County Draft Plan for Unincorporated Area Available for Review

BY BILL KOENEKER

Los Angeles County planners recently announced the release of the Draft Preliminary General Plan for public review. County officials will be taking public comments until August 30, 2007.

During the summer, planners will be conducting several public meetings throughout the county to receive comments on the document, which is described as the blueprint for future growth and development within the unincorporated areas of the county.

A nearby meeting for Malibu will be held at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District offices on July 26 from 6 to 8 p.m.

The new plan draft is different in priority than the current adopted General Plan, according to planners.

The comprehensive update and amendment to the draft document changes the emphasis of the plan to focus on the unincorporated areas of the county.

The major changes are described as revisions to growth policies by updating population and housing projections for a new plan horizon year of 2025 by providing detailed projections for unincorporated communities.

Also being proposed are changes in the boundaries of Significant Ecological Areas “to reflect results of a recent biological study and field work of staff biologists, and to revise policies, standards and procedures related to the management of SEAs.”

The update also includes revisions to the transportation policy maps to reflect recent planning updates at the county and regional level and revisions to the conservation and open space elements to reflect major changes in laws and current planning practices related to watershed planning and abatement of pollution from stormwater runoff.

The plan will also be revised to show the boundaries of area and community plans to delineate recent city incorporations as well as those areas’ plan boundaries.

The draft plan is available for review online at http://planning.lacounty.gov/ and also at the Malibu Pubic Library.