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March 25, 2007
Magical, Mystical, Master Plans
 |
| All sorts of local government and tax
districts are reviewing their master plans these days. During
those reviews the planning process is sometimes imbued with magical powers. Historically contentious or economically important decisions no longer need to be hashed out in the messy political arena. All those tough to answer questions will now be resolved during the planning process. For example, a downtown planning component of Chico's General Plan can be counted on to fix most problems. The City Council must be counting on that since they recently punted on dealing with anything more divisive than changing the paint that defines parking spaces. Meanwhile the county and cities are expected to incorporate BCAG's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP) into planning. The HCP/NCCP will normalize mitigation costs for development and streamline the permit process throughout the county. BCAG has hired Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Public Planning to make this a reality. I'm poking a little fun at the planning process that so many consultants make so much money off of. The planning process is important. But general plans, master plans, conservation plans, whatever plans, don't address divisive issues. Those issues occur when plans don't meet public needs, or when ambiguous goals in the plans cross purposes. |
| What's The Point? As the
planning process moves forward across Butte County the public should be
aware of a
number
of things. When you hear that a "plan" will address a contentious issue,
please realize that it probably won't. When decisions regarding a contentious
issue are postponed in order for a plan to be completed, please recognize
that
this is not a method of resolving the issue. Also, during the process of updating planning documents there are plans galore that are already in place and are perfectly suited to guiding political decisions. A General Plan update doesn't nullify the existing General Plan that has been in effect for years. All the necessary planning documents already exist to guide elected representatives to make tough decisions. Plan updates at the county, city, or special districts shouldn't prevent leaders from making decisions or cause them to delay decisions until new planning documents are completed. Master Plan's are not magical documents, and shouldn't be treated as the solution to our most difficult problems. Solving those problems is the job of elected officials. |
Posted by Lon at March 25, 2007 09:38 AM