[0:04] >> All right,

[0:05] we're settled in. Good evening,

[0:06] everyone. How we doing? Are you

[0:09] having an exciting discussion

[0:11] about our General Plan? Well,

[0:13] welcome. Let's first

[0:16] of all call this meeting

[0:17] to order,

[0:18] a special joint meeting

[0:18] of the City Council and the

[0:20] Planning Commission,

[0:21] Thursday, December 17, 2015

[0:23] at 6:03 P.M. And let's maybe

[0:26] start with the role. This ought

[0:27] to be fun.

[0:28] >> For the role call,

[0:28] we'll actually start with the

[0:29] Planning Commissioners.

[0:30] Commissioner Tong?

[0:31] >> Here.

[0:32] >> Commissioner Spease?

[0:34] >> Here.

[0:35] >> Commissioner Maita?

[0:36] >> Present.

[0:37] >> Commissioner Harris is

[0:38] absent, and Commissioner

[0:38] Murphy?

[0:40] >> Here.

[0:40] >> And for the City Council,

[0:42] Councilmember Suen?

[0:42] >> Here.

[0:44] >> Councilmember Hume?

[0:45] >> Here.

[0:45] >> Councilmember Detrick?

[0:46] >> Here.

[0:46] >> Vice Mayor Lee?

[0:47] >> Here.

[0:48] >> And Mayor Davis?

[0:48] >> Here.

[0:50] >> I'd like to ask maybe the

[0:50] Chair of the Planning

[0:51] Commission to lead us in the

[0:52] Pledge of Allegiance, please.

[0:55] >> Will everyone stand? Hand

[0:56] over heart,

[0:57] pledge.

[0:58] >> I pledge allegiance

[0:59] to the flag of the United

[1:00] States of America and to the

[1:02] Republic for which it stands,

[1:04] one nation under God,

[1:07] indivisible,

[1:07] with liberty and justice

[1:09] for all.

[1:16] >> Great, thanks very much. I

[1:16] think this is going

[1:17] to be an exciting workshop.

[1:18] Obviously, any time we can get

[1:19] the Planning Commission and the

[1:21] Council together

[1:22] with the community to talk

[1:24] about anything is exciting.

[1:25] But really to check in on our

[1:27] General Plan and have a

[1:29] workshop around that,

[1:30] certainly is going

[1:31] to be a productive use

[1:32] of our time. So I'm excited

[1:33] about it. We do have a formal

[1:36] agenda in front of us,

[1:38] so maybe we'll just jump right

[1:39] in and look for--I'd like

[1:41] to entertain a motion to

[1:42] approve the agenda.

[1:43] >> I move it.

[1:44] >> Second.

[1:45] >> Motion by Lee, second by

[1:46] Suen. All right. All

[1:49] in favor?

[1:50] >> Aye.

[1:51] >> Opposed? Abstentions?

[1:52] Great, okay. So we've got one

[1:54] item in front of us tonight,

[1:58] and who's going

[1:58] to kick us off?

[2:04] >> Good evening, Mayor,

[2:05] Council, and Commission

[2:06] Members. Christopher Jordan

[2:06] with the City Manager's

[2:07] Office. Thank you so much for

[2:08] giving us your time this

[2:10] evening for this item and

[2:11] for all sitting up there with

[2:13] us low types. I very much

[2:15] appreciate it. So tonight,

[2:17] we're going to be talking

[2:18] about the General Plan update.

[2:19] This is a check-in opportunity

[2:20] for where we've been

[2:22] since we were last with you

[2:24] in June and initially scoping

[2:26] the project. We do have some

[2:26] initial -- to share

[2:27] with you and get your feedback

[2:29] and further direction upon

[2:31] to move into the next phase

[2:31] in the new year. So our agenda

[2:34] tonight in the updates,

[2:36] we're going to go

[2:37] through some finer points of

[2:38] the status and the outreach

[2:40] that's been conducted and what

[2:41] we've been hearing

[2:42] from the community,

[2:43] from the residents,

[2:44] from interested parties through

[2:45] the engagement activities.

[2:47] It's been a very

[2:47] in-depth--we've had a very

[2:49] broad cross-section

[2:51] of community engaged

[2:52] through our mobile workshops,

[2:53] through the weekend workshops

[2:55] that we held, I think, in

[2:58] September and November, and we

[2:59] also have a lot more planned in

[3:00] the new year as we start

[3:01] getting into the deeper policy

[3:03] conversations. And we'll be

[3:04] highlighting some

[3:06] of those pieces

[3:07] for you later this evening.

[3:08] The next half

[3:09] of the presentation,

[3:10] the second half is going

[3:11] to be talking

[3:11] about the vision, that's the

[3:12] document,

[3:13] the booklet that you got

[3:14] in your packet that you have up

[3:15] on the -- this

[3:16] evening. We do have additional

[3:17] copies for the public

[3:18] in the back of the room. If any

[3:19] of you don't have hard copies,

[3:20] we can certainly get them

[3:21] to you. I want to really

[3:23] highlight and stress the

[3:24] importance of this. And there's

[3:27] an analogy here I'll try

[3:28] to use very briefly. This

[3:30] process of creating the

[3:31] General Plan is

[3:32] about setting a direction,

[3:33] where is it that we're going as

[3:34] a community. I sort

[3:35] of liken it to at the vision

[3:37] level we're deciding we're

[3:38] going to travel East. We're

[3:40] going to the East Coast, we're

[3:42] going to drive there. The

[3:42] policies get

[3:44] into how we get there,

[3:45] what roads we're taking,

[3:47] what modes of transportation.

