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scanner@losgatosca.gov_20100729_161757MEMORANDUM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT To: Chair John Bourgeois and Planning Commission Members From: Wendie R. Rooney, Director of Community Development Subject: Review of the Draft General Plan and Final EIR Review Date: June 11, 2010 Summary: As t11e Planning Commission is aware, the Town has been working on a focused update to the 2000 General Plan over the past 17 months. The Town Council appointed General Plan advisory committee, the GPAC, has completed its review of the four focus areas of the update, which include: • Recreation, Parlcs and Open Space • Enviroiunent and Sustainability • Youth Needs • Senior Needs The GPAC determined that the update met the Town Council's direction and is forwarding the General Plan to the Planning Commission for consideration and final recommendation to the Town Council. The Planning Commission is scheduled to hold two meetings on the draft General Plan and Final EIR on June 23, 2010 and June 30, 2010. Based on Town Council's direction for a limited update, the Planning Commission should focus its review on the four areas that constituted the majority of the update. A final component of the 2000 General Plan that is currently being updated is the Housing Element. The Housing Element is on a separate review track from the General Plan and should be scheduled for Planning Commission review in September or October. Background: General Plan Update Scope; General Plans are typically updated every 15 to 20 .years, with the exception of the Housing Element, which by State statute is required to be updated every five years. While only'the Housing Element technically required updating, at the March 2007 retreat, the Town Council directed staff to prepare a work plan to update various sections of the General Plan. The Town Council stated that overall the General Plan was serving the community well, but an update was desired to consider new issues that had arisen since the plan's adoption in 2000. The Town Council noted that the update would provide an opportunity to refine existing policies that may not be serving the community as intended or lack clarity, revise information that 'is not longer current, and remove implementation measures or action items that were completed. In addition to the aforementioned revisions, t11e Town Council directed the update to include new and/or refinement of the existing goals, policies and action items related to the following topics; • Recreation, Parlcs and Open Space • Environment and Sustainability • Youth Needs • Senior Needs The Town Council approved the 2010 General Plan update work plan in February 2008 and in March 2008 appointed the General Plan Update Advisory Committee (GPAC) to oversee the update. The resolution establishing the GPAC stated that its purpose is to: ...serve as an advisory body that provides community input on the product tasks associated with the General Plan Update. Unless authorized by the Town Council, the General Plan Update shall be limited to the review of issues previously identified by the Town Council (recreation, needs for youth and seniors, and environment/sustainability) and minor modifications of existing policies. The inclusion of additional issues or modifications of the approved scope of work and timeline require approval by the Town Council. General Plan Review Process: The General Plan update began in the late 2008, with the preparation of the I3c~clzg~°ound Report, which provided an overview of Los Gatos' physical, environmental, economic, demographic and political setting, as of mid-2008. Over the ensuing year and a half, nine (9) General Plan Update Advisory Committee meetings were held to review the 13ac1zground Report; the existing General Plan Goals, Policies, and Actions; and provide input on staff and consultant prepared new Goals, Policies, and Actions. The GPAC also advised on the list of Goals, Policies, and Actions that are recoininended to be deleted from the revised General Plan. These later Goals, Policies, and Actions have been commpleted, are redundant, or are unnecessary. Four Community Workshop Meetings were held between October 2008 and April 2010. The Community Workshops were used to introduce various topics and information related to the four Focus Areas of the update and to received community input that was used to help refine the draft Goals, Policies and Actions. All Town Commissions and Committees that have purview over the General Plan Prograims . related to the four Focus Areas also reviewed the draft General Plan Goals, Policies, and Actions in March and April 2010 and provided comment that has been incorporated into a General Plan Continent Matrix. Finally, the GPAC inet twice in May 2010 to complete the review of the four Focus Areas and discussed the comments from the Town's Commission's and Committee's General Plan review. 