 70 is affected.
C-I-2: Perform periodic evaluation of the LOS on major streets to identify deterioration in LOS conditions.
C-I-3: Evaluate LOS conditions when prioritizing local street improvements for the City.
C-I-4: Improve local streets and intersections to maintain LOS standards.
C-I-5: Require new development to participate in the funding of collector and arterial street improvements identified in the Master Street Plan.
C-I-6: Adopt street standards that provide flexibility in design with regard to topography and sensitive environmental conditions, and land use intensity.
C-I-7: All new residential subdivisions with over ten (10) residential lots shall provide an emergency evacuation plan with the tentative subdivision map. The evacuation plan shall indicate a primary and secondary evacuation route for each residential lot.
C-I-8: Establish a street improvement priority program to implement street construction in the in-fill areas.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-I-9: Require that the arterial and collector streets shown on Figure 4-3 are considered in the review of any development proposal adjacent to the proposed route.
Parking
Parking is unusually challenging in Portola because the City streets were designed before automobiles were common. Typically, the streets are wide enough to allow on-street parking, but there is little dedicated off-street parking in the commercial areas, and no parking on the residential lots in the older parts of the City.
The demand for parking generated by the existing businesses is periodically increased significantly by the patrons of special events. New business development and increases in tourism, including special events, is a fundamental purpose in this General Plan. The success of the economic development element will rely, in part, on the ability to accommodate the traffic and parking associated with new businesses and special events. Other modes of transportation, including local shuttles, bus service, and pedestrian and bike systems can be expected to reduce the traffic and parking load associated with special events, but the majority of visitors will arrive in automobiles.
Policies: Parking
C-P-9: Ensure that there is adequate parking for normal commercial activities.
C-P-10: Ensure that there is adequate parking for special events.
C-P-11: Coordinate the parking area locations with the roadway, transit, and pedestrian and bikeway systems.
C-P-12: Expand public parking in the Sierra Street and Commercial Street area to alleviate existing parking shortages.
Implementation: Parking
C-I-10: Work with the local merchants to improve on-street parking conditions.
C-I-11: Support formation of parking districts to support local merchants.
C-I-12: Encourage development of shared parking among local businesses. Allow common access driveways to shared off-street parking.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-I-13: Locate parking within acceptable walking distance of the facilities they are expected to serve. Walking distances should not exceed 200 feet for short-term parking and 600 feet for long-term parking.
C-I-14: Locate parking facilities for special events along routes that facilitate walking to the event, and in locations that can be logically served by a shuttle system.
C-I-15: Locate parking facilities for special events near transportation nodes.
C-I-16: Locate parking for recreation activities such as hiking and mountain biking riding near the trailhead.
Bikeway and Pedestrian System
Portola is a compact community with most public destinations within reasonable walking distance of the majority of residents. The town is approximately one mile in length along Sierra Street and neighborhoods extend approximately one mile north and south from Sierra Street. City Hall, the library, post office, major parks, and sheriff substation are clustered together just a few blocks from the old town commercial area. The high school and middle school are located at the edge of the south neighborhood, and the elementary school and a neighborhood park are located at the edge of the north neighborhood.
The existing City is very walkable in terms of the location of primary land uses. The existing street pattern throughout the older parts of the City typically consists of very short blocks 350 feet long. This facilitates walking but creates multiple intersections and an excessive amount of paving. The major limitation to ease of walking is the lack of sidewalks.
Sidewalks occur sporadically in the residential neighborhoods outside the commercial areas.
The relatively direct routes afforded by the existing street pattern facilitate bicycle travel in Portola. However, cycling is constrained by the lack of designated bike routes and the condition of local streets. Steep streets and, in some cases, unpaved lanes and/or shoulders make it difficult to bicycle throughout the City. Cycling is particularly difficult in winter when ice on the steeper streets and snow piled along the shoulders adds to the hazard.
Sierra Street is a barrier to both pedestrians and cyclists due to the width of the street, the relatively high speed and volume of traffic, and the lack of designated and signalized crossings. The installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Sierra Street and Gulling Street in 2002 will improve this condition, but additional designated crossings are needed.
Improving the facilities for bicycling is important for the convenience and enjoyment of Portola residents, and for expanding economic development through tourism. The area City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
around Portola offers significant opportunities for touring and mountain bike riding.
Portola is the crossroads of regional bike routes designated in the Regional Transportation Plan. Primary routes extend from the City up Rocky Point Road and Grizzly Creek Road to Lake Davis and return by Lake Davis Road. A second route extends out County Road A15 to Highway 89, then returns via Graeagle and Blairsden along Highway 70. Several additional routes extend from these primary routes to provide touring cyclists with a range of trips that can be based in Portola.
Portola can become a hub for such activity if it provides the base facilities to serve these potential patrons of local businesses and events. The primary facilities required are staging areas and good routes to the trails and touring routes outside the City.
The existing bikeway and pedestrian network should be enhanced to further encourage bicycling and walking in the City. This is accomplished in part by encouraging the continuity of the existing compact land use pattern in the Land Use Element, and by creation of new bike routes and sidewalks wherever new streets are installed or existing streets are upgraded.
In addition to the existing pedestrian network the General Plan establishes a new pedestrian system designed to link major activity and recreation centers. These centers are part of the land use and recreation facilities intended to enhance the quality of life for community residents, and to attract tourism as part of the economic development strategy described in the Economic Development Element.
The backbone of this pedestrian system is the walkway and bikeway that links the Federal Park land with Railroad Museum. The trail will be part of the planned “Riverwalk Park” located along the north side of the river connecting the Federal Park to the Gulling Street Bridge. From Gulling Street, the walk continues up Commercial Street then to the Railroad Museum. The path will be marked with 1/10-mile markers and signs identifying it as the Riverwalk trail.
One of the primary constraints to bicycle travel is the narrow pavement section on the Gulling Street Bridge. The pavement is only 28 feet wide and would permit a four-footwide bike lane on both sides only if the travel lanes are reduced to 10 feet. A dedicated bike route will require additional width on the bridge.
Similarly, the width of Commercial Street limits the potential for a bike lane and on street parking on both sides of the street.
Policies: Bikeway and Pedestrian System
C-P-13: Develop a system of sidewalks and bikeways that promote safe walking and bicycle riding for both residents and tourists.
C-P-14: Establish a primary pedestrian system linking the Federal Park land with the Railroad Museum via Commercial Street.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-P-15: Provide spur or branch walkways connecting to the residential neighborhoods and primary public destinations.