[3:48] So we want

[3:49] to make sure that we're all

[3:50] on the same page, that we're

[3:51] going eastward or whatever that

[3:52] direction is. And to the policy

[3:54] conversations that we're going

[3:56] to have in the first half

[3:57] of next year, we're deciding

[3:58] what routes we get there and

[4:00] whether we're going to say

[4:01] Boston or Miami. So this is a

[4:04] critical point

[4:05] in understanding that we're all

[4:07] on the same page, we're all

[4:07] holding hands together and

[4:08] understanding it. The finer

[4:10] details of what that direction

[4:11] means and how it's implemented

[4:13] on the ground

[4:14] through development projects,

[4:15] city actions, coordination

[4:17] with outside service providers,

[4:19] other things that happen, those

[4:21] will be the critical decisions

[4:22] going forward. So this is an

[4:23] important first step

[4:25] in the preparation

[4:26] of the overall General Plan.

[4:28] We'll have opportunities

[4:29] to walk through the documents

[4:30] and how we got there

[4:31] at a staff perspective,

[4:33] why we're recommending this

[4:34] to you this evening,

[4:35] and then opportunity

[4:36] for further public comment

[4:37] on it. And then seeking

[4:38] direction

[4:38] from you--did we get it right,

[4:39] are we on the same page,

[4:41] or what changes should be make

[4:43] to this as we move forward

[4:44] into the new year. This real

[4:45] briefly, primarily

[4:47] for the audience

[4:48] of folks that are joining us,

[4:50] we'll obviously be posting the

[4:51] audio to the websites early

[4:53] next week so others can take

[4:54] advantage of it. The General

[4:56] Plan, as it exists today,

[4:58] was first adopted in 2003.

[4:59] There have been a number

[5:00] of amendments the City has done

[5:01] to it over the following 13

[5:02] years. Many

[5:05] of them developer-initiated or,

[5:06] obviously, city-initiated

[5:08] for various topics, some

[5:09] on the land use side, some

[5:10] for various policies like our

[5:11] sustainability element. There

[5:13] are some upcoming amendments

[5:15] that are already in process,

[5:16] like the safety element update

[5:17] dealing with 200-year flood

[5:19] plan requirements

[5:20] of the state. And there's other

[5:21] changes that have occurred in

[5:23] the broader law or regulatory

[5:24] framework that we need

[5:25] to take advantage

[5:26] of and really address

[5:27] in an updated General Plan.

[5:28] These are the elements or

[5:31] chapters or components

[5:32] of your existing General Plan.

[5:35] I think it's about 9 or 11

[5:36] in all. Some

[5:37] of these are required

[5:37] components under state law,

[5:39] like circulation, land use,

[5:40] housing. Others are optional

[5:42] elements or things that we've

[5:44] chosen as a community

[5:45] to include, such as: historic

[5:46] preservation, economic

[5:47] development,

[5:48] and sustainability. What format

[5:49] the General Plan takes

[5:51] in its newer version,

[5:53] the new edition that will come

[5:54] out of this process,

[5:56] whether it's an existing format

[5:57] of the elements as individual

[5:58] chapters or those element

[6:00] requirements broken up into

[6:02] clusters based upon the key

[6:04] topics -- embedded and

[6:14] explored so that we package

[6:15] this thing in ultimately a

[6:17] format that is user-friendly,

[6:18] that really responds

[6:19] to the interest

[6:20] of the community, which is one

[6:22] of the central tenents you gave

[6:23] us

[6:23] in initiating this process back

[6:24] in June. You asked

[6:26] for an up-to-date,

[6:27] forward-thinking plan--what is

[6:28] the next 15, 20, 25 years

[6:31] of the City look like--to make

[6:32] the document something that the

[6:34] average resident can pick up

[6:35] and understand and really be

[6:36] able to see what the

[6:38] community's vision is

[6:39] for itself in the future and

[6:40] how we're going to get there.

[6:41] It needs

[6:43] to be clear and understandable

[6:44] but also flexible to changing

[6:46] circumstances that exist. It

[6:47] ought to be based upon active

[6:49] and an engaged community, which

[6:51] is what we have been striving

[6:52] to do through these outreach

[6:53] opportunities the last several

[6:53] months and will continue

[6:55] to do all the way through the

[6:56] adoption process slated for

[6:58] 2017. We are engaging not only

[7:02] the staff level but also

[7:02] with the decisionmakers,

[7:04] the ten of you or nine that are

[7:05] here this evening,

[7:05] through this process to make

[7:07] sure we're understanding is and

[7:08] how to articulate these things

[7:11] appropriately. And finally,

[7:13] and also very importantly, that

[7:15] it's a fiscally viable plan.

[7:17] Is this plan and the vision and

[7:19] the goals that it's setting

[7:20] out something that we can live

[7:22] with in our financial means

[7:23] to achieve. So real briefly

[7:26] on the status, and we'll get

[7:27] into some

[7:28] of these detail points

[7:29] in a little bit. There's an

[7:30] Existing Conditions report that

[7:31] documents where the City is

[7:33] today. We did one

[7:34] of these back in 2003

[7:35] with the original General

[7:37] Plan, so we're updating it. It

[7:38] reflects newer regulations,

[7:40] state law components,

[7:42] and existing status of the

[7:43] City. That report will be

[7:44] coming out in the new year

[7:46] for the public to review, and

[7:47] ultimately would be an appendix

[7:48] to the General Plan, informing

[7:50] how we got

[7:50] to where we would be

[7:51] in the new document. Through

[7:53] the community engagements,

[7:54] we've been working since

[7:55] August on a variety

[7:56] of aspects. You'll hear

[7:57] about those later this evening.