2 The GPAC found the revisions to be consistent with the Town Council's direction and directed staff to forward the draft General Plan to the Planning Coininission and the Town Council. The enclosed draft General Plan excerpts incorporates the GPAC's recommendations. New Goals, Policies and Actions were included in the Human Services; Enviromnent and Sustainability; Open Space, Parks and Recreation; Land Use, Coimnunity Design, and Transportation Elements. The enclosed Elements are copies of the draft General Plan that was released in March 2010 with the GPAC's final recommendations indicated through underscoring of new text and strike-out of deleted sections. In addition to the four Focus Area General Plan Goals, Policies and Actions, the Planning Commission will also be asked to review a comment matrix, which is comprised of all public and Town Commission and Committee comments on the General Plan. The Matrix lists the comment and applicable staff and/or GPAC recommendations regarding the comment. Staff will incorporate any Planning Conunission comments into the matrix, and it will be forwarded to the Town Council for final consideration of whether to make any additional changes to the General Plan based on the comments. This matrix, along with the FEIR, will be distributed to the Planning Commission the week of June 14, 2010. The Planning Commission is scheduled to hold two meetings on the draft General Plan and Final EIR on June 23, 2010 and June 30, 2010. The June 23rd meeting will be a study session format to allow the Plamming Commissioners sufficient time to thoroughly review the four Focus Area Goals, Policies, and Actions and the list of Goals, Policies, and Actions that are recommended to be removed from the General Plan. The Planning Commission will also take limited public comment on t11e General Plan and FEIR on June 23rd. On June 30th, the Planning Commission will complete their review of the four Focus Areas, provided the opportunity to aslc questions regarding any other General Plan Elements and the Final EIR (FEIR), and received any public testimony on the General Plan and FEIR. The Plamling Commission will be asked to make a recommendation to the Town Council on approving the General Plan and certifying the FEIR. The Town Council is scheduled to consider the General Plan and FEIR on August 2, 2010 and August 16, 2010. Planning Commission Role and Responsibility: In reviewing the General Plan and determining its completeness, the Planning Commission should focus on the Council direction for the update as well as the General Plan Guidelines "test for adequacy" factors that are found in the State Office of Planning and Research General Plan Guidelines. The General Plan Guidelines are advisory and serve as the state's only official document explaining California's legal requirements for general plans. Pursuant to the General Plan Guidelines, a reviewing body should consider the following factors when determining the adequacy of a new or revised General Plan: • Is the document complete (does it have all seven mandatory elements) • Is the document informational and readable to the public Is the document internally consistent • Is the document consistent with State policy • Does the document cover all territory within its boundaries of the jurisdiction 3 • Is the plan long-teen in perspective • Does the plan address all locally relevant issues • How old is the plan • Does it contain the statutory criteria required by State Law as demanded by the Courts • Are the plan's maps and diagrams adequate • Does the plan serve as an adequate yardstick • Does the plan contain Actions or hnplementation Measures • Is the plan procedurally correct • Was the plan adopted properly • Did the plan receive proper enviromnental review The complete 290 page General Plan Guidelines, can be found at http://www.opr.ca.gov/Ulannin~/publieations/General Plan Guidelines 2003.Rdf Finally, while there may be an inclination to feel that the General Plan update should have been more comprehensive, it is important to remember that this is an interim update and that an all- inclusive review and update will occur around 2018. Conclusion and Recommendation: The 2010 Draft General Plan is a result of the Town Council's direction to update the existing 2000 General Plan by removing existing implementation measures or action items that were completed; refining existing policies that may not be serving the community as intended or lack clarity; revising information that is not longer current; and integrating new Goals, Policies and Actions relevant to Recreation, Parks and Open Space; Environment and Sustainability; Youth Needs and Senior Needs. The GPAC has reviewed and modified the four Focus Areas Goals, Policies and Actions. All final proposed changes are included in the red-line General Plan Elements enclosed with this report. All additional comments received on the draft General Plan are included in the comment matrix that will be distributed to the Planning Commission the week of June 14, 2010. The FEIR, which includes all comments received on the Draft EIR as well as the responses to the comments and any changes to the EIR, will also be distributed the week of June 14, 2010. In conclusion, based on the GPAC's endorsement, staff recommends that the Planning Commission: • Complete the review of the four Focus Area Goals, Policies and Actions; • Provide input on the General Plan Comment Matrix; • Consider the FEIR; • Received and consider public comments; and • Forward the Draft General Plan and FEIR to the Town Council with a recommendation to approve the Draft General Plan and certified the FEIR. Ni\DEV\Wendie\Correspondence\Memorandums\6_23 Planning Commission Memo.doc 4