C-P-16: Route sidewalks so that they connect to major public parking areas, transit stops, and intersections with the bikeway system.
C-P-17: Provide pedestrian links to hiking trails in the area around the City.
C-P-18: Provide adequate bicycle parking facilities at commercial, business/professional, and light industrial uses.
C-P-19: Improve safety conditions, efficiency, and comfort for bicyclists, transit riders, and pedestrians, while ensuring compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
• Use steps to avoid steeper grades on sidewalks.
• Give the walks a minimum cross pitch of approximately 2 percent.
• Locate important walkways and intersections where they will not be in prolonged shade.
Implementation: Bikeway and Pedestrian System
C-I-17: Install prominent signs at the east and west entries to the City on Sierra Street warning motorists of the presence of pedestrians and bicyclists.
C-I-18: Develop a design for improvement and re-striping of Gulling Street Bridge to accommodate, at minimum, a Class II bike path in both directions.
C-I-19: Seek funding to expand the width of the Gulling Street Bridge to accommodate a bike path in each direction and provide access to the open space area along the south side of the river.
C-I-20: Seek funding to provide a pedestrian/bike bridge across the river connecting a bike and pedestrian path on the south side of the river to the Riverwalk Park on the north side.
C-I-21: Add bike lanes whenever possible in conjunction with road reconstruction or re-striping projects and subdivision development and related off-site improvements.
C-I-22: Acquire the right-of-way for the bike and pedestrian path along the north side of the river linking the Gulling Street Bridge to the Federal Park (the Riverwalk Bike Trail).
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-I-23: Seek funding from the US Forest Service to connect the Riverwalk Bike Trail through the Federal Park to Rocky Point Road.
C-I-24: Make bikeway improvements an on-going funding objective by:
• Continuing to consider financing bikeway design and
construction as part of the City’s annual construction and improvement budget.
• Incorporating bikeway improvements as part of a five-year Capital Improvements Plan.
• Pursuing grant funding and other sources for new bikeways. • Pursuing funding for ancillary facilities such as river access for handicapped persons, secured bicycle parking, parking areas at mountain bike and touring bike trail heads,
drinking fountains and restrooms.
C-I-25: Require provision of secure covered bicycle parking at all parks and public gathering places, multifamily residential, commercial, industrial and office/institutional uses.
C-I-26: Encourage Plumas County Transit to provide bike racks on the buses serving the Portola community. Provide bike racks on a local shuttle service or jitneys used for special events.
C-I-27: Encourage resident and tourist use of the bike trail system by preparing a map of the bikeways and trail heads within and near the City.
C-I-28: Ensure that City standards for pedestrian facility design conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Implement a program to install handicapped ramps at all intersections as street improvements are being installed. Intersections in the core area along Sierra Street, Gulling Street, and Commercial Street shall have priority for funding the handicap accessibility improvements.
Transportation System Management
Transportation System Management (TSM) refers to measures designed to reduce the number and length of automobile trips, particularly during peak commute hours. TSM measures typically include ride sharing, van pools, and a variety of management techniques applied by larger employers in metropolitan areas. Typical TSM measures are most effective where they can be implemented by large employers.
In rural communities where there is a significant number of workers commuting out to a larger metropolitan area the TSM measures focus on ride sharing and van pooling to City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
reduce the number of single occupant vehicle trips. Reduced vehicle travel can help reduce peak hour traffic congestion, reduce future air pollution concentrations, and reduce consumption of energy for transportation uses. Moreover, it can help reduce individual transportation costs for Portola residents, yielding potentially significant savings as the cost of fuel rises.
TSM measures can also be effective in reducing the number of vehicle trips resulting from special events. TSM measures can include special bus service or shuttles to bring visitors in from distant locations.
Policies: Transportation System Management
C-P-20: Encourage a program to provide ride sharing and van pool opportunities for Portola residents.
C-P-21: Use alternative modes of transportation to bring visitors to special events.
Implementation: Transportation System Management
C-I-29: The City shall work with the County and Caltrans to locate a park and ride lot at the east edge of the City to facilitate ride sharing.
C-I-30: The City shall make information available at City Hall and the library regarding public 014transit, ridesharing, van pools, and other transportation alternatives to single occupant vehicles.
Public Transportation
General public transportation within Plumas County is provided by Plumas County Transit.
They operate three buses on fixed routes, with dial-a-ride service available. Plumas County Transit is funded primarily by Local Transportation Funds and State Transit Assistance Funds, allocated on an annual basis through the Plumas County Transportation Commission. One bus begins in Portola and provides three round trips throughout Portola and to Graeagle, Blairsden, Cromberg, and Quincy. Plumas County Nutrition Center also provides transportation to Senior Citizens for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to: meal delivery, medical appointments, and shopping.
In addition to the County transit service, Greyhound bus service is provided along Highway 70 on a daily basis.
The ridership on public transit in rural areas is typically quite low due to the relatively small population base and low density of residential development. However, there are factors that indicate the potential need for expanded transit service in Portola. The planned population growth and the residential densities shown in the Land Use Element in the core of the City will contribute to the demand for public transit service. The City includes City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
uses that are typically attractions for bus ridership, such as the hospital, library, post office, shopping, and services along Sierra Street and Commercial Street. The schools are also a potential service area.
A small, locally operated shuttle or jitney would provide the services within town and connect to the Plumas County Transit system. A local shuttle or jitney service would provide an alternative transportation mode within the City for visitors to special events such as Railroad Days, craft fairs, cultural and sporting events.
Policies: Public Transit
C-P-22: Cooperate with Plumas County Transit to enhance the public transit ridership in Portola.
C-P-23: Seek opportunities to provide an alternative public transit system in Portola.
C-P-24: Establish a goal for public transit in Portola that will be associated with the recreation and tourism opportunities in the community.
C-P-25: Seek to establish a regional public transportation link.
C-P-26: Ensure that public transit services are linked to public parking areas, bikeways, and major pedestrian routes.
Implementation: Public Transit
C-I-31: Work with Plumas County Transit to provide bus stop shelters at all locations within the City. The bus stop shall include a sign that indicates the route and schedule of the bus. The bus stop shelter shall include a sign that clearly identifies it and provides the name of the stop.
C-I-32: Provide information about the transit service at the City Hall and library.