[7:59] That outreach, again,

[7:59] will continue through

[8:00] into the ultimate adoption in

[8:01] 2017. And tonight we have this

[8:05] draft shared community vision

[8:06] and supporting principles.

[8:08] This is the outgrowth

[8:09] of the outreach,

[8:10] what we've been hearing today,

[8:11] and what we're understanding

[8:12] and trying to vet this evening

[8:14] and get final direction on,

[8:15] that this is ultimately where

[8:17] we are trying to go. That being

[8:19] said, if we get through, let's

[8:21] say, the next six months

[8:22] of policy direction, policy

[8:24] discussion, land use

[8:25] discussion,

[8:27] and we're analyzing things back

[8:28] to this vision statement, back

[8:29] to the supporting principles

[8:30] for consistency and a tweak is

[8:32] needed,

[8:33] we can certainly do that. This

[8:34] isn't something that is set

[8:36] in stone. Tonight,

[8:36] with your direction, it's

[8:38] something that could be

[8:39] massaged going forward as we

[8:40] have these further

[8:41] conversations. That's okay. But

[8:43] it's important that we have a

[8:44] starting point for the

[8:45] conversations going forward.

[8:47] As I've mentioned,

[8:50] the ultimate goal is adoption

[8:51] in 2017. So you can see where

[8:53] we are in that process,

[8:54] we're right on schedule

[8:55] with the Conditions report and

[8:56] the Visioning Workshop hasn't

[8:57] been completed. And some of the

[8:59] key issues and policy topics,

[9:01] we're beginning to,

[9:03] starting next month actually,

[9:05] we'll get

[9:06] into those policy pieces. The

[9:08] goal is to have a draft

[9:09] General Plan and the EIR

[9:10] released at

[9:12] about this time next year. So

[9:14] we've got quite a ways to go

[9:15] in the next 12 months

[9:16] to get there. And ultimately,

[9:17] into adoption, spring,

[9:19] early part of summer of 2017.

[9:22] So there's several folks with

[9:24] me here this evening that will

[9:25] be presenting various pieces:

[9:27] Jeff Henderson, the overall

[9:28] project manager, Sara

[9:29] Allender, the assistant

[9:31] manager, and Nora De Cuir, the

[9:32] outreach coordinator. So I'll

[9:33] turn it over to them to walk

[9:34] through some

[9:35] of these pieces now. Thank you.

[9:44] >> Good evening, Council,

[9:45] Commissioners. I'm Nora De

[9:46] Cuir, an outreach coordinator

[9:47] with the General Plan team.

[9:49] And I want to take you

[9:51] through just a refresher

[9:53] of where we've been thus far

[9:55] with our community engagement

[9:56] program. I know many

[9:58] of you have caught us either

[10:00] at a workshop or out at one of

[10:03] mobile studios that we've been

[10:04] conducting. So as you can see

[10:07] from the graphic that you have

[10:09] in front of you, we kicked off

[10:10] with a planning academy,

[10:12] which is a focus event

[10:14] to provide additional context

[10:17] to set the stage

[10:18] for the community in terms of

[10:19] what a general plan is and why

[10:20] it's important

[10:22] for our future. It's hard

[10:23] to want to engage in a topic as

[10:25] broad as the general plan for

[10:28] your community if you don't

[10:30] have a sense

[10:31] of how that relates

[10:32] to local governance as a whole.

[10:34] So the planning academy was

[10:35] intended to provide not only

[10:37] in person

[10:38] for folks who attended that

[10:39] on that Saturday morning,

[10:40] but also

[10:41] to have those materials online

[10:42] for people who are digging in

[10:44] to the General Plan and want a

[10:46] little bit of that context. So

[10:48] we moved from there

[10:49] into events that went out into

[10:51] the community and brought

[10:52] essentially a mini workshop

[10:54] in a doublewide tent to events

[10:57] where people were already

[10:58] gathering, like the Dickens

[10:59] Fair and the Safety Fair and

[11:01] Food Truck Mania. And what our

[11:04] experience has shown us and has

[11:06] really proven true throughout

[11:08] the course

[11:09] of this outreach effort since

[11:11] August is that while a

[11:13] community workshop is a great

[11:15] forum for sitting down

[11:16] with a focused group of folks

[11:19] and rolling up your sleeves

[11:20] to work on something, you can

[11:22] reach more people just

[11:24] numbers-wise if you are going

[11:26] out where folks are already

[11:28] gathering and they don't need

[11:29] to think about scheduling

[11:31] in that workshop on their

[11:33] calendar or taking too much

[11:35] time out

[11:36] of a busy weekend morning

[11:38] to attend. So the mobile

[11:40] workshop, I will take you

[11:41] through some of our results

[11:43] from those, and we have more

[11:44] of those planned as we move

[11:45] into the spring. We did also

[11:49] hold a community-wide vision

[11:51] workshop which provided a forum

[11:54] for folks who are interested to

[11:55] come together and do more

[11:57] brainstorming. We're thinking

[11:59] about where we should be going

[12:01] as a community, and Sara will

[12:05] be taking you through some

[12:06] of the results

[12:06] of that workshop as well.

