Granite Bay Community Plan unanimously approved

The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the updated Granite Bay Community Plan Tuesday.

Supervisor Kirk Uhler, the board member who represents Granite Bay, noted that the county started updating the community plan almost four years ago.”It has been an interesting process that has required a lot of contributions from the community,” he said. “And, it required some compromise on all sides.”

Supervisor Uhler and several speakers who addressed the board during a public hearing emphasized the updated plan seeks to maintain the community’s special character.”This is pretty much the finishing touches on Granite Bay, and this will see us through the buildout,” Supervisor Uhler said. He noted that Granite Bay’s population grew by almost 100 percent during the 25-year period that ended in 2010. The community’s population is expected to grow by only about 12 percent between 2010 and 2035.

The updated plan lowers the community’s projected maximum holding capacity from 29,000 to 26,000 residents because some areas have developed with lower densities than was anticipated in the original plan.

Key goals of the new plan include:

• Preserving the community’s rural character;
• Conserving natural and cultural resources;
• Strengthening design guidelines;
• Revitalizing aging commercial sites;
• Maintaining the 300-foot residential setback on the south side of Douglas Boulevard; and
• Clarifying gated-subdivision policies.

The plan provides a framework and vision for the community’s long-term growth and orderly development. Originally adopted in 1989, the plan has undergone minor revisions periodically, including an update of its circulation element in 2005.

Placer County began updating the community plan in 2008. In August, 2010, the board decided against making any land-use changes in the plan, but to have staff and community members continue working to update the plan’s goals, policies and regulations. Though the updated plan does not include land-use changes, property owners still have the option of applying for site-specific land use and zoning changes.

Both the Placer County Planning Commission and Granite Bay Municipal Advisory Council voted to recommend board approval of the updated plan.