Total of 15 members to join general plan group
San Benito County supervisors appointed the first five members
of the 15-person general plan advisory committee.
”
They basically would work through general plan issues over the
next couple of years,
”
said Art Henriques, director of planning and building for San
Benito County.
”
It’s going to be a key component of the next phase of the
update.
”
Total of 15 members to join general plan group
San Benito County supervisors appointed the first five members of the 15-person general plan advisory committee.
“They basically would work through general plan issues over the next couple of years,” said Art Henriques, director of planning and building for San Benito County. “It’s going to be a key component of the next phase of the update.”
The general plan will present a vision of future growth for the county and take at least two-and-a-half years to complete.
“Anybody was welcome to apply and the board did not give staff direction to focus on particular sectors,” Henriques said.
Supervisors will appoint the last members of the committee at the Aug. 26 board meeting, said Anthony Botelho, a supervisor.
The first committee meeting could be in September, Henriques said. It depends how quickly supervisors approve a contract for the general plan consultant.
There are 51 applicants for the committee, Botelho said.
“I was very pleased with the number of applicants and interest that was shown by the community,” he said. “We have a very good selection and hopefully we have diversity on that committee.”
Each supervisor will appoint three members; one from their district and two from the community at large, Botelho said.
“I guess I would be very surprised if any other supervisors select someone outside their district,” he said. “I know my philosophy is to have District 2 as represented as I can.”
The original plan was two members from each district and one from the community at large, Botelho said.
“The only thing I could think of is that a couple of the districts had a lower number of interested parties,” he said.
Supervisors discussed many different options, said Jaime De La Cruz, board chair.
“Going into Tuesday’s board meeting, all options were on the table,” De La Cruz said. “The board had a very healthy meeting with the public and the board decided to go with one from each district and two from the general public.”
Don Marcus, supervisor for District 1, appointed George Rajkovich, a rancher who has lived in the county for 50 years.
“Well, I want to be sure that growth is done in a proper way and that we don’t get left behind other communities,” Rajkovich said. “I don’t want to see growth going all over the county in pockets. I would rather see it expanding in our sphere of the city.”
Anthony Botelho, supervisor for District 2, appointed Jan Saxton, a media analyst.
“I wanted to be on the committee because I moved to San Benito county five years ago and it is beautiful,” Saxton said. “I want to help revise a general plan that will carefully plan for growth and preserves the tax base and the rural character of San Benito County. We want to make sure that we’re making decisions that are going to benefit everyone in the county in the long term.”
Pat Loe, District 3 supervisor, appointed Franz Schneider, a former planning commissioner for the city and county.
Reb Monaco appointed Tom Tobias as District 4 representative. Tobias was active in the movement against Measure G, a slow growth initiative.
Jaime De La Cruz appointed Antonio Ortega as the District 5 representative.
“What we’re working towards is to have the committee get to a point where we will get a draft document [of the general plan],” Henriques said. “That process will take a couple of years.”
Committee members will update supervisors quarterly, Henriques said.
“People will be able to provide comment at every meeting,” Henriques said.
Commission members will present alternatives and their recommendation to planning commissioners and supervisors for comment and approval, Henriques said.
County staff will coordinate with city, school, water district and other officials.
“If they have some concerns, or need some information, we can anticipate that instead of getting to the draft document and finding out that lots of people have concerns,” Henriques said. “We’ve seen that in other communities and we don’t want to have that here.”
The draft version of the general plan will go through an environmental review, a state law, Henriques said.