[12:09] We've also had an online

[12:11] component for folks who have

[12:12] not yet been able

[12:13] to participate in person

[12:15] but enables you not only

[12:16] to receive information

[12:17] but also just to provide

[12:19] your--you can click a "submit

[12:21] comments" button and have

[12:22] comments come right through

[12:23] to Christopher. So we've tried,

[12:26] like Christopher said, to

[12:27] provide as broad an opportunity

[12:29] as possible

[12:30] for participation, but

[12:32] participation is always

[12:33] something that you are working

[12:35] on improving. And so as we move

[12:37] forward, we really want

[12:38] to build on the lessons that

[12:40] we've learned in terms of how

[12:42] to reach people, how

[12:44] to recruit people

[12:45] for the effort. We want

[12:46] to encourage everyone

[12:47] in this room to help us recruit

[12:49] people so that we can keep

[12:50] adding voices

[12:51] to the process as we go long.

[12:52] So if we take a quick look

[12:56] at what we have heard thus far

[12:57] for the mobile workshops,

[12:59] we were interested in

[13:01] understanding a little bit more

[13:03] about the characteristics of

[13:05] those participating and how

[13:08] they've perceived their

[13:09] neighborhood quality right now.

[13:11] So we did ask in some

[13:13] of the activities, which you

[13:14] may have seen, for folks to

[13:16] pick up a chip that was labeled

[13:18] with an "E" if you lived on the

[13:20] east side town or a "W" if you

[13:22] lived on the west side

[13:23] of town, so that the

[13:24] information that you provided

[13:24] during those mini workshop

[13:26] activities would help us better

[13:29] understand what your input said

[13:33] relative to where you lived and

[13:34] what your Elk Grove experience

[13:36] is. So you'll see that the

[13:38] results that I share on the

[13:40] next slide are split here. We

[13:42] can look at the

[13:45] Input that we've received both

[13:47] in terms of citywide, and also

[13:49] on the neighborhood level

[13:52] relative to whether or not

[13:53] folks were participating as a

[13:55] resident of the west side of

[13:58] 99 in Elk Grove or the east

[14:01] side of 99. So as you see here,

[14:04] some of the workshop results,

[14:05] some items in common. That

[14:07] multi-mobile transportation is

[14:10] something that shows up as a

[14:11] citywide priority when we asked

[14:13] folks to put chips in a bucket

[14:16] indicating their highest

[14:18] priorities. You'll see that

[14:19] shows up

[14:20] for both east and west, though

[14:23] in different order. You'll see

[14:24] that open space

[14:25] in resource management is also

[14:26] on there. But you will see that

[14:28] there is a, for example,

[14:29] unique note that east of 99,

[14:33] rural areas were a priority,

[14:34] whereas

[14:35] for folks participating as west

[14:37] of 99 residents, that was not a

[14:39] priority they indicated.

[14:41] Neighborhood ratings also

[14:43] showed some things in common,

[14:46] things that are going well,

[14:48] presence

[14:49] of children and seniors. You

[14:51] get a lot of feedback in terms

[14:52] of quality of life

[14:55] for children. We did have

[14:56] children's activities that,

[14:58] at the Merry Movie Night last

[15:00] weekend, gathered a lot

[15:01] of input

[15:04] from folks just coming

[15:04] in that are not included

[15:06] in our head count, where

[15:08] children are participating and

[15:09] providing us good input and

[15:12] parents are simply reviewing

[15:13] the materials that are

[15:15] out there. You will see here

[15:16] that in terms of things that

[15:18] are doing well and things that

[15:20] need improvement,

[15:21] we do have a common response.

[15:24] So as Sara and Jeff will talk

[15:26] more about, because we're just

[15:28] at the beginning

[15:29] of the process, we're

[15:30] unearthing things that our

[15:32] response that right now we know

[15:34] we need

[15:35] to dig a little bit deeper

[15:36] into that because, obviously,

[15:37] for some of our residents, it's

[15:40] something that's working really

[15:42] well in their neighborhood and

[15:44] for others, it's not. And so

[15:45] this doesn't indicate

[15:47] to us where a policy might go.

[15:51] We need

[15:51] to talk a little bit more

[15:53] with the community

[15:53] about things like that,

[15:55] that have turned up through the

[15:55] mobile workshop responses. We

[15:58] also started

[15:59] out our visioning process

[16:02] at the mobile workshops. We

[16:03] wanted to capture some

[16:05] of that brainstorming

[16:06] about our vision from everyone

[16:09] that we've interacted

[16:10] with thus far,

[16:11] not just the folks who came

[16:12] to the visioning workshops. So

[16:13] we did ask for some

[16:14] of that input

[16:15] to provide a comparable

[16:18] exercise at both division

[16:20] workshop and the mobile

[16:21] workshop. And these results

[16:22] helped feed into the vision,

[16:24] which is the book that you have

[16:27] in front of you

[16:28] in draft form. And I'm going

[16:30] to bring Sara up at this point

[16:32] to help describe a little bit

[16:33] more how this input was used

[16:35] and what other elements played

[16:38] into it. And I'll be happy to

[16:41] answer more questions that you

[16:43] have as you get

[16:44] into your discussion

[16:45] about --.

[16:46] >> One quick question

[16:46] for you.