C-I-33: Establish a plan of primary locations where the transit systems will connect to the major bikeways and pedestrian ways and the primary public parking areas.
C-I-34: Work with the regional commercial carriers to establish bus service to the City.
C-I-35: Work with the regional commercial carriers to establish a station where patrons can be protected from weather and package shipping and receiving service is available.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-I-36: Designate a location for the regional bus station where it serves as a “multi-modal” station with connections to the regional bus, the Plumas County Transit bus, a public parking lot, local shuttle system and primary bikeway and pedestrian system will all interconnect.
C-I-37: Establish guidelines for development of a Special Event Shuttle service and work with private businesses and service agencies to initiate a shuttle service during special events.
C-I-38: Monitor the use of special event shuttles and consider expanding to seasonal or year-round shuttle if the demand warrants it.
C-I-39: Work with other communities, recreation, and lodging businesses to expand the local seasonal shuttle or special event shuttle to the Feather River Inn, Blairsden, Johnsville, Graeagle, the Grizzly Creek camp and other activity destinations in the east Plumas County area.
C-I-40: Work with Plumas County to ensure that paratransit and other special needs are met in the City of Portola.
Rail
The Union Pacific Railroad is a dominant element in the physical form of the City but plays only a minimal role in local transportation. The rail line is totally dedicated to freight and the local service is limited to shipping and receiving. Nonetheless, the rail through the Feather River Canyon is a major trans-Sierra route and recognized as one of the more scenic. Although passenger service was discontinued in the 1970’s the route is still used occasionally for special passenger trains. Passenger rail service is growing after a long period of decline and new passenger service is slowly being re-established. The California State Rail Plan identifies Portola as a major railyard and connection to Nevada and states to the east for rail freight movement.
The decision to institute passenger service occurs far beyond the City’s influence. Yet, the City can encourage the restoration of passenger service, even on a limited, periodic basis. The rail museum is an obvious draw that will bring rail enthusiasts to the City. The City can help support the interest in rail travel by sponsoring events that draw people who enjoy riding on the railroad, and by ensuring that rail travel is a convenient and comfortable experience when stopping in Portola.
Guiding Policies: Rail
C-P-27: Encourage Union Pacific Railroad to provide passenger service on the Feather River route at every opportunity with the ultimate goal of re-establishing regularly scheduled service.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-P-28: Encourage Union Pacific Railroad to sustain the rail shipping service.
Implementation: Rail
C-I-41: Cooperate with the Portola Railroad Museum in their efforts to provide visitor facilities in Portola.
C-I-42: Support rezoning property near the visitor facilities to accommodate lodging, restaurants, retail shops, and other services in support of visitors to the rail museum.
C-I-43: Route the local shuttle system or other transportation networks under the City’s control to provide convenient access for visitors to the rail museum, and for visitors arriving by rail.
C-I-44: Include directional signs to the rail museum in appropriate locations on any master directional signage program established by the City.
C-I-45: Establish a working relationship between the City administration and the local management of the Union Pacific Railroad by requesting regular meetings to discuss items of common interest regarding expansion of rail service and economic development of the region.
Airport
The Beckwourth (Nervino) Airport is a county owned and operated facility located approximately five miles east of Portola along Highway 70. The airport provides services for general aviation on a 4,600-foot-long runway capable of accommodating large general aviation aircraft.
Although not within the City, the airport has the potential to serve economic development and tourism to the benefit of businesses in Portola.
Policies: Airport
C-P-29: Encourage expansion of flight services and accommodations at Beckwourth Airport.
Implementation: Airport
C-I-46: Cooperate with Plumas County in their efforts to expand services and aircraft accommodations at Beckwourth Airport.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Circulation Element
C-I-47: Provide supporting letters and other documents as requested by the County in support of airport expansion.
C-I-48: Provide information, such as brochures and signs, and ensure that current telephone directory information regarding Portola businesses is available at the airport.
C-I-49: Encourage development of courtesy van service and other means of ground transportation for people arriving by general aviation aircraft.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
5. Economic Development Element DRAFT
Portola, as many other small, rural communities, has experienced economic stagnation because of the long-term decline of basic industries such as mining and forestry.
Historically, the local economic base relied on extracting and consuming natural resources. Basic industries that brought new revenue to the community formerly meant exporting the natural resource. Relatively low wages, high unemployment, low property values, and little prospect for return of the historic job base are common economic factors.
However, new circumstances promise new economic growth if communities are poised to take advantage of them. These circumstances include:
▪ an increase in healthy active people seeking retirement in attractive communities with recreation opportunities,
▪ new telecommunications technologies that enable businesses to locate virtually anywhere, and
▪ an increase in tourism and retirement lifestyles brought about in part by the overall health and wealth of people throughout the nation.
Traditional location criteria such as availability of shipping or the aggregation of certain services or business connections have become less important for many types of businesses.
With the advent of various telecommunications technologies, and growth in industries based on information services and manufacture of small, highly transportable goods, business decision-makers can be much more flexible in selecting a new business location.
The new criterion for business growth is broader than the traditional concerns. In addition to the need for access to markets and transportation, the new criterion includes the availability of business services, telecommunications technology, and the quality of the local environment. For some employers the quality-of-life opportunities are now as important as proximity to markets and transportation.
Economic development opportunities in Portola will occur, in part, because of the high level of natural amenity and recreation resources. Protection of the visual and natural amenity in this area is essential to the success of economic development. Good housing, good schools and parks, a vibrant social and cultural life, recreation opportunities, good transportation systems, and above all, an attractive natural setting are essential to the future potential growth in jobs and economic opportunities.
The strategy underlying this Element is to enhance and broaden tourism as a basic economic engine, and to establish a new non-tourism employment base in the City. This is accomplished by establishing land use, community design, circulation, public facilities, and natural resource conservation goals, policies and standards in the General Plan and City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
Portola Municipal Code that will accommodate new growth while protecting the natural environment.
Authority
The Economic Development Element is an optional element of the General Plan under Section 65303 of the Government Code.
“The general plan may include any other elements or address any other subjects which, in the judgment of the legislative body, relate to the physical development of the county or city.”
Relationship to Other Elements of the General Plan
Although this is an optional element, it is given considerable weight in this General Plan.
The success of economic development is interwoven with virtually all aspects of the community. Thus, the Economic Development Element incorporates policies and concepts that are linked with the Land Use Element, Housing Element, Public Facilities Element, Open Space and Conservation Element, and the Circulation Element.
