EDC faces lawsuit over general plan/zoning update
By Joann Eisenbrandt
PLACERVILLE – Rural Communities United, an El Dorado County unincorporated citizens group, filed a lawsuit Jan. 13 in El Dorado County Superior Court asking the court to void the Board of Supervisors’ Dec. 15 approval of the Targeted General Plan Amendment/Zoning Ordinance update and certification of its environmental impact report.
The base of the lawsuit is because of “violations of zoning law, general plan law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and constitutional protections for procedural due process, substantive due process, and equal protection.”
This is not a surprise to those involved.
RCU’s attorney, Tom Infusino, had threatened as much at the board’s Nov. 10 meeting where the plan’s components were laid out and discussed.
The TGPA/ZOU is the product of more than a decade of planning and includes amendments to the county’s 2004 General Plan as well as a comprehensive revision of the Zoning Ordinance that implements that plan’s land use policies. Views on where it will lead the county have varied widely throughout the process, with some seeing it as embodying changes needed to accommodate El Dorado County’s inevitable growth and others seeing it as a “developer-driven” roadmap to a proliferation of high density land uses that will destroy the county’s rural character.
District 2 Supervisor Shiva Frentzen was the only board member to vote against approval of the plan’s major components.
RCU believes its concerns, written comments, and input at public meetings during the TGPA/ZOU process have been largely ignored. The lawsuit contends that the group has “met the requirement that it exhaust administrative remedies prior to filing this action,” as is required by CEQA law.
The lawsuit alleges that the TGPA/ZOU EIR does not adequately describe the project or properly examine its adverse environmental impacts as required by CEQA, does not adequately analyze the other alternatives to the project outlined in the EIR, offers insufficient or unclear mitigation measures to these impacts, was approved by the board with inadequate notice to many of the property owners of the 37,000 parcels rezoned under the zoning ordinance update, is inconsistent with provisions of the 2004 General Plan and the El Dorado Hills Specific Plan, does not adequately address the plan’s cumulative impacts or account for the regional impacts on traffic congestion, fire danger and wildlife habitat. RCU contends in the lawsuit that the EIR was not an objective document, but was conceived and engineered, “to promote a project rather than to inform the decision-making process.”
The county board clerk’s office confirmed that the lawsuit was served on the board this week. Lake Tahoe News reached out to individual supervisors for comments, but did not receive any response. Creighton Avila, a principal analyst in the CAO’s office, responded on behalf of the county, saying, “We are aware of it, but we do not comment on ongoing litigation.”
The board and then-County Counsel Robyn Truitt Drivon clearly indicated the county’s view of the adequacy of the TGPA/ZOU and its accompanying EIR during the Nov. 10 board meeting at which it was presented. At that time, Drivon told the board, “I have been reviewing this for the last year. I have talked to staff and consultants and I am confident in the product being brought forward. It meets legal sufficiency …. Everything brought to you at this point is as thorough and vetted as possible.”
District 1 Supervisor Ron Mikulaco, now chairman of the board, responded at that same meeting to concerns from RCU members and other members of the public by saying, “Our General Plan says we are a rural county but along with that certain things have to occur like growth and infrastructure and policies to deal with them. I met with RCU … their attorney says they’re going to sue us (but) I don’t comment on litigation. … The California Supreme Court says local governments have an implied duty to keep their General Plans current. I’ve heard comments from the public that we’re doing this as a conspiracy, some nefarious thing, but this is required.”
Ellen Van D yke of Rural Communities United told Lake Tahoe News after the lawsuit had been filed, “We have been participating in the planning process for this project for the last three years. Some of us remained hopeful up until that very last day when the supervisors gave their final approval. This lawsuit was truly a last resort for us. The process is completely and utterly broken when well-informed well-intentioned citizenry can be so entirely disregarded by their elected officials. We’re confident we are on the right side of this issue, but just sorry we have to go there.”
……..”The process is completely and utterly broken when well-informed well-intentioned citizenry can be so entirely disregarded by their elected officials.”……
TGPA/ZOU, CEQA, RCU, EIR, CAO have been working, (getting paid) for three years.
Are you listening people of the City of South Lake Tahoe?
Based on what I’ve seen and heard, Meyers residents will also have to sue to stop the illegal zoning changes that have been shoved down everyone’s throats for a couple of years now. The new mantra seems to be…..ignore them ’til they sue. Meyers apparently isn’t the only place in El Dorado County with no one representing the views of their constituency. This is exactly why all 5 members of the BOS are being recalled.