[16:47] >> Yes.

[16:48] >> You don't need

[16:48] to go back necessarily,

[16:49] but the previous slide sort of

[16:50] summarized strengths and

[16:51] opportunities. And at the

[16:55] bottom you said there's more

[16:58] available online. So I think--I

[17:01] mean just from a general

[17:03] curiosity standpoint, I mean it

[17:04] would be--I bet you the

[17:06] differences are in geography.

[17:08] Are we able to dig

[17:09] in and see what parts of the

[17:10] community see trails as a

[17:13] strength and what parts of the

[17:15] community sees trails as an

[17:16] opportunity for even more,

[17:18] that sort of thing? Or is it

[17:20] just purely all lumped

[17:22] in together?

[17:23] >> We don't have fine-grained

[17:25] geographic data on that, based

[17:28] on just the type

[17:29] of exercise that it was,

[17:30] because we were just asking

[17:31] someone

[17:32] to identify as east or west,

[17:35] not to put the--there was a map

[17:37] where we were asking folks

[17:38] to pinpoint where you live,

[17:40] but that was just

[17:41] to help us get a sense of how

[17:43] representative the input has

[17:45] been.

[17:46] >> Okay.

[17:47] >> But there is a summary.

[17:48] Everything that we have heard

[17:49] thus far,

[17:50] all input that we've received

[17:51] across the community engagement

[17:54] program is in a memo that's

[17:56] being continually updated as

[17:58] events happen and as an event

[18:00] happens and we update that

[18:02] input. It goes online. Right

[18:04] now it is really in transcript

[18:06] form and doesn't have the sort

[18:09] of key summary--the key themes

[18:11] summary that it will eventually

[18:13] have when it's concluded,

[18:14] but it's there if you'd like

[18:15] to take a look at it.

[18:18] >> Okay, thank you.

[18:19] >> Sure.

[18:19] >> If I can ask a question.

[18:20] >> Yes, please --.

[18:21] >> -- for a lot

[18:22] of the topics you're talking

[18:22] about tonight

[18:23] in that you haven't drilled

[18:24] down far enough to find out why

[18:25] the comments are being made

[18:26] exactly?

[18:27] >> Mm-hmm, exactly. Because

[18:29] we're still

[18:30] at a very early stage.

[18:31] >> Obviously it raises

[18:32] questions up here

[18:33] from a different vantage point.

[18:36] Thank you.

[18:38] >> Thank you. And part

[18:41] of that is going

[18:42] to be discussed at some of the

[18:44] topic-based workshops that

[18:46] we're scheduling moving

[18:47] forward. So Nora's example of

[18:48] the walkability showing up both

[18:51] on what we like and what could

[18:53] be improved, that's one

[18:54] of the proposed items

[18:56] for our topic-based workshops.

[18:58] And that would be an

[18:59] opportunity to be able

[18:59] to drill

[19:00] down a little bit more based

[19:01] on the participants who come

[19:03] to that workshop. And we

[19:04] actually have some

[19:06] recommendations on a couple of

[19:07] other topic-based workshops

[19:09] based on the information that

[19:10] we've heard thus far. So I'm

[19:12] going to run through really

[19:13] quickly the visioning workshop.

[19:16] It would be a half-day event

[19:17] held on a Saturday in early

[19:19] November. We had just over 20

[19:20] participants,

[19:22] a pretty even split

[19:23] between participants coming

[19:24] from the east side of 99 and

[19:26] the west side of 99. We had

[19:27] several small group activities.

[19:30] We had three focused small

[19:31] group activities that I'll run

[19:33] through quickly. And then we

[19:35] also had what we call

[19:37] free-flowing activities. I just

[19:38] made that name up,

[19:40] but it will probably work. And

[19:41] that is--you know, there's

[19:43] downtime when people are coming

[19:44] into the event and walking

[19:46] out and taking breaks. So we

[19:47] wanted to really still provide

[19:48] that downtime as an opportunity

[19:49] for people to provide input.

[19:52] So one of the events was an "I

[19:54] like," "I wish," "I wonder,"

[19:56] and that's people writing

[19:57] down what they like,

[19:58] what they wish for Elk Grove,

[19:59] and what they wonder

[20:00] about the process on sticky

[20:01] notes and placing those on

[20:03] poster format so we could get

[20:05] that additional input

[20:06] in that downtime. We also had a

[20:08] "Where do you live," and that's

[20:09] pinning a map, taking a pin

[20:12] on putting it on a map. So we

[20:13] had that distribution

[20:14] of geography through the

[20:15] planning area participants.

[20:17] And then as always, we have a

[20:18] general comments sheets because

[20:20] there's always an opportunity

[20:21] for people to provide us with

[20:22] additional comments--excuse me.

[20:27] So one of the first small group

[20:28] activities we did was community

[20:30] priorities. And this is where

[20:31] we took sort of those nine

[20:33] identified issues that we've

[20:35] been talking about since June

[20:37] and we asked folks

[20:39] to prioritize what those are

[20:40] from their own perspective.

[20:43] And the top three that came

[20:44] out

[20:45] of that was economic vitality,

[20:46] and this was really recognized

[20:49] as like during discussions

[20:50] throughout that event that you

[20:52] can't really achieve all of

[20:54] this fun stuff that we're

[20:55] talking about and what we want

[20:56] if you don't really have a good

[20:58] vital economic base. So that a

[21:00] key theme throughout the

[21:01] discussions

[21:02] from the visioning workshop.

