Work on Copper plan to resume

Union Democrat - Published: July 11, 2006 
By CHRIS NICHOLS 

  Work will soon resume on the long-delayed Copperopolis Community Plan, a document that will provide a guide to the booming town's growth for decades to come.

A San Francisco consulting firm was hired yesterday by the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors to complete the plan, which has been in the works for more than a decade and on hold for several months.

"We are ready to move and so is the consultant," said Deputy County Planning Director Robert Sellman.

Hired for the job was Lamphier-Gregory, a 25-year-old urban planning and environmental planning firm.

The firm will be paid no more than $29,080 for an estimated two to three months of work on the plan.

Its work will focus on two topics:

• First, the firm will prepare a traffic study to address Copperopolis' future growth.

That will include researching where an additional north-south route could be built to accommodate growth on the eastern side of Tulloch Reservoir.

• Second, it will resolve an inconsistency. The community committee that's worked on the plan for several years recommends that no more than 40,000 people should live in the town at maximum build-out.

However, county figures show the population could reach much higher based on current density allowances.

Both residents and developers will benefit from a clear and defined set of growth plans, said Supervisor Victoria Erickson, who represents Copperopolis.

Once the consultants finish their work, the plan must still be approved by the county Planning Commission and later the Board of Supervisors. The public will have several opportunities to comment on the plan during that process.

An environmental impact report — a lengthy study of water, traffic and wildlife — will then be required.

The entire process could take up to two years.

The board yesterday also approved a new one-year contract for the county's nearly five dozen sheriff's deputies.

Under the deal, negotiated by the Deputy Sheriff's Association and county administrators, the deputies will receive a 3.5 percent raise plus increased benefits.

The contract was unanimously approved without any comments by the board.

DSA President Tracy Busby said last week the association felt the contract was "fair."

He noted that the DSA did not want to enter into a long, drawn-out negotiation.

 

Contact Chris Nichols at cnichols@uniondemocrat.com or 736-1234.