The General Plan Update, a process that started in February of 2009, will get one step closer to completion at a Special Planning Commission Meeting on October 20th when the General Plan Draft will be reviewed. The meeting will be held at 6pm in the Turlock Senior Center at 1191 Cahill Avenue.
The draft is the culmination of almost two years of meetings collecting community input through focus groups, housing element review, concept alternative workshops and scoping sessions.
The Draft General Plan can be found at www.gpupdate.turlock.ca.us/documents.html.
The most controversial section of the update was the Preferred Land Use Plan which changed over the course of the project. Public workshops and the Planning Commission supported not growing west of the freeway and focusing on developing the Southeast. However, the Turlock City Council continued to include the Northwest in the plan with at the cost of $40,000 to make the changes. Then in March of 2011, City Council changed the Preferred Land Use Plan once again to focus on Southeast and Infill Development in future.
The General Plan leads a community through 15-20 years of development to ensure that as Council and City Staff changes, the goals and values of the community stay consistent. Once the draft is reviewed by the Planning Commission and the community, a final draft can be sent to City Council for adoption. As the draft is revised, the Environmental Impact Report and the Financing Plan can be developed for adoption at the same time as the final General Plan.
The public is encouraged to attend this meeting. Public comment will be taken on these issues before the Commission and Council take their respective actions.
If you have any questions or would like to submit comments, please feel free to contact the Turlock Planning Division at (209) 668-5640.
For past meeting materials and documents go to: http://www.gpupdate.turlock.ca.us/index.html