[21:03] Coordinated services,

[21:05] technology and infrastructure,

[21:06] folks talking about this item

[21:08] were really more focused

[21:09] on social services, so youth

[21:11] services, senior services,

[21:14] health services,

[21:15] and school districts. And then

[21:18] sustainable and healthy

[21:19] communities which really ties

[21:20] them a little bit with the

[21:22] coordinated services and health

[21:23] service aspects. The next small

[21:26] group activity,

[21:26] we call it important issues

[21:29] for personas. And this was an

[21:31] activity where we--it's more

[21:33] of an empathy activity. So

[21:35] whereas we asked folks

[21:37] to prioritize issues

[21:38] from their own perspective in

[21:40] the community priority

[21:41] activity,

[21:42] we really wanted them

[21:43] to take a step out of there own

[21:46] thought process and their own

[21:47] conform zone and try and answer

[21:49] that same question

[21:50] for another segment

[21:51] within the community. So we had

[21:54] seven identified personas, and

[21:56] we asked them the same

[21:57] question: Based

[21:58] on this persona,

[21:59] and we had a description

[22:00] of that persona,

[22:02] how would you think they want

[22:04] to rank those priorities? And

[22:06] this was really more

[22:07] of an exercise

[22:08] to get people thinking

[22:09] about other people

[22:12] within the community. And

[22:15] important issues that came out,

[22:16] there were some certain

[22:18] overlaps, of course. The youth

[22:18] and senior services,

[22:20] which tied in

[22:21] with coordinated services,

[22:22] again, economic vitality and

[22:24] some issues

[22:25] on sustainability. The next

[22:28] small group activity that we

[22:31] had was the headline

[22:32] development activity. And this

[22:34] was just more

[22:34] of an open-ended activity. We

[22:37] asked participates to,

[22:39] say they're in Elk Grove 20,

[22:42] 25 years from now, you go

[22:43] to a store and buy a newspaper,

[22:45] or more likely you go online,

[22:47] and what are the headlines that

[22:49] you see or would like to see

[22:51] about how your community has

[22:53] evolved

[22:54] within that time. I won't read

[22:55] through all of them,

[22:56] but certainly you can see some

[22:58] of the topics that were covered

[22:59] within the headlines.

[23:01] Examples, for someone,

[23:03] job and economic growth,

[23:04] alternative modes

[23:05] of transportation,

[23:06] -- service provision.

[23:07] And while we didn't have a

[23:09] large group of participants,

[23:11] you can see that the

[23:12] conversation really still

[23:14] covered a wide range of issues

[23:15] within that focus group. This

[23:19] was one

[23:21] of those free-flow activities.

[23:24] This is the "I wish,

[23:24] I wonder." Again, I won't read

[23:26] through them,

[23:27] but you can see that some of

[23:28] the topics are really starting

[23:30] to coalesce. There's some

[23:32] similarities

[23:33] across the board. Where we did

[23:34] get some comments was a

[23:36] distinction in one of the

[23:38] issues where it was infill and

[23:39] outward expansion. So a lot

[23:41] of participants, it was hard

[23:43] to make comments

[23:44] on that because, of course,

[23:45] sometimes those are competing

[23:47] interests. So that is actually

[23:50] one of the topic-based

[23:51] workshops that we've identified

[23:52] for additional discussion,

[23:54] to be able to drill down

[23:55] on that issue. And finally,

[23:58] there is another component to

[23:59] the outreach that we've been

[24:01] doing. We've been doing the

[24:02] mobile workshops. We have the

[24:03] visioning workshop. And then

[24:05] we've also had some interviews

[24:07] with focus groups. As you can

[24:09] see, there's a lot

[24:10] of city committees

[24:11] on this list. We also had

[24:12] discussions

[24:14] with service providers,

[24:14] some regional agencies,

[24:16] school districts. And these--in

[24:19] your Attachment No. 1, the

[24:21] summary,

[24:21] that is where we have listed

[24:24] all of the comments that we've

[24:25] been recording

[24:27] from these discussions. And

[24:29] with that--oh, no, these are

[24:33] those topics I was talking

[24:35] about. Though Nora already

[24:36] identified the last one

[24:37] on this list, which is

[24:38] transportation, planning,

[24:39] and drilling

[24:40] down a little bit deeper on

[24:41] where we're finding those

[24:42] comments that are really

[24:45] diverging, and we want

[24:46] to be able

[24:47] to make sure that we're clear

[24:48] in the understanding

[24:49] of which way we need to go with

[24:50] our policies. I also mentioned

[24:52] the infill development and that

[24:55] discussion on infill versus

[24:56] outward expansion, and also how

[24:59] you start balancing some other

[25:00] trade-offs such as conserving

[25:02] open space. And then the other

[25:05] topic was how do you really

[25:07] better unified Elk Grove.

[25:09] Because throughout the

[25:10] discussions--and part of the

[25:12] reason why we were recording

[25:13] that distinction

[25:14] between the west side of 99 and

[25:16] east side of 99 is that's the

[25:18] one comment that we've been

[25:20] hearing fairly consistently

[25:21] throughout the process is it

[25:22] seems like there isn't

[25:24] necessarily one unified Elk

[25:26] Grove, and how can we better

[25:27] make that more

[25:29] of a unified community. So

[25:31] that's one

[25:31] of the additional topics. And

[25:33] part of that is talking about

[25:34] neighborhood characteristics.

