The outcome of the General Plan update will have implications for everyone who lives or works in Amador County as it is the future map for the direction of the county. One of the first steps in the process was hiring a consulting firm to guide the county through the long and comprehensive process, the second; developing a General Plan Update Committee made up of citizens from the local community. It is the GPAC, or citizens’ committee group that will the focus of the discussion Tuesday. According to county staff reports on the matter the committee was originally scheduled to begin their work in July of 2006 and end their work in October of this year.

Although the Board of Supervisors recently extended the budget required for the committee to extend their work past that October date they have not officially extended the existence of the committee, something that law and procedure requires of the Supervisors. The GPAC committee itself is interested in continuing to meet to complete the job they began with many of the members feeling that the committee needs to review proposed policies and alternatives. Although the committee does not decide which polices to recommend to the board of Supervisors for approval and inclusion in the new General Plan- the committee would like to comment and create their own recommendations that would then be included in any recommendations from the Planning Department. All comments from the public and the Committee are already proposed for inclusion anyway when the final reviews take place so staff is now asking the Board to provide direction to the Staff and the GPAC if the committee should remain in existence for the comment period or if the group should follow their original schedule with a completion date in October of this year. Ultimately the Board of Supervisors will make all of the final decisions regarding the final policies.