Regional Cooperation
Portola is the service center of the east Plumas region, and the economic future of the City significantly depends on maintaining and expanding that role. Consequently, the economic success of Portola is closely linked with the success of the enterprises in the region. Provided that economic growth in the surrounding area is of good quality and does not diminish the environmental qualities that attract visitors and new residents, Portola will benefit from the success of its economic neighbors and will cooperate in efforts to ensure their success.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
Economic Development Goals
Goal ED-1. Expand stable year-round employment.
Goal ED-2. Attract new industries that are compatible with the natural amenities and character of the City.
Goal ED-3. Expand and diversify tourism both within the City and in the eastern Plumas County region.
Goal ED-4. Expand education and training opportunities for City residents.
Business Innovation and Development
Policies: Business Innovation and Development
ED-P-1. Promote new businesses that are forward-looking and apply innovative technology and practices, and that are compatible with character of the community.
ED-P-2. Facilitate development of commercial uses and business parks within the City.
ED-P-3. Maintain an adequate supply of appropriately located and zoned land to provide opportunities for industrial/ business-professional and commercial development.
Implementation: Business Innovation and Development
ED-I-1. Develop an incentive program for industries that meet the profile.
Incentives may include cooperation in expediting land use entitlements, providing phased payment of fees, City of Portola contribution to land acquisition costs, and other financial and procedural inducements within the means of the City of Portola.
ED-I-2. Continue to work with property owners in the undeveloped and unserved areas to share the cost of extending sewer, streets, water distribution, and utilities among benefiting landowners.
ED-I-3. Monitor the consumption of undeveloped land designated for residential, commercial and industrial/ business-professional uses and supplement the land use by periodically amending the City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
General Plan to ensure there is an adequate supply of suitable land for at least five years.
Emphasis on Protecting Natural Amenities
Policies: Emphasis on Protecting Natural Amenities
ED-P-4. Emphasize the quality of the natural environment as an essential feature of the City’s economic development efforts.
Implementation: Emphasis on Protecting Natural Amenities ED-I-4. Maintain and enhance the quality of the natural environment through the various policies included in the Land Use Element, Community Design Element, and the Conservation Element.
ED-I-5. Identify the quality of the local environment as an essential concern of the City in the review of all applications for development.
Local Self-Reliance
Policies: Local Self-Reliance
ED-P-5. Emphasize local self-reliance by using local resources, including the local work force, capital resources, transportation resources, as well as natural resources in economic development efforts.
ED-P-6. Encourage expansion of local businesses.
ED-P-7. Strengthen the City’s tax base by attracting small, environmentally sensitive businesses with tax generation potential.
ED-P-8. Exercise initiative in forming public/private partnerships to create jobs and new economic opportunities.
ED-P-9. Enhance opportunities for economic development between the City of Portola and the Union Pacific Railroad.
Implementation: Local Self-Reliance
ED-I-6. Prepare an inventory of the local resources to assist in marketing the area to prospective new employers.
ED-I-7. Encourage new businesses to employ local residents.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
ED-I-8. Function as the master developer and organize landowners in under-developed and unserved areas of the City to prepare and implement plans for extending sewer, water, drainage, utilities and streets in order to facilitate development of individual properties.
ED-I-9. Seek opportunities for public/private partnerships in economic development.
ED-I-10. Identify and pursue state, federal, and other grants targeting infrastructure and land improvements, job training, new technology and other programs directed toward economic development.
ED-I-11. Seek opportunities to provide enterprise services, such as the management of public recreation facilities and concessions at Lake Davis that will generate additional employment opportunities for City residents.
ED-I-12. Invite the local managers of the Union Pacific Railroad to meet with the City Manager and City Council on a biannual basis to discuss opportunities for economic development that relate to use of the railroad services.
Affordable Housing, Education, and Training
Policies: Affordable Housing, Education, and Training
ED-P-10. Enhance the aspects of the community that will help economic development efforts to draw employers and visitors to the area. This includes quality housing and neighborhoods, quality education, recreation and cultural resources.
ED-P-11. Promote education and training efforts to employ residents in new industrial opportunities and to enhance the labor force as a draw for new businesses.
Implementation: Affordable Housing, Education, and Training ED-I-13. Establish a set of standards and “quality of life” criteria for attracting new businesses.
ED-I-14. Establish a partnership with the Plumas Unified School District, and particularly the administration of schools in Portola. The purpose is to identify methods of sharing resources to enhance the education value of the local schools.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
ED-I-15. Work with the schools to establish practical job training and vocational education programs geared to industries and
occupational needs anticipated in the area.
ED-I-16. Monitor the availability of housing in the City relative to the growth in planned employment within a ten mile radius of Portola and, at a minimum of three year intervals, evaluate the need for additional land area for housing to accommodate new housing.
Infrastructure for Economic Development
Policies: Infrastructure for Economic Development
ED-P-12. Ensure that the highest available levels of communications, transportation, and public infrastructure are available in Portola.
ED-P-13. Ensure that development pays a fair share of community costs associated with the development but assist new businesses to find funding for new investment in the community.
Implementation: Infrastructure for Economic Development ED-I-17. Maintain a Capital Improvements Program that identifies the one-, five-, and ten-year plan for upgrading existing and constructing new infrastructure to serve industrial/business-professional, commercial and residential areas.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
ED-I-18. Encourage implementation of agreements among electric service providers in the region that ensure adequate and reliable electric power sources and distribution systems in Portola.
ED-I-19. Seek to establish fiber optic, or alternate high-speed communications service, within Portola and periodically meet with the service provider to review the service. As technology evolves to a new type of service, the City of Portola will seek to ensure that the “state-of-the art” in communications is available.
ED-I-20. Establish funding for new road improvements and on-going road maintenance related to the development and ultimate use of the land.
ED-I-21. Encourage Plumas County to maintain and improve Nervino Airport in support of business and tourism.
ED-I-22. Encourage local businesses to support the use of Nervino Airport by including it in advertising, and to provide services, such as airport pickup, for general aviation travelers.
ED-I-23. Review the City of Portola development fee schedule on an annual basis to ensure that the fees charged reasonable, but sufficient to ensure that all new service and public facilities costs resulting from new development are paid by the development.
Community Image and Quality of Life
Policies: Community Image and Quality of Life
ED-P-14. Maintain and enhance an attractive community environment that will draw visitors, residents, and new employers.