[25:36] So now with that, I'm going

[25:38] to pass it back over to CJ,

[25:39] who's going to open it up for

[25:41] some comments and discussions

[25:43] with Commission and Council.

[25:45] Thank you.

[25:51] >> So I know you asked a couple

[25:51] of questions

[25:52] during the process of this.

[25:53] But I think the opportunity to

[25:55] take a beat and really review

[25:57] what's been presented,

[25:59] and if there's any questions,

[26:00] we ought to go over thoughts.

[26:01] It's certainly an opportunity

[26:03] for public comment if you'd

[26:04] like to get it now

[26:05] on this first half

[26:06] of what we'd like to go

[26:07] through tonight. Okay, well,

[26:12] so you want to get feedback now

[26:14] or questions and --,

[26:16] yeah, so in this step so far,

[26:18] in the outreach pieces and what

[26:19] we've heard, and the summary

[26:21] that we've presented you.

[26:22] Okay. Any thoughts on the

[26:25] outreach piece?

[26:27] >> I've attended the first

[26:30] joint session and the Chamber

[26:34] of Commerce session and the

[26:35] visioning session,

[26:36] and there's a lot of very

[26:38] general comments here that I

[26:40] think are going to need a lot

[26:41] of work on. So I think we're

[26:42] going in the right direction. I

[26:44] see a lot of commonalities

[26:45] in some of the comments, even

[26:46] though we're hearing where east

[26:49] and west and highway come

[26:50] together, there's still some

[26:51] commonality there.

[26:53] >> Councilmember Hume.

[26:54] >> Thank you. Christopher, what

[26:56] are we doing to reach the folks

[26:58] who don't come out? In a lot

[27:00] of the pictures I saw a lot

[27:01] of familiar faces. I know

[27:03] at these events

[27:04] with the popup tents,

[27:05] that's a good way to kind of

[27:06] get people that wouldn't

[27:08] normally take an interest

[27:08] in city issues.

[27:10] But do you feel like we're

[27:11] really scratching the surface

[27:12] of John Q. public that thinks

[27:14] the City's going fine,

[27:15] is happy where they live, but

[27:17] still would maybe provide

[27:19] valuable input

[27:20] into the process?

[27:22] >> One piece

[27:22] of information we're waiting

[27:23] on getting the results in,

[27:25] we'll get a full presentation

[27:27] in the new year, is the

[27:28] biannual citywide survey.

[27:30] That's another pulse point that

[27:31] we'll be grabbing into this

[27:32] process as we go forward. So

[27:34] once that data is available,

[27:35] we'll integrate it in.

[27:36] At a certain point though,

[27:39] you just can't pry some folks

[27:40] out of their houses. And that's

[27:42] an unfortunate thing.

[27:43] But we'll continue to try

[27:45] to find ways, whether it's

[27:46] through online mechanisms or

[27:48] in person,

[27:49] to see things we can do to try

[27:50] to gather as broad a

[27:50] cross-section

[27:53] of input as possible. So

[27:54] obviously, we're interested

[27:55] in any ideas anybody has

[27:56] on how

[27:58] to do that effectively.

[27:59] >> Well, it looks

[28:00] like you've had a number

[28:00] of meetings with groups,

[28:03] and that's summarized

[28:05] in here. This memorandum,

[28:08] Attachment 1, it looks like--is

[28:12] that it? And there's a lot

[28:13] of bullet points in there

[28:13] about feedback that came

[28:14] from that meeting. So I think

[28:16] that's--I mean there's some

[28:17] good stuff

[28:18] in there. I guess one thing,

[28:19] I'll just point

[28:20] out a suggestion. I mean you

[28:21] met with the multicultural

[28:24] committee, of course, but--and

[28:25] I think that's a--and that's a

[28:27] representative body,

[28:28] but I think another place

[28:30] to consider going to,

[28:32] as we continue the public

[28:32] outreach, would be reaching

[28:34] into, you know, other kind

[28:35] of cultural and ethnic pockets

[28:38] of our community and maybe

[28:40] even, you know,

[28:41] faith-based groups to just kind

[28:43] of--I mean I think that's one

[28:44] place where we could continue

[28:45] to--and I think just showing up

[28:46] is great too. I mean just

[28:48] showing up at community events

[28:49] clearly is giving you feedback

[28:51] that otherwise you wouldn't

[28:53] have received. And it seems

[28:55] like the mobile events have

[28:56] been pretty successful. But I

[28:58] think the cultural groups are a

[28:59] little harder to find because

[29:00] they're--you know, we're not an

[29:02] ethnic pocket-oriented

[29:06] community where you can just go

[29:08] find the leadership

[29:08] of the community. But a lot

[29:10] of it is faith-based and some

[29:13] of it are--you know, they meet

[29:14] in people's homes and whatnot.

[29:15] But they're out there. So

[29:17] that'll be one place, I think,

[29:18] to look. Okay, thank you.

[29:21] >> So, Chris, I actually

[29:22] thought the list of outreach as

[29:25] listed here is pretty

[29:25] impressive as to what, you

[29:28] know, you and your staff have

[29:29] done. I guess I'm curious to

[29:30] see whether or not there are

[29:32] any baseline comparisons on how

[29:34] the other cities conduct this

[29:36] similar type

[29:38] of civics planning. What is the

[29:39] participation rate comparing to

[29:42] the responses that we get?

