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Ed.
Note: The
following is a slightly updated version of a letter
published in the Press Tribute in April 2009 by a
member of Save Granite Bay. This letter responds to a
featured
editorial
by
Kirk Uhler in which Uhler made false claims and
chastised Save Granite Bay members for efforts to get
involved in the Granite Bay Community Plan Update
Process. Uhler espouses his divide and conquer approach
which requires individual community members to contact
County staff rather than use community groups as was
done when the Plan was developed and updated in the
past.
SETTING
THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON THE GRANITE BAY COMMUNITY
PLAN…THE OTHER SIDE
The
shortest distance between two points is a straight line
except if you are Kirk Uhler and the facts do not
support your position. As everyone knows, as our county
faces a budget shortfall and employees are furloughed,
our county supervisor, Kirk Uhler, has embarked on a
solo mission to change the Granite Bay Community Plan
(GBCP), the blueprint for what could be a 50% increase
in the population of Granite Bay. There is suspicion on
Uhler’s true motivation for opening the plan for
review. Developers and other large donors have heavily
financed Uhler’s campaigns. The integrity of the
GBCP was respected and followed until Uhler assumed his
office, only a short time ago. He started by firing the
sitting MAC members and installing his own clones.
Shortly
after being elected, Uhler promoted projects that
seriously violate the principles of the GBCP. Uhler
used his influence to get projects approved by the
Granite Bay Municipal Advisory Committee and Planning
Commission in spite of heavy community opposition. A
parcel above Auburn Folsom Road on Douglas (near Longs)
was changed from residential to commercial without
community involvement. A large condominium storage
company is now planned for this site. A car wash and
office building complex was approved on re-zoned
Douglas frontage west of the Quarry Ponds shopping
center, the first ever exception to the 300 foot
Douglas Blvd setback. Uhler justifies the plan review
because he is loath to “piecemeal development.
Yet, his piecemeal re-zones set dangerous precedents
and are ominous signs for the future. Remember that one
third of Granite Bay has yet to be developed. Uhler’s
recommended base criteria (outlined on the county web
site) are already contained in the current plan. Uhler
wants to cap the population growth to 23,000, which
could be accomplished without reviewing the entire
plan. Updates on specific issues such as the
circulation element have occurred and have been
included in the plan without a comprehensive review.
The state’s Office of Planning and Research
highly recommends (not requires) plan reviews/updates
to determine if the assumptions are current. The Plan
contains about a page and one half of assumptions. It
should not take $150,000 to determine if they remain
valid especially when the Granite Bay Sheriff’s
substation was closed for lack of funds.
Uhler
has gone on record as stating he values community input
and wants the community to be a true partner with the
county in this endeavor. These words leave his lips but
his deeds say otherwise. At the February 11th community
forum sponsored by the county, hundreds of residents
voted and gave the county its instructions: DO NOT
CHANGE THE PLAN. Uhler never mentions this vote in any
of his public statements including his “Setting
the Record Straight” editorial printed recently
in the Roseville Press Tribune. Indeed, he speaks of
those not attending that meeting as supporting his
effort to overhaul the GBCP.
The
Feb 11th vote was not reflected in the March Granite
Bay Municipal Advisory Committee (MAC) minutes even
though residents requested its inclusion and the county
has designated the MAC as the official forum for
community involvement in the plan review. At the April
MAC meeting, a gentleman requested the Feb 11th vote be
included in the April MAC minutes. After this request,
MAC representative Eric Sanchez, recently appointed by
Uhler, wanted it reflected in the minutes that the 400
people who attended and voted at the Feb 11th meeting
do not represent the 17,000 residents of Granite Bay.
There is no basis for assuming that others favor a
different outcome to the GBCP overhaul. According to
Sanchez "think", the people who decide not to
vote in an election should be given more weight than
those who study the ballot and make the effort to vote.
The
community requested and the county refused to hold a
second community meeting prior to the June 30th land
use change deadline to discuss and decide criteria.
Instead the county wants to see what players are on the
field before they write the game rules. At the April
MAC meeting, the group formerly known as, Residents
Defending Granite Bay, now called SaveGraniteBay.com,
asked Planning Department Director Michael Johnson,
since Uhler was not present, what weight the community
input would have in the final land use criteria.
Johnson would not commit and repeatedly said he didn’t
know to each question. This lack of commitment speaks
volumes. Uhler’s assistant told attendees, "you
will be pleasantly surprised by the criteria."
This condescending response says volumes in terms of
the county’s relationship with the community. If
there were a true partnership, why would we be
surprised? Why can’t the community be involved
from the outset as it was when the GBCP was developed
in 1988 and when it was updated in 2005?
MARLENE
GEORGE
OTHER
LETTERS
Why
does Uhler dodge public?
To
the residents of Granite Bay
This link will take you to a personal letter by MAC
Chairman Virge Anderson published on the Placer County
Web Site in violation of any conceivable ethical
standard. The letter documents a 13 minute personal
diatribe by Anderson chastising the efforts of
community members for resisting the Community Plan
Update (Anderson has continually and blindly supported
Uhler's effort to overhaul the Granite Bay Community
Plan). Anderson gave his diatribe from the MAC
Chairman's seat in woeful violation of the California
State Brown Act. He also did this 13 minute personal
spiel while other members of the community are limited
to just 3 minutes in front of the MAC (a limitation
imposed by Uhler upon his taking office in 2008).
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