Implementation: Community Image and Quality of Life
ED-I-24. Vigorously enforce nuisance abatement procedures to ensure that dilapidated properties will not become visual blight.
ED-I-25. Establish guidelines for providing assistance in clearing dilapidated properties to low-income households and others reasonably unable to comply with City of Portola nuisance abatement procedures.
ED-I-26. Implement the policies established in the Community Design Element on all public lands, facilities, and rights-of-way.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
Regional Cooperation
Policies: Regional Cooperation
ED-P-15. Encourage and participate in regional cooperative efforts for economic development by building long-term partnerships between the City of Portola, Plumas County, businesses, business organizations, and the educational, arts and environmental groups.
ED-P-16. The City of Portola will cooperate with other agencies, interest groups, businesses, and private citizens in promoting tourism and leisure industry activities in the East Plumas County region.
Implementation: Regional Cooperation
ED-I-27. Participate in regional joint marketing programs.
ED-I-28. Maintain a web page to provide information about the City of Portola and local businesses on the Internet.
Timely Development Review Procedures
Policies: Timely Development Review Procedures
ED-P-17. Establish a standard procedure for responding to inquiries about locating businesses in Portola. Such a procedure should provide a level of certainty and immediacy for applicants to assure them of the City’s interest in economic development.
Implementation: Timely Development Review Procedures
ED-I-29. Appoint a City staff member to work with local organizations, commercial brokers, and project applicants.
ED-I-30. Establish clear zoning and development standards that will expedite the City’s project review process.
ED-I-31. Publish a simple, clear set of guidelines and procedures for development project applicants. The publication should outline the steps involved in project entitlement and provide the name and telephone number of City and other agency staff people involved in the project review process.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Economic Development Element
Expand Tourism and Visitor Opportunities
Policies: Expand Tourism and Visitor Opportunities
ED-P-18. Encourage development of new tourism activity beyond the traditional summer season.
ED-P-19. Encourage the development of conference and meeting facilities.
ED-P-20. Establish multiple locations for special events throughout the core of the City. The intent is to accommodate multiple events
concurrently, or to accommodate a single large event spread over several sites.
ED-P-21. Encourage development of lodging facilities.
ED-P-22. Encourage development of the railroad museum as a major visitor attraction for Portola.
Implementation: Expand Tourism and Visitor Opportunities ED-I-32. Identify and designate sites that may be used in a coordinated program for activities.
ED-I-33. Acquire additional facilities for events, such as the vacant block adjacent to the Railroad Museum and the old hospital site.
ED-I-34. Designate sites appropriate for lodging facilities.
ED-I-35. Work with local businesses and landowners to identify suitable locations for conference and meeting facilities to host seminars, business meetings, small conferences, and social events.
ED-I-36. Establish a cooperative working agreement with the Railroad Museum to promote visits to the museum and related visitor tourist activities.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
6. Public Services and Facilities Element DRAFT
Public facilities and services are the framework that supports and sustains the community.
They are essential to maintaining the current quality of life and accommodating economic growth and development in the community. The availability and capacity of public infrastructure determines the ability to use land.
The Public Services and Facilities Element is focused on ensuring that the community infrastructure is in place to accommodate the growth and development identified in other elements of this General Plan. This element addresses both hard infrastructure (such as sewer and water) and the public services (such as police and fire). The City of Portola provides the basic infrastructure and some of the public services required by the community. A variety of public agencies and private franchises provide other services.
All facilities and services are included to ensure that the resources required to support the community is available when needed.
The infrastructure facilities and services addressed in this element are:
❖Water
❖Sewer
❖Major Drainage
❖Communications
❖Electricity
❖Solid Waste
❖Schools
❖Libraries
❖Recreation and Parks
❖Police
❖Fire Protection
❖Community Services and General Government
Authority
The Public Facilities and Service Element is an optional element of the General Plan under Section 65303 of the Government Code.
The general plan may include any other elements or address any other subjects which, in the judgment of the legislative body, relate to the physical development of the county or city.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
The location and capacity of basic infrastructure is closely related to the Land Use Element, Housing Element, Circulation Element, and Economic Development Element.
The goals and policies of these other elements cannot be fully achieved where the basic public infrastructure is lacking.
Relationship to the Region
Most of the facilities and services described in this element are primarily for the benefit of the citizens of Portola. However, certain services clearly are of regional significance and benefit. The City shares these services outside the city boundary. Fire protection, for example, is extended beyond the city through mutual aid agreements.
Public Services and Facilities Goals
The Public Facilities and Services Element addresses a broad range of activities by the City and the other service agencies in the community. Each of these services and activities may have specific goals that relate only to the character of that service.
Underlying all of these specific goals are guiding principles that relate to all of the services. These principles establish the fundamental direction for expanding and refining the public services in the community.
Goal PF-1. The City will be innovative in new techniques and technologies to provide the best available “state-of-the-art” level of public services in a costeffective manner.
Goal PF-2. Public infrastructure and services will be affordable to the residents and business interests in the City.
Goal PF-3. Facilities improvements and services required to serve development will not place an economic burden on existing residents of the City.
Development will pay a fair share of all costs of required public infrastructure and services.
Goal PF-4. Public improvements and facilities will be designed to enhance, rather than degrade, the natural environment in the City and surrounding area.
Goal PF-5. The City’s public services and facilities will support economic development and residential growth in the city.
Goal PF-6. Public facilities and services agencies will cooperate on a regional basis.
Goal PF-7. Conduits to provide connection between public facilities on both sides of the river shall be included on any new bridge structure.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
Projected Growth Relative to Public Services and Facilities Population growth and economic development affects all public services and facilities.
The land use projections and the associated population growth described in the Land Use Element is summarized here to define the range of effects of development.
Core Area Infill Development
Older areas of the city (outlined in Figure 6-1) were never fully developed and lack basic sewer, water, drainage, and streets. Full development of the city will require extending the basic infrastructure to these “infill” areas. The infill areas provide efficient growth areas within the city boundary. New development would require relatively short extensions of the existing infrastructure system and would provide improved circulation, for pedestrians and vehicles, within the existing core area.
Policies: Core Area Infill Development
PF-P-1. Facilitate development of the infill areas by extending infrastructure.
PF-P-2. Encourage comprehensive development rather than incremental, single project development.
PF-P-3. Encourage compact, mixed-use design in the infill areas that respond to the topographic and other natural constraints.
PF-P-4. Make use of the public right-of-way as a tool for facilitating good quality design and development.
