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City of Lincoln General Plan:City and County governmental entities are required to develop a General Plan which addresses desired growth and land use, and maps out a blueprint for approval of all future development projects within their spheres of influence. The City of Lincoln is currently in the process of updating their General Plan, first written in 1988, in large part due to the tremendous growth in Lincoln during the last five years. Most general plans are written with a 25 year time frame projection. The City of Lincoln is developing their plan update as a 50 year General Plan. The Community Development Department is the Lincoln City office responsible for overseeing the General Plan update process. Rod Campbell is the Director of this City Department. Since early in 2003 the Markham Ravine Neighborhood Committee has been participating in General Plan update workshop meetings, specifically relating to open space preservation and conservation. Our goal is to insure that the City maintain it's current commitment of maintaining 40% open space, and continue their support of the Markham Ravine Corridor Enhancement Project, throughout the next 50 years. We are recommending that the goals of the Enhancement Project are encompassed within the updated Lincoln General Plan, and that all of the "Open Space" goals within the General plan are consistent with preserving and conserving the Markham Ravine open space. Mintier & Associates and URS are the lead planning consulting firms hired by the City of Lincoln to assist in preparation of the General Plan Update. Rick Rust is the lead consultant from URS. The City has hired Clif Carsten under a contract to act as the General Plan Project Manager. His primary task is to oversee the daily planning activities being carried out by Mintier and URS. In September, 2003 the consulting team issued a steering committee draft document, entitled "Goals and Policies Report." Please go to the City website's General Plan Update link below. Within their website index section there is a complete copy of this report. There are numerous provisions of importance to Markham Ravine within Chapter 7 of this report, entitled "Open Space and Conservation." In particular, please review the following three report components: (a) Goal OSC-4, relating to preservation and enhancement of local streams and creeks; (b) Goal/Policy OSC-7.1, relating to parkland dedication within new developments; (c) Goal/Policy 7.17, relating to the establishment of linear parks and trail systems. Current steering committee workshop discussions regarding the General Plan update is focused on land use. Land use is the General Plan component which designates the location and density of housing, business, industry, open space, education, public buildings and grounds, waste disposal facilities, and other land uses. Rod Campbell, Director of Community Development for the City of Lincoln, states that new models for land use within Lincoln have been established by the City Council and debated in the steering committee workshops, including "smart growth," and "village model." Land use is the key element within a General Plan. Any new directions taken by the City related to land use will impact on all other planned goals and policies, such as written in the September, 2003 steering committee draft report. New land use directions will definitely impact upon the City commitment to open space preservation and conservation within Markham Ravine. The City Council has adopted a philosophy that the Lincoln General Plan must adhere to the concept of "Smart Growth," which includes well planned growth, establishment of appropriate infrastructure to support the growth, and open space preservation. The City Council has also established a policy commitment that each new residential village development must preserve a minimum of 40% of the land as open space. Any revisions to the General Plan must adhere to this commitment. The term and concept of "village model" has been adopted to refer to the area within each developing residential neighborhood. Each village will have a center hub with accommodating grocery stores and a mix of high density and estate housing towards the outskirts. There will also be a hub for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The size of each village will be 1500 to 3000 acres. Each village will be its own town, with a small town look and feel. A cornerstone to Lincoln's commitment to open space has been the Placer Legacy program and goals established by the Placer County Board of Supervisors, and written into their own General Plan in 1994. Each governmental entity within Placer County must acknowledge and reflect this commitment within their own respective General Plans. A General Plan Update Steering Committee public workshop meeting was conducted on May 31st, 2005. This was the eleventh public workshop meeting held since the General Plan Update planning process was initiated three years ago. Another workshop #12 was conducted on June 20th, 2005. During these two workshops the following General Plan Update principles and guidelines were firmly established.
Workshop #13 has been scheduled for July 11th, 2005. During this workshop participants will start to define "open space." All General Plan workshop meetings are open to the public. We encourage Lincoln residents, and Markham Ravine area residents in particular, to participate in these workshops to update the Lincoln General Plan. Our website will keep you informed regarding upcoming General Plan Update Steering Committee workshop meetings and subsequent public hearings. Mr. Campbell reports that a draft General Plan Update, generated from these workshops, will be completed by the Fall of 2005. Public Hearings will then be conducted through the joint auspices of the Lincoln Planning Commission and the City Council. It is projected that the City Council will adopt a final updated Lincoln General Plan by the end of 2005. For additional specific information about the Lincoln General Plan planning process please link to the following websites. Related Links
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04/03/2007
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