Sharing Information  |  Encouraging Engagement

 

Members of Trinity County’s General Plan Team (staff and consultants) are leading community meetings throughout the county.  In addition to learning more about this important initiative, these meeting offer a great opportunity for residents to share their views regarding the future of their communities.

While I would love to see more people in attendance, it was great to see turnouts of 15 or so for the Lewiston meeting and 20 or so for the Weaverville meeting.  Here are the notes I took during these meetings. Please understand that this is not meant to be a comprehensive documentation of discussions that took place.

It’s important to note that it was public input that created the opportunity for these 10 community plan meetings.  The General Plan Team received input during previous workshops that emphasized the importance of community-specific input during this process.  Your Opinion Matters!

 

Regional Transportation Plan Update

  • Green DOT (Regional Transportation Plan Consultant) provided a brief update about the draft plan released this week.
  • He emphasized the integral nature of transportation plans to the overall general plan development process.
  • This process started approximately 12 months ago
  • Over 350 projects in the plan
  • The document can be found on the regional transportation website with this link
  • Comments can still be submitted on the website.  Approximately 50 comments have been provided to-date.
  • Previous public workshop participation ranged from 6 to 20 residents.
  • We discussed the importance of translating process outcomes into information that is meaningful to,and easily understood by residents.

General Plan Session

  • We received a brief General Plan overview presentation to set the stage for discussions.
  • We had great group discussions focused on what we like most, what we see as our biggest problems, and what we see as our greatest opportunities.
  • It’s important to note that all comments receive responses and are put on the website.
  • This process is all about establishing a blueprint/vision for the future of the county
  • The General Plan provides the foundation of other planning components.  Zoning is the next stage, followed by subdivision maps,  and building permits
  • General Plan Topics include – Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Safety, Noise, Environmental Justice
  • This will be our most comprehensive effort regarding planning in Trinity County… including a comprehensive update of zoning ordinances.
  • We will be one of only 5 jurisdictions that will have a digital plan… meaning it will be online and searchable.
  • Currently wrapping up the Research & Analysis Phase which generates a Background Report
  • Also working in the Confirmation Phase which looks at Issues and Opportunities
  • Community Plans are similar to General Plan… just community specific.  These include community-specific goals, policies, and programs.  These plans also address issues and opportunities unique to each community.
  • Trinity County has 5 plans in place today… Douglas City, Hayfork, Junction City, Lewiston, Weaverville.
  • Adding 5 more meetings to the schedule… cumulatively representing the rest of the communities
  • Input from meetings like these are incorporated into plans that will then be shared back to communities next Spring
  • We have a large number of parcels zoned “unclassified.”  This plan should result in re-zoning of all of these parcels.
  • Public noticing would be required before individual parcel zoning changes are finalized.
  • We are still (generally) on track with the timeline outlined on the website

Here is a link to our General Plan website.  There is a lot of great information about the process, opportunities to provide input, and more.

 

Your Opinion Matters!