Implementation: Core Area Infill Development
PF-I-1. The City will encourage landowners in the infill areas and facilitate organization to master plan the extension of public infrastructure.
PF-I-2. The City will work with the landowners to prepare comprehensive development plans equitable to all landowners and the City.
PF-I-3. The City will investigate means of serving these areas with minimal capital expenditure and will identify and implement the most feasible funding mechanism.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
Figure 6-1
Infrastructure Development Infill Areas
Domestic Water
Supply
Portola provides water for domestic consumption and fire flow. The current sources of city water supply include Willow Creek Springs, municipal wells, and the Lake Davis Water Treatment Plant. Additional water capacity can be developed from new wells in the city and the unused springs located on Beckwourth Peak.
The City has a current requirement for a source of supply of approximately 937 gallons per minute (gpm) averaged over the maximum use day with is approximately 1,350,000 gallons per day (gpd). The City currently has a sustained yield source capacity of approximately 950 gpm or about 1,370,000 gpd. The estimated 2027 source requirement assumes a 5% average growth (Water Master Plan) and is 2480 gpm or about 3,580,000 gpd.
The current sources include:
Lake Davis Water Treatment Plant ... est. 1,500,000 gpd City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
Willow Creek Springs........................... 200-300 gpm (depending on season) Maintenance Yard Well..................... 300 gpm
Commercial Street Well ..................... 600 gpm
The City owns a subterranean water collection system on 160 acres at Willow Creek Springs, located approximately 4 miles northwest of the City. Willow Creek was originally developed by the City in 1957. The source was further improved with the construction of underground galleries in 1974. With these improvements the Willow Creek facility consistently produces approximately 312 gallons per minute (503 acre feet per year).
Potential for connecting additional spring “pods” to the system is believed to be limited to less than 100 gallons per minute (gpm) (Pyramid Engineers, page 11). The water is delivered to the City’s terminal facility through an 8 inch pipe. A 1958 report by the state Department of Public Health reported the pipe capacity at 667 gpm, more than double the output of the springs. Though this has decreased markedly with age, the delivery system probably has some unused available capacity.
The City operates two wells located on the south side of town. The Maintenance Yard Well, located in the Portola Corporation Yard at First and Main Streets was drilled in 1993 and fully improved as a municipal water supply in 1995. The well has consistently yielded 300 to 320 gpm.
The Commercial Street Park Well, located at the intersection of Commercial Street and Gulling Street, was put in service in 1998. This well has an estimated sustained yield of 600 gpm.
The City has rights to four separate spring sources on Beckwourth Peak, south of the CityTurner, Malloy, Golden and Darby. Total estimated capacity of these springs is 170 gpm (270 acre-feet per year). The City stopped using the springs as a water source in 1971, after the Lake Davis water became available. At that time the Lake Davis water was considered more reliable and subject to fewer potential health hazards. Approximately 30,000 feet of antiquated and substandard water lines connect the spring sources with the City’s distribution system.
Development of these springs for future use would require improvements to collect the water below ground (below root level) and a new delivery pipeline system. The cost of such improvements is unknown, but likely to be substantial relative to the amount of water that can be delivered.
Lake Davis Water Treatment Plant
The Lake Davis Water Treatment Plant was constructed as part of the State Water Project and commenced deliveries to the City in 1970. In 1997 the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) poisoned the lake in an attempt to remove the invasive Northern Pike fish. Domestic use of the lake water was terminated as a result of that action. In May 1999, DFG reported that the species Northern Pike had been rediscovered in Lake Davis.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
This announcement led to concerns about the future use of Lake Davis as a potable water supply and a 2007 chemical treatment. No pike have been found in Lake Davis since 2007.
In the following years, after numerous public hearings and the settlement of a lawsuit that resulted in an agreement to bring Lake Davis Water Treatment Plan up to new Safe Drinking Water Act standards, the City and County entered into an agreement to work together to bring the Plant back online. The LDWTP is currently in service.
Future Water Supply and Demand
The existing water supply is adequate for the population and land use development anticipated in this General Plan. An expansion and upgrading of the water storage and distribution system may be necessary. The City completed a Water System Master Plan in 2006 that addresses the water supply and distribution needs for the growth of the community.
Water demand for future development is estimated on the basis of 375 gallons per day per single family dwelling. This estimate considers that all new and renovated residential development will be required to use water conserving fixtures, and that the used of water for outdoor irrigation in the mountain environment is relatively less than required in large lot residential use in other climates. The growing season is relatively short, and the style of landscaping typically relies on native materials that require little irrigation. Turf landscaping is not restricted in private yards, but the use of lawn areas is typically small compared to conventional suburban areas. Therefore, there is no difference in estimated water demand between large estate lot and small urban lots.
The future demand for water is based on the average water demand for a single-family home. The average water requirement for a single-family home is referred to as a “dwelling unit equivalent” (or DUE), and all water demand for all uses are measured in “dwelling unit equivalents”. This measure includes non-residential units.
Commercial and light industrial water use will vary with the type of activity. Large water use industrial activities cannot be accommodated in the community unless a supplemental water supply is developed. For estimating the average commercial use, the water demand is based on an assumed .5 DUE per acre.
Distribution
The water distribution service area includes the city as well as small, unincorporated areas to the north of Joy Road and portions of the Portola Heights neighborhood. All of the City’s supply and storage facilities are in good operating order and comply with current water supply standards. Water storage for the City is in three covered, aboveground steel tanks. The Northside tank is a 1.0-million-gallon facility installed in 1976. A 250,000-gallon tank and a 500,000 gallon tank located south of the high school serves the City south of the river.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
Policies: Water Supply and Distribution
PF-P-5. Secure sufficient sources of water to meet the needs of the existing community and planned growth.
PF-P-6. Domestic water will be allocated first to serve residential and commercial uses that exist prior to adoption of this General Plan.
PF-P-7. The City will allocate water for future development to maintain a balance of jobs and housing. Exceptionally high-water users that do not generate a reasonable number of jobs will not be permitted in the absence of other significant benefits to the community.
PF-P-8. City water service will not be extended to unincorporated areas unless an adequate supply is available for all areas within the city.
PF-P-9. The City will develop a program for the use of recycled water for exterior landscaping within the parameters of State and County Health Codes and standards.
PF-P-10. Develop and implement water conservation measures as necessary elements of the water system.
PF-P-11. Ensure that all development provides for and funds a fair share of the costs for adequate water distribution, including line extensions, easements, and plant expansions.