What is the status of the recall?
Robin and Isee. Please just speak for yourselves and try not to embellish your opinions on the entire county or District 5. I happen to live in the County and City and based on the progress made in the city to the lack of progress in Meyers of any kind (Tveten Town comes to mind first), I think your comments are a bit like chicken little.
These so-called plans have been in the works for years and/or decades. They sent out thousands of flyers for meetings (published in another Tahoe news source) and only a few dozen people showed.
Meyers is not pristine, it isn’t a National Park, it’s a subdivision with two golf courses, two highways and a ditch that used to be a river running through it.
rock…”These so-called plans have been in the works for years and/or decades…..”
“…used to have a river that is now a “DITCH’ running through it.”
What happened to the river?
Only a few dozen people have lived here years and/or decades
The population turnover is exactly what some of these ‘developers’ plan on and around.
Isee, there are a lot of misconceptions and outright lies with concerns to the recall and the public is not getting the complete picture from either side due to a lack of coverage. Watch the City Council meeting this Tuesday to learn the real reason for the recall. My suggestion is to contact both sides to get their story starting with the supervisor. It is my hopes that our local publications will cover both sides without bias as real journalist’s should do. I am not a journalist and this is my opinion only. STN and The Trib have both taken interviews and have given both sides a chance to respond about 2 months ago when this first started but they have yet to publish.
Robin. What happened to the Upper Truckee? Homes, roads, Highways, golf course, airport, cows, more highway and roads; development happened.
Or are you being rhetorical?
Kenny. You can’t “recall” until you the get the election results you want; doesn’t work that way. Well, in 3rd World nations it may work at gunpoint some of the time.
rock, you are correct in your opinion but wrong to think this is or was all about me and what I want. There lies the complete misconception and rumors that people like you start. I did not start the recall and I am just a member of the community that signed. I wish people like you and others would take the time to find out the facts before the pie hole opens. It’s easy to pin everything wrong on a familiar face anonymously and claim to know the truth. To the best of my knowledge you or any of the other posters have taken the time to talk with me or talk with our supervisor about this. Really sad that most are willing to make this a personal thing focused on Kenny and to blame him all the ills of our society on one person. There is no way for me to have started this on my own and no way that I did either. Thanks
Mr. Curtzwiler:
You suggested that the public should “Watch the City Council meeting this Tuesday to learn the real reason for the recall.”
When I reviewed the January 19th Meeting Agenda I didn’t recognize anything scheduled for the Council Members discussion regarding the recall. Would you please direct me to the applicable agenda item so I can closely review that associated staff report.
Thank you.
Robin Smith:
You stated that “TGPA/ZOU, CEQA, RCU, EIR, CAO have been working, (getting paid) for three years.”
TGPA/ZOU is an acronym for “Targeted General Plan Amendment/Zoning Ordinance Update”; CEQA is an acronym for “California Environmental Quality Act”; and EIR is an acronym for “Environmental Impact Report”. Those are not employment positions thus they can’t be employed and they don’t draw a paycheck/get paid.
RCU is the acronym for “Rural Communities United” which is a citizens group that has an attorney representing them and I’m certain that El Dorado County isn’t paying him; so of all the acronyms you referenced that had been “working and getting paid for three years”, the only one drawing a paycheck/getting paid by EDC is the CAO, or “Chief Administrative Officer”.
4-mer…You missed the point entirely…
It would take a ‘normal’ person all day just to figure out what they were reading when an article or posted info is full of acronyms like that.
It’s another way to ‘un-involve’ everyday people. Lawyers, doctors, military etc all have their own ‘group’ language.
Children do it all the time with their little groups. The ‘secret’ speak only they know/are familiar with.
Don’t be so presumptuous and don’t sell yourself short. If I have to reestablish the definition of a variable every time I try to explain a function, and they can’t just go with it and grasp the overall framework, they might be the bottleneck. Use of acronyms is not a legitimate reason to dismiss an idea.
For example:
IDK, GFY.
billy…IDK, GFY
LMAO
FYYFF;)~
I need an acronym lesson…..
Isee…My point!
If you are going to use acronyms pertinent to any specific ‘language’ you need reader,s familiar with the ‘area’ ie legal, medical, military etc.
