Sebastopol The General Plan update is beginning!

[Valet Posting Service]

The General Plan update is beginning!

Several upcoming General Plan meetings:

-Tuesday, March 25, 6pm: joint meeting of City Council and Planning Commission to receive the General Plan consultant's overview of the update process.

-Wednesday, April 30, 6:30 pm: vision/values/goals workshop. This will provide an overview of the General Plan; seek input on community priorities, challenges and vision; provide an overview of previous outreach and community input; and seek comments on general land use preferences.

-Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 pm: vision/values/goals workshop. This session will be more focused on land use and transportation/circulation and will build off input from the first workshop. The consultants will also summarize the input from the first workshop related to priorities, assets, challenges and vision, and delve a little deeper into the input received.

Each of these meetings will be at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High Street, Sebastopol.

Also, a website dedicated to the update has been created and will be updated as the process unfolds. It is at: https://sebastopol.generalplan.org

Let us know if you have any questions.

-Kenyon Webster

Kenyon Webster, Planning Director
City of Sebastopol
(707) 823-6167
[email protected]
https://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/

[Helen Shane]

I urge community members to go to the Sebastopol General Plan website and follow link to the existing General Plan and Zoning Ordinances and maps at https://sebastopol.generalplan.org/content/resources

Then come to the meeting
tonight at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts
beginning at 6:00 p.m.
This is your community.
Enable and prepare yourself to participate in our future.

The General Plan update is beginning!

Several upcoming General Plan meetings:

-Tuesday, March 25, 6pm: joint meeting of City Council and Planning Commission to receive the General Plan consultant's overview of the update process.

-Wednesday, April 30, 6:30 pm: vision/values/goals workshop. This will provide an overview of the General Plan; seek input on community priorities, challenges and vision; provide an overview of previous outreach and community input; and seek comments on general land use preferences.

-Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 pm: vision/values/goals workshop. This session will be more focused on land use and transportation/circulation and will build off input from the first workshop. The consultants will also summarize the input from the first workshop related to priorities, assets, challenges and vision, and delve a little deeper into the input received.

Each of these meetings will be at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High Street, Sebastopol.

Also, a website dedicated to the update has been created and will be updated as the process unfolds. It is at: https://sebastopol.generalplan.org

Let us know if you have any questions.

-Kenyon Webster

Kenyon Webster, Planning Director
City of Sebastopol
(707) 823-6167
[email protected]
https://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/

[Scott McKeown]

I can't make the meeting tonight but I really hope that during this whole process a high priority is given to the economic health and resilience of the Sebastopol Community. Specifically, that it be codified that priority be given to locally-owned businesses that churn profits back into the community over national chains that suck the resources out of the community for the benefit of distant shareholder return. (Think Chase Bank taking business away from Redwood Credit Union and other locally owned banks and credit unions.)

The local multiplier effect is a well-known and verified economic principle. Not only do the profits from locally-owned business go back into the local community, but ancillary business expenses such as marketing services and supply chains tend to be more local, furthering the multiplier effect.

If an updated General Plan does not include a focus on this concern for local economic health, then why not?

Scott

I urge community members to go to the Sebastopol General Plan website and follow link to the existing General Plan and Zoning Ordinances and maps at https://sebastopol.generalplan.org/content/resources

...
This is your community.
Enable and prepare yourself to participate in our future.

The General Plan update is beginning!
...
https://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/

[Helen Shane]

Summary of March 25 General Plan Update Kickoff Public Meeting

Last night about 50 people attended the first public meeting of the Sebastopol General Plan Update project where Ben Ritchie and Beth Thompson, principals of De Novo, general plan consulting firm, spent about three hours acquainting us with the process and answering questions put to them by City Council and Planning Commissioners, as well as the public.

There are a number of documents that I recommend you link to in order to educate yourself on this vital issue.

Go to the Sebastopol General Plan Update: https://sebastopol.generalplan.org/
It’s a stand-alone site that invites you to scroll around and explore its links. Go to the Resources list to see the current General Plan, the General Plan map, the Zoning Ordinance and the Zoning Map. I've suggested that the contract describing the parameters of DeNovo’s plan also be posted.

The site provides a contact opportunity where you can send questions or comments. I’m told the recipients of such messages are Ben Ritchie and the Planning Director.

Discussion last night ranged from suggested number of members of the General Plan Advisory Committee to what GPAC members will be asked to commit to if appointed: there may be about ten meetings, spaced at 3 to 4 week intervals, of about three hours each. Ritchie said that GPAC members will be provided with 50 or more pages of preparatory material prior to each meeting. Members of the public are urged to attend all of them. There will be time for public input at each meeting. It is also possible to send comments via the SGP website.

It was suggested that videos of each GPAC meeting be posted on the SGP website for those who could not attend each meeting or needed reminders of the proceedings. Not a bad idea to have each proceeding memorialized, too. The City would be obligated to film the meetings, and the consultants would be responsible for posting them. I think that will be instituted.

If you think videos are an important component of the process, please go to the SGP site and use the contact link to say so.

All in all, a good start. The integrity of the project and it’s success will depend on participation in the process by the public, It is important to emphasize that whether or not you live in the city limits, if you are members of the Sebastopol community, you are that public.

Next meeting:
Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m.
Where:
Sebastopol
Center for the Arts,
282 South High Street, Sebastopol
Why:
Help create a vision for the future of Sebastopol
For more information, contact the Planning Department at 823-6167

Feel free to email me with questions or comments.

Helen Shane