Title
Hearing to consider Planning and Building Department, Long Range Planning Unit, proposed amendments to the Conservation and Open Space Element of the El Dorado County (County) General Plan; and staff recommending the Planning Commission forward a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to: 1) Adopt the Addendum to the County’s General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR), certified in May 2003 (State Clearinghouse Number 2001082030) (Exhibit A); and 2) Approve a General Plan Conservation and Open Space Element amendment, based on the Findings in Exhibit D.
Funding: General Fund
Body
Discussion / Background
In 2022, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 1425 (SB 1425) which requires every local jurisdiction to review and update its Conservation and Open Space Element to include the following: 1) access to open space for all residents in a manner that considers social, economic, and racial equity; 2) climate resilience and other benefits of open space, correlated with the safety element; and 3) rewilding opportunities, correlated with the land use element.
Staff, using guidance from the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, drafted targeted amendments to the existing Conservation and Open Space Element with the goal of complying with the State’s SB 1425 directive while still maintaining reasonable and achievable goals and policies for El Dorado County.
The Conservation and Open Space Element was adopted as a component of the General Plan in July 2004 and amended once in October 2017 as a part of the General Plan Biological Resources Policy Update Project.
The proposed amendments would be effective 30 days after final adoption by the Board.
A staff memo with additional information is attached.