PF-P-12. Monitor water quality regularly and take necessary measures to prevent contamination.
PF-P-13. Provide an emergency backup system which that meets 150% of average demand.
Implementation: Water Supply and Distribution
PF-I-4. The City will prepare and adopt a Water System Master Plan that identifies the sources of water and the treatment, storage and distribution system required to serve the future growth of Portola.
The Master Plan will establish a baseline water capacity sufficient to serve the community as of 2045. All subsequent water uses will be required to demonstrate the availability of water supply, storage, and distribution before approval of any land use entitlements. The City will maintain a City-wide map of all water distribution and storage system components and monitor the condition of the system on a regular basis.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
PF-I-5. The City will continue to identify and secure water supplies from ground water sources,
PF-I-6. The City shall require, as a condition of project approval, dedication of land and easements, or payment of appropriate fees and exactions, to help offset municipal costs of expansion of water treatment facilities and delivery systems.
PF-I-7. The City will encourage the use of recycled water for landscape irrigation where feasible within the parameters of State and County Health Codes and standards.
PF-I-8. The City will continue to monitor water quality.
Sewer
Sewer collection and treatment systems in Portola have been constructed piecemeal over a period of decades. Serious infiltration problems and inadequate treatment resulted in upgrading the collection system and improvements to the treatment plant during the 1990’s. The current system is adequate for the existing community, but expansion of the collection system will be needed to accommodate the development anticipated in the Land Use Element. In addition, improvements are required to make full use of the treatment plant.
Collection System
The existing collection system is comprised of 15 miles of six, eight, or ten-inch lines of varying materials. The sewage collection system includes a Northside Pumping Station and a Southside Pumping Station. Both of these were constructed in the late 1940’s.
Prior to improvements completed in 1997 and in 1999, leaky sewer mains and laterals contributed an estimated average of .68 million gallons per day (mgd) of inflow and infiltration during the wet weather season to the treatment plant in 1997. The estimated total peak wet weather flow to the treatment plant was 1.56 mgd.
Improvements to the pumping stations and the treatment plant were completed in Summer, 1997 as part of the State Revolving Loan Fund Project No. C-06-4364, Phase I of improvements to the entire city sewer system. Phase I addressed fundamental causes of past sewage surcharges by substantial reconstruction of the Northside and Southside pumping stations including: complete replacement of motors, pumps and piping, installation of new, optimized controls, correction of or addition to wet wells, addition of auxiliary power and building modifications.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
Sewage Treatment
Sewage treatment consists of aeration and settling ponds. The ponds provide primary treatment in a total of 17.3 acres. The last step of sewage treatment is the chlorination/ dechlorination of pond discharge prior to flow into the 5.8-acre storage pond.
Treated and disinfected effluent is discharged from the storage pond to 1.8 acres of constructed wetland adjacent to the river. Subject to Waste Discharge Order 92-147, the treated and disinfected effluent may be discharged to the river only during the period from November 1st to August 15th. Expanded pond area and effluent chlorination facilities were constructed in 1992.
Phase I also included improved sewage treatment by providing inter-pond piping between the stabilization ponds as well as the aeration pond and emergency aeration pond. This piping provides complete flexibility and routing through and/or around any of the seven noted ponds. The 1992 improvements to the pond and treatment system have served to assure discharge of effluent in conformance with prevailing water quality standards and regulations. Discharge from the City treatment facility continues to be to the Feather River during the Winter and to constructed wetlands in the Summer, in accord with the Waste Discharge Requirements.
Subsequent to the improvements completed in 1997 the treatment plant has capacity to process an average dry weather flow of 0.50 million gallons per day (mgd). The peak wet weather flow capacity is 0.74 mgd and the design capacity is 0.75 mgd.
Average Household Demand for Sewer Service
The average daily flow generated by a single-family home dwelling unit equivalent is 218 gallons. However, inflow and infiltration increase the average wet weather flow to 317 gallons per day per dwelling unit. Reductions in average dry weather flow due to improved pipeline construction found in new development will further reduce the average daily flow to 275 gallons per dwelling unit equivalent (DUE) per day in new construction areas.
At the average rate of 275 gallons per day per dwelling unit equivalent, the wastewater treatment plant has the capacity to serve a total of 1,818 dwelling unit equivalents, approximately double the current demand for wastewater treatment in the City.
Policies: Wastewater Collection and Treatment
PF-P-14. Ensure wastewater collection and treatment for all development in the City and the safe disposal of wastes.
PF-P-15. The City will require that collection systems be designed on a gravity-flow basis except where a site-specific engineering analysis City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
clearly demonstrates the long-term cost effectiveness of pump facilities.
PF-P-16. The City will maintain capacity to process combined residential, commercial, and industrial flow.
PF-P-17. The City will maintain the ability to handle peak discharge flow while meeting State Regional Water Quality Control Board Standards as established in the current NPDES Permit.
Implementation: Wastewater Collection and Treatment
PF-I-9. The City will require all sewage generators within its service area to connect to the city’s system, except those areas where on-site treatment and disposal facilities are deemed appropriate.
PF-I-10. The City will encourage and permit an industrial pretreatment program for the Portola Business Park and other industrial uses in accordance with state and federal requirements.
PF-I-11. The City will consider the use of sub-area or project specific wastewater treatment facilities that use innovative technologies that produce tertiary effluent with minimal energy costs. The intent is to encourage water recycling and reduce future demands on the existing city plant.
PF-I-12. The City will investigate methods of improving the quality of the effluent from the City plant and will investigate options for reuse of treated wastewater. The recycled wastewater will be used for irrigation of public recreation lands, restoration of wetland areas, and irrigation of landscaped areas.
PF-I-13. The city will promote reduced wastewater system demand through efficient water use by:
a. requiring water conserving design and equipment in new construction;
b. encouraging retrofitting with water conserving devices; c. designing wastewater systems to minimize inflow and infiltration to the extent economically feasible; and
d. maintaining a city-wide map of all sewer collection system components and monitor the condition of the system on a regular basis.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
PF-I-14. The City will monitor the increase in wastewater flow on an annual basis and will periodically expand the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant to ensure that there is capacity to serve a minimum of five years of additional projected growth at any time.