Authors use a glossary if the number of acronyms will exceed a one time intro as you speak or write. Depends upon the target audiences.
Example: Doctor is writing for or speaking to a MD level class or writing for a medical paper use them freely, otherwise the author should be ‘audience’ friendly or include a glossary.
I was simply pointing this out when one of the presented articles included a long list that would have taken a ‘lay’ person alot of research and effort to read.
Appreciate your ‘target’ audience when crafting your language….that’s all:)
Thank you
Robin Smith:
You missed my point, and purposely I would speculate. You’re the one who said “TGPA/ZOU, CEQA, RCU, EIR, CAO have been working, (getting paid) for three years”. Did you disregard the sentence I posted that said “Those are not employment positions [they aren’t people] thus they can’t be employed and they don’t draw a paycheck/get paid.” [Only the attorney for Rural Communities United (RCU) and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) are people.]
You then wrote: “I was simply pointing this out when one of the presented articles included a long list that would have taken a ‘lay’ person alot of research and effort to read.”
That was very deft how you shifted the focus from your witlessness to your accusations that “normal” or “lay” persons are incapable of reading a “presented article” and understanding what was being said. I disagree with your contention that the majority of people are as unintelligent as would portray them.
How fortunate you are that you have no apparent weaknesses of any sort and are never wrong about anything.
4-mer-usmc, There is no agenda item just as there is no agenda with myself and the recall. There is a chance for the public to comment in the beginning and that is what I am going to do, comment and I will keep it to 3 minutes as required. I am going to offer the public a chance to contact both sides to make an informed decision based on facts and not rumors or hearsay. I am going to give information not opinion. This recall effort has nothing to do with the State Of Jefferson movement either. Once again my suggestion is for everyone to contact the recall folks via their website AND contact our supervisor via however you can. District V recall is based on recusal ( Meyers Plan (cannot discuss with staff, BOS or vote), Wildlife Center, Heavenly Master Plan and Court house in Placerville), 2 FPPC investigations, omitted information on Form 700 (29 income items added after the election) and the attempt to change 77 deeds of trust for the Briggs Family Trust that own the new court house land and owe them money on Feb 24, 2015. You must also remember she quit her term with the school board halfway forcing them to adjust and appoint, she should have finished the term as they were on the right track moving forward. I personally have nothing against our new supervisor as I have had dealings with her both personal and professional and do believe she would make a good supervisor. However her position has been rendered ineffective and our Meyers representation is nil. Remember this is District V and there are 4 other supervisors that have complete control of what happens to us in Meyers and TRPA as the EDCO BOS rep to the TRPA is Mr. Veerkamp. Thanks
4-mer….Robin said….”normal” or “lay” persons are INCAPABLE of reading a “presented article”….
NEVER said that:(
What was said that it would be inconvenient not to mention time consuming to research all these unfamiliar acronyms(without a glossary).
Mr. Curtzwiler:
If you furnish written material to the City Clerk for distribution to the City Council that would need to be included in the printed agenda packet for future reference which is a good way of getting into the record more than just verbal remarks during the public communications period.
I’m afraid I haven’t paid much attention to the State of Jefferson movement so I’m uniformed on that, and I’ve also been remiss in being well informed on EDC government activities. Sometimes that’s what happens when you get old and tired. Not always a fun place to be.
While we may not always agree, congratulations for your willingness to always fight for what you believe in.
4-mer….”Sometimes that’s what happens when you get old and tired.”
Aging is not for sissies.
Robin,
It’s time for you to stop hijacking all the comments. Say something relevant or move on — or just go outside and get some fresh Tahoe air.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
Robin Smith:
I think you underestimate the ability of most people. The full descriptive names of the identified plans, updates, acts, organizations, and reports were used in their entirety prior to the use of their acronyms referenced in the article—those are the glossary. I think that most people can figure that out. Reading those names in their entirety throughout a document is what is inconvenient and time consuming for the reader in addition to being clumsy, which is why acronyms are used.
I note that you’ve chosen to continue ignoring your comment that “TGPA/ZOU, CEQA, RCU, EIR, CAO have been working, (getting paid) for three years”, and my posted sentence which was actually my point that “Those are not employment positions [they aren’t people] thus they can’t be employed and they don’t draw a paycheck/get paid.” [Only the attorney for Rural Communities United (RCU) and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) are people.]
Little surprise there.