Reviewing Truckee’s future, in the form of the General Plan 2025 (GP), is a huge task. Unlike the layman who can choose to forego the process of reading and analyzing the important and largess document (though no one should), our elected officials have not the same luxury. Here to give a brief recap on their take on the process are Mayor Beth Ingalls and Vice Mayor Richard Anderson.
‘Part of our deliberations and changes to the draft document involved digesting the many letters we received. They offered either broad or very specific language or policy changes to the draft GP,’ Mayor Ingalls said. The Mayor said many of her personal revisions were ‘overall well received and accepted by a majority of the Council.’
Her primary revisions ‘involved strengthening the language related to strategies that furthered the sustainability of our Town and region.’ Among these suggestions are the encouraging of alternative fuels and vehicles, green building, augmentation and expansion of waste management programs, inclusion of language relating to ‘sustainable tourism,’ mentioning reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, expanding language related to public transit and regional systems, and improving trails and pedestrian access.
‘I think we, the Council, Planning Commission, Staff and Community, did pretty well through the process. If adopted, we will have accomplished the task of creating a GP that is both relevant and forward thinking, with goals, policies and corresponding actions that will move us in the direction that is critical not only our prosperity, but our very survival as a Town,’ Ingalls said.
Vice Mayor Richard Anderson said, ‘General Plans tend to be products of compromise, and Truckee’s is no different. It contains policies and actions that I’m not altogether comfortable with, as well as policies and actions that I and others believe are critical to protecting the town’s character and enhancing our sense of community.’
Anderson specifically emphasized the newly incorporated policies regarding art in the community. He is ‘particularly impressed that the arts community in Truckee got involved and won policies that recognize the importance of arts in both improving quality of life and in generating potentially significant economic benefits for local businesses.’
You can view Council-made changes to the Plan at www.truckee2025.org/docs/counmod.pdf
The GP provides a document that will guide the Town until 2025. This finished document will be the culmination of a nearly four-year GP update process. Public hearings, public comment, and Council changes are concluded. The next step is a presentation of the completed GP & EIR to Council and the November 16 meeting where the Plan is scheduled for adoption. After that, the Development Code will be amended to reflect the new Plan.
