The NEWS index
Some items from The Rio Linda Elverta News, March 9, 2006:
Policy Planning Commission votes 3-0 to send Elverta Specific Plan to Board of Supervisors
Doug Cater resigns from Water Board
Published in Rio Linda Elverta News March 9, 2006 - Scroll for other articles
Policy Planning Commission votes 3-0 to
send Elverta Specific Plan to Board of SupervisorsSubmitted by Debbie Byrne
On Tuesday, February 28, the Policy Planning Commission voted 3-0 to send the Elverta Specific Plan on to be heard by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. There is one vacancy on the Commission and one Commissioner had to recuse himself. Two of the remaining commissioners had not been seated for the previous hearings, but indicated that they had listened to the tapes of those meetings and had read the materials involved.
The Commission received the revised draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Dave Pevny, Principal Planner for Sacramento County, made introductory remarks, giving a brief history of the evolution of the project. Kate Brownfield, from the Department of Environmental Review and Assessment (DERA) updated the Commission on the revised draft EIR. There were various other County employees available to answer any questions. John Hodgson of the Hodgson Group made a few opening comments as the project proponent.
Most of the public in attendance seemed to have learned of the project for the first time when they received a meeting notice. These attendees had all moved into the area within the last two years (while the hearings were on hiatus as the EIR was being revised), and were trying to find out how this project would impact their own properties.
There were no comments from the public on the EIR. There was only one speaker on the project details. That person was Debbie Byrne, former Rio Linda Community Planning and Advisory Council (CPAC) chairman, and member of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) appointed by the Board of Supervisors (BOS) to develop the land use plan for the project site.
The Commissioners debated briefly whether to recommend any specific alternatives to the BOS, such as which north/south traffic corridor should be used -- 16th Street or Dry Creek Road. Since there were only three members hearing the item, any recommendations would have had to be unanimous to be passed on to the BOS. There did not appear to be a consensus on any alternatives, so no recommendations were made.
When it became apparent that the Commissioners were ready to pass the project on to the BOS, a list of conditions for the rezoning aspect of the application, running to some 18 pages with clauses stricken out by hand, was distributed to the Commissioners. The rezoning conditions included the potential to mitigate traffic noise with "sound barriers," which when questioned, was admitted by County staff to mean sound walls. This condition is despite the strong feelings of the CAC that, to preserve the rural feel of the community, sound walls not be used, and contrary to the design guidelines for the area. After a few brief questions, the vote was taken. The project will now be heard before the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in as little as a couple of months.
Published in Rio Linda Elverta News March 9, 2006 - Scroll for other articles
Doug Cater resigns from Water Board
Rio Linda/Elverta Community Water District (RLECWD) Director Doug Cater has submitted his resignation, effective March 31. Cater, serving for nearly eight years, is the Board member with the most seniority. He was first elected in November 1998. Cater served as Board President in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Cater's letter of resignation cites his original reasons for running for office; those were the lack of water during power outages and the District's financial crisis. He says that now that these issues have been resolved, he needs more family time and that it is time to pass the role along to someone else.
The remaining four RLECWD Directors will select a replacement for Cater to serve through November 2006. As Director Fred Jones was selected in February from a group of five applicants, the Board could immediately select from the remaining four candidates or they could start a new application and selection process. The remaining candidates are Zack Arbios, Robert Blanchard, Melvin Griffin, and Michelle Phulps.
Director Cater, when first elected, was a production Supervisor for Arcade Water District. Arcade and Northridge Water Districts merged, becoming the Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD); Cater now serves as Superintendent - Field Services for SSWD. Cater's extensive knowledge of Water issues brought a valuable perspective to the Board during his tenure.
Cater is the Chairman of the Committee to Incorporate Rio Linda and Elverta and has served on the Board of Directors of the Rio Linda Little League since 1995.
jump to top of page