Patterson Irrigator

November 21, 2008 Patterson, CA

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GPAC gets another crack at general plan

Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator /

Saturday, 19 January 2008

Patterson City Council decided Tuesday that an advisory committee should rework a draft city general plan before the council digs into it.

The 5-0 vote slows down the general plan revision process, which had recently hit several snags. The council did not set a date for the general plan meeting.

On Oct. 29, the last time the council met to discuss the plan, Mayor Becky Campo tried to send the general plan back for review by the city General Plan Advisory Committee. However, during that joint meeting with the city planning commission, more people wanted the joint body to continue its review.

The day before the review was supposed to happen, Campo requested that the meeting be canceled, though the meeting technically could have gone on if enough representatives showed up.

At the time, she said the process was moving too fast and she hadn't asked that the meeting be delayed earlier because she was too busy.

The general plan is a state-mandated document used to guide long-term city growth. It establishes where growth should occur and what type of development should happen, such as which areas should be used for agricultural or residential uses.

At Tuesday’s meeting, several city officials said the process had grown too contentious.

“I didn’t feel it was clicking right,” Councilwoman Annette Smith said.

Campo suggested that if planning consultants were not so dry, there might be fewer problems.

“It got a little boring,” she said.

Councilman Sam Cuellar requested that planning consultants lobby for their ideas less aggressively.
“Don’t push your recommendations so hard,” he said.

In other council matters…

Mayor Becky Campo gave her state of the city speech, in which she outlined the city successes last year, including a 24-unit apartment complex for seniors that the city helped build with funds collected from new home construction.

She also talked about challenges facing the city, including revisions to the general plan and the proposed business park on and around the Crows Landing Air Facility.

Skate park supporters packed City Hall on Tuesday. However, by the time their item came up about two hours into the meeting, most of the more than 30 people had left. The council decided to address funding issues for the proposed skate park at its next meeting and promised it would be one of the first items discussed.

The council also delayed moving forward on Patterson’s new Senior Center. It decided to postpone any decision until the next meeting because Tuesday’s meeting was running long. Council members said they wanted to make sure the Senior Center got the time and attention it warranted.

To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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