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MEMORANDUM

Date:

May 30, 2006

To:

Board of Supervisors
Peter Kutras, Jr., County Executive
Ann Miller Ravel, County Counsel

From:

Valentin Alexeeff, Director, Department of Planning and DevelopmenU^icC^

Re:

Follow-Up to Item 73, May 23, 2006 Board Consideration of Viewshed
Protection Study Status Report and Schedule

This memorandum is in response to questions raised during the Board's discussion of
the Status Report on the Viewshed Protection Study, May 23, 2006, particularly
regarding schedule and future public hearings.

First, let me offer my apology for my response to the question of whether we were

meeting the original timelines. When I responded, I was focused on the last page of the
time line attachment wherein we planned to be in front of the Board in the hme frame
of June to September 2006. I believed that we would meet that timeline. However,
there is another part of the timeline that referenced a draft ordinance by March 2006.
We are clearly late in presenting the draft ordinance to the Planning Commission so
that the Board can review it. I was not focused on tliat portion of tlie timeline when I

responded to the question. There was no effort or intention to deceive or mislead the
Board.

Second, Staff also apologizes for any misunderstandings regarding the way in which
the schedule has been presented and the actual delays that have occurred in fully
preparing draft documents to be available to the public, the Planning Commission, and
the Board of Supervisors. Staff will strive to produce drafts of the proposed General
Plan amendment text, ordinances, and mapping during the month of June for

presentation to the Planning Commission at the earliest possible dates available. 1 he

next Planning Commission hearing date available is July 6, 2006. Staff is scheduling a
workshop and hearing for that date to expedite as much as possible the required public
hearing process and return to the Board of Supervisors during tlie previously indicated
time period of June 30‘^ to September 30* 2006.
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By way of background, the schedule for the completion of the Viewshed Protection
work plan item was approved by the Board of Supervisors October 18, 2005. The
schedule outlined activities staff would undertake and anticipated timelines for

completion of those activities. Various activities, such as additional mapping analyses,
development of website information, development of stakeholder and property owner

lists and involvement, among others, were to be completed by end of 2005 or March 31,
2006.

Among these activities were the development of draft policies and ordinances,
guidelines, and consideration of proposals for simplifying Design Review procedures,

and further consultation with model ordinance jurisdictions. These documents were

intended primarily as draft, internal documents, to serve as the basis for community
outreach. This is similar to the process followed in development of Williamson Act
Guidelines and the Heritage Ordinance.

The schedule also included activities under the heading of Public Review and Hearings,

for which preparations and hearings were to be conducted between June 30, 2006 and
September 2006. The transmittal also stated the following:
"One of the most difficult aspects of the work effort will be to accurately predict the
amount of time that may be required for public outreach, meetings, and follow-up. In
each of the two most recent County endeavors to enact the "-dl" and "-d2" Zoning

Districts, the demand for public meetings and discussion opportunities was much

greater than anticipated." (Paragraph 3, Page 3 of the attached transmittal)

Work that was begun in the latter part of 2005 to prepare draft policy documents,
ordinances, and standards by March 31, 2006 has been delayed by the public outreach
efforts, including the formal stakeholder committee meetings of January through
February, and the major community meetings that consumed most of the month of
March.

Public interest and participation has been tremendous. The Stakeholder Committee
process evolved in concept from a few informal discussions to a series of six formal
meetings through the end of February, with up to thirty or more participants in each
meeting. These meetings were highly productive and provided an excellent forum for
the exchange of information and opinion. However, staff time devoted to those
meetings, preparations, and follow-up did not allow for the completion of some of the
other work products. General Plan Policies, ordinance concepts, and design options

were developed prior to the community meetings at the end of March. They were
presented in power point. There wasn't enough time to prepare stand-alone documents
for circulation particularly without input from the community meetings. The issue at
this point is getting the information in a form suitable for commission and public
review.

In summary, we are taking appropriate measures to on this matter back on track and
before the Planning Commission in July and then to the Board as soon as possible
thereafter.