Ukiah Valley Smart Growth Coalition Recommendations to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
The community has provided extensive input on the limitations of the structure, scope, and adequacy of the existing UVAP EIR. The Ukiah Valley Smart Growth Coalition is prepared to participate in a public process to address these limitations. We will provide input on how to restructure this document and work towards producing an updated UVAP EIR that clearly reflects the situation in the Ukiah Valley in 2006 and going forward.
The UVSGC Steering Committee recommends the following:
Determine the Carrying Capacity of the Ukiah Valley.
Complete the Water Studies (MSRs)
Complete the Sanitation Expansion Feasibility Studies
Complete the Comprehensive Transportation Studies
Use the policies of the UVAP as the starting place for the planning going forward.
Place the zoning changes recommended in the UVAP on hold.
Revisit the "community visioning" process and community input as an essential component for making our land use decisions.
Commit the necessary resources to compile the studies and complete this planning process on a short time line and monitor progress.
Do not process any general plan amendments or use permit applications that may undercut this planning process until the UVAP process is complete.
Complete City and County discussions on valley growth, revenue sharing agreements and joint planning
The UVAP & its EIR cannot be deemed complete or move forward until the above is accomplished and integrated into the process.
Detail on Items 1, 2, 3, and 6 of the UVSMC Steering Committee¹s Proposals Regarding the UVAP & UVAP EIR:
Determine the Carrying Capacity of the Ukiah Valley. This means:
Do the necessary water studies to determine the available water with a possible endorsement of the LAFCO / Water Agency Municipal Service Review process as a means of gathering this information. This means:
Getting guidance decisions from the State Water Resources Board
Determining who has rights to the water that is available.
A fiscal analysis of the cost of providing this water. This includes:
who pays for improvements.
where that money will come from.
A feasibility study to determine:
if these improvements are possible
the time table for these improvements.
Determine present and future capacities of the Ukiah and Calpella Sanitation Districts. This includes:
Resolving the issues of discharging waste into the Russian River.
A fiscal analysis of the cost of achieving this capacity including
who pays for improvements.
where that money will come from.
A feasibility study to determine if these improvements are possible and on what time table.
Completing a circulation plan. This means:
Using the current AB 1600 study to provide estimate of the cost of the necessary improvements.
Making projections based the carrying capacity and growth projections within that carrying capacity.
Determine funding source for existing community¹s share of cost.
Planning the UVAP going forward. This means:
Ensure those policies meet state requirements and can be implemented.
Change the appropriate "Should do" in these policies with the words "Shall do."
Supporting the goals of the Housing Element of the General Plan by prioritizing affordable housing opportunities in the UVAP
Pass an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance as a part of this process
Place the zoning changes recommended in the UVAP on hold until:
The number of developable Residential units in the entire Valley are identified
The number of parcels and total acreage of Residential, Agriculture and Industrial lands available for future development are identified;
Historical growth rates are used as a cornerstone to determine housing needs;
Carrying Capacity of Valley is determined by resource studies & community wants;
Smart growth options (including land-banking) taken into account;
Community has prioritized the types of housing and other development it wants and needs.
Not Process any General Plan Amendments or use permits that deviate from past property uses until the following are complete:
Community planning process.
UVAP revised.
A UVAP EIR is produced for comment which incorporates these recommendations and the details in 1, 2 and 3 above.