[29:44] >> We should let Nora answer

[29:45] that because she does so much

[29:46] of on a regular basis.

[29:49] >> Sure. It's a great question.

[29:51] So relative to other cities

[29:53] of our size, I think this is a

[29:56] relatively good rate

[29:58] of participation thus far. And

[30:01] the program that we've planned

[30:02] is fairly robust relative

[30:04] particularly

[30:05] to the state guidance

[30:06] on public involvement

[30:08] for a general plan process,

[30:11] which really fairly minimal to

[30:13] workshops are recommended and

[30:17] only public hearings are

[30:19] required. And certainly the

[30:20] program in place, it will be

[30:23] far more robust than that. But

[30:26] in my opinion,

[30:27] there's always room to work on

[30:29] more public involvement and

[30:31] reaching into corners of the

[30:33] community that have not yet

[30:34] participated. So we're

[30:35] certainly going

[30:37] to continue trying, even though

[30:38] we're exceeding the state

[30:39] recommendations.

[30:42] >> Councilman Suen.

[30:44] >> I do want to commend you on

[30:45] your outreach. I think the

[30:46] mobile studios have been pretty

[30:48] effective. I've seen them when

[30:50] I've been out at events myself.

[30:51] I would encourage us to--you

[30:53] know, part of it is the

[30:54] General Plan itself, to a lot

[30:56] of people who may not even be

[30:58] familiar with the term and

[31:00] recognize what it's for. And so

[31:01] maybe, you know, with

[31:03] Kristin's help we can go on a

[31:05] more aggressive marketing

[31:07] campaign. We have our Next

[31:09] Door apps,

[31:10] we can start posting those. So

[31:12] as any new City events come up,

[31:14] you know, blast it out

[31:15] through there. And so get folks

[31:18] wonderful what's a general

[31:19] plan, and then let them know

[31:20] about the mobile events that

[31:21] are going to take place here.

[31:26] Thank you.

[31:27] >> Thank you. Councilman

[31:28] Detrick.

[31:29] >> Yeah, Chris, one of the

[31:31] things I was wondering when you

[31:32] talked about the surveys, is

[31:34] there anything to--we're

[31:35] looking at doing

[31:36] to incentivize folks

[31:39] to return the survey?

[31:41] >> There's two pieces

[31:43] of the survey. One is the

[31:44] statistically valid phone

[31:45] survey, and the other is the

[31:47] online piece. It's mailed,

[31:51] I'm sorry. There's a mailed

[31:51] survey piece. So there's two

[31:54] parallel components to it.

[31:56] >> But is there any incentive

[31:58] to--

[31:58] >> No.

[31:59] >> --respond to those surveys?

[32:01] >> No.

[32:02] >> Is that something that we

[32:03] could do,

[32:04] is add an incentive?

[32:07] >> At this late date,

[32:08] probably--definitely not

[32:09] for the mail survey. That has

[32:11] closed. And we have just

[32:13] received the draft reports

[32:15] of those findings. We are

[32:18] encouraging people who were not

[32:21] selected to participate

[32:24] in the mail survey

[32:25] to participate

[32:26] on the online survey,

[32:29] and we're going

[32:31] to keep that open

[32:32] through the end of the year.

[32:33] In fact,

[32:36] there will be an article

[32:37] in the local paper

[32:39] about it within, I think,

[32:40] next Wednesday.

[32:42] But I'm not really sure at this

[32:43] late date if there is really

[32:44] any real way

[32:46] to incentivize it. That is

[32:50] something we can look at

[32:51] for when we do it in two years.

[32:52] >> I don't know if that's ever

[32:54] been done in another city,

[32:56] but it seems like people

[32:58] in general,

[33:00] if there's some type

[33:00] of incentive,

[33:01] they're more inclined

[33:02] to respond. And that's our

[33:05] goal, is

[33:06] to get a response.

[33:11] >> All right, thank you.

[33:12] Commissioner Maita.

[33:14] >> Yes, Christopher. First off,

[33:16] I would like to commend as well

[33:18] the--I've seen the mobile sites

[33:19] and they--I've seen them pretty

[33:21] well attended and a lot

[33:24] of interest,

[33:26] and it was gratifying. And

[33:27] particularly, I did attend the

[33:28] workshop where I think they

[33:31] said it was 21 people.

[33:33] Gratifyingly enough,

[33:34] those few people who were

[33:35] there, we did see some new

[33:36] faces, which was nice and got

[33:38] some new perspective. At least

[33:39] at the table I was at. So I

[33:42] appreciated that. But then I'd

[33:44] like to back up and just have

[33:46] you answer a couple questions

[33:48] for me in a broader sense,

[33:50] not specifically to outreach,

[33:52] and that's just

[33:54] to refresh my memory

[33:55] of what your expectation

[33:56] of the shelf life of the

[33:57] General Plan is. And then

[34:00] secondly, when it comes

[34:01] to the elements, I understand

[34:03] the state requirements.

[34:06] But are they presently weighted

[34:11] in any fashion vis- -vis each

[34:13] other, and if they are not, can

[34:18] they be and potentially should

[34:20] they be?

[34:22] >> On your first question,

[34:23] the length of time,

[34:26] it can vary from community

[34:28] to community. Some are

[34:29] on a very regular basis

[34:31] of every 5 to 10 years they do

[34:32] an update. We will have gone

[34:33] about 15 years since our first

[34:36] general plan. I would imagine

[34:