Major Drainage
Storm drainage is periodically a critical issue because a narrow corridor along the river is subject to flooding. Much of the flooding is caused by conditions outside the City rather than local development. Nonetheless, as the City continues to develop, there will be an ongoing need to minimize flood waters in the existing flood plain and along the major drainage channels. Storm water drainage is managed in a system of open channels, such as the Wild Cat Creek channel in City Park, and underground storm drains. The City of Portola Master Drainage Plan (1987) identified a series of specific improvements required to accommodate drainage of the existing urban area of the City. In addition, the plan identified other measures that apply to future development:
• Easements should be obtained where they do not already exist, along all major stormwater systems that lie outside public road rights-of-way. The granting of these easements should be made a standard practice with the approval of development projects.
• Orderly development of the City storm drainage system can be further enhanced by the construction of curb and gutter and the grading of lots to flow to the street or drainage easement as a part of individual lot development.
Policies: Storm Water
PF-P-18. The City will seek to minimize additional storm water runoff from new development areas.
PF-P-19. The City will establish equitable methods of paying for future storm drainage improvements.
PF-P-20. Storm water will be managed in natural channels rather than underground pipes where feasible.
PF-P-21. No net increase in storm water compared to the undeveloped condition will be permitted in new development areas.
PF-P-22. Stormwater system improvements will be extended to the infill areas shown in Figure 6-1 when feasible.
Implementation: Storm Water
PF-I-15. The City will explore alternatives to storm water management methods including on-site retention and detention basins and City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
maintain a City-wide map of all drainage system components and monitor the condition of the system on a regular basis.
PF-I-16. Developers will be encouraged to consider use of porous materials for outdoor spaces, paving, and sidewalks where feasible to promote groundwater infiltration.
PF-I-17. The City will explore the feasibility of a City-wide rate structure to fund storm water improvements and on-going maintenance.
Require all new development to pay this fee as a condition of the project approval.
Communications
Communication is essential to economic development for Portola. New businesses will be attracted to Portola for the quality of life, but many will need state-of-the-art communications to sustain their businesses. Access to the Internet will enable residents and businesses to have the same level of communications technology, and all the information and services that are available in any metropolitan region. The intent is to ensure that the highest level of communications technology is available to businesses and residents. The City will seek to be positioned to take advantage of new technologies.
Policies: Communications
PF-P-22. Expand the level of communications service throughout the City through cable, fiber optic lines, wireless internet facilities, and other technologies as they become available.
Implementation: Communications
PF-I-18. Explore the development of additional telecommunications technology within the City including, but not limited to, wireless internet facilities, fiber optic cable, DSL, cable services, and other new technologies.
PF-I-19. Indicate to potential service providers the interest to expand communication services in the City, and the intent to ensure that residents and businesses have access to the highest level of communications technology feasible in the Portola area.
PF-I-20. Cooperate with service providers to enable construction of improvements for communications.
PF-I-21. Where necessary to ensure that telecommunications will be provided in the most cost-effective manner with minimal disruption City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
to city streets and services, the city will require that all new development install sleeves, conduit, and other underground facilities required for future telecommunication services.
Electricity
Availability of relatively cost-effective power is essential for many types of businesses and for the residents of Portola. In order to expand economic development opportunities, the City must seek and support expansion of the available power supply.
Liberty Energy provides electric power to Portola. The Liberty Energy substation is located at the intersection of Gulling Street and Fourth Avenue. Power is delivered to the substation in the transmission line along Pole Line Road that connects east to Loyalton.
The substation contains two transformers with a capacity of 3 megawatts and 5 megawatts, respectively. Portola currently uses approximately 5 of the total 8 megawatts available from this substation.
Liberty Utilities currently maintains three diesel generators at the substation as backup power in case of power outages in Portola or Loyalton. These generators have a capacity of two (2) megawatts each and are currently near their backup capacity in cases of widespread power outages due to such events as large winter storms.
Power is distributed throughout Portola in a system of overhead power lines typically along the public streets. Power lines are underground in the more recent subdivisions, such as Ridgewood.
Policies: Electric Service
PF-P-23. Ensure that reliable, adequate electric service is available to all uses in the City at reasonable cost.
PF-P-24. Cooperate with and encourage efforts to expand the opportunities for electric power service in the City.
Implementation: Electric Service
PF-I-22. The City will investigate opportunities to develop alternative sources of electric energy as they become available.
PF-I-23. The City will consider participation with utility companies in generating and/or distributing electric service within the City.
PF-I-24. The City will encourage energy conservation measures and innovative uses of solar energy, heat recovery, and cogeneration in all structures and industrial processes.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element
PF-I-25. The City will communicate its major development plans with utility companies and coordinate planning expansion of these utilities.
PF-I-26. The City will require undergrounding of utility lines in new development and as areas are redeveloped, except where
infeasible for operational reasons.
Solid Waste
Solid waste generated by homes and businesses in Portola is collected by Intermountain Disposal (pursuant to a Franchise Agreement), collected at the Delleker Transfer Station, and then transported to the Lockwood Regional Landfill in Sparks, Nevada. Waste consists predominantly of mixed municipal solid wastes. Self-haul customers also deliver their waste to the Delleker Transfer Station. Ultimately, the waste is transported to the Lockwood Regional Landfill in Sparks, Nevada.
The City owns the Portola Landfill, which collected the City’s waste through October 2002. State and Federal regulations placed on the City’s landfill prompted its early closure for acceptance of solid waste material. Effective November 1, 2002, the Portola Landfill no longer accepts solid waste material. Additionally, the Environmental Reclamation Center, operated by Intermountain Disposal, was moved from the area east of the Portola landfill, to the Delleker Transfer Station. The Environmental Reclamation Center is open seasonally to the public.
Intermountain Disposal provides curbside pickup and recycling, yard waste pickup, bulky waste pickup, rear-load containers, roll-off containers, storage units.
City of Portola Source Reduction and Recycling Element
The City of Portola has established the following goals for the integrated management of solid waste generated within its borders:
• To provide for the safe, efficient, and cost-effective removal of waste from residences, businesses, and industry.
• To provide adequate disposal capacity at local or regional landfills for waste generated in the City.
• To reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills by:
reducing the amount of waste generated (i.e. source reduction); maximizing the recycling of generated waste;
utilizing the nutrient value of generated waste through composting; to dispose of the remaining waste in a safe and environmentally sound manner.
• To assure the development of recycling, composting, waste transfer, and disposal facilities which satisfy the highest established environmental standards and regulations.
City of Portola General Plan 2045 Public Services and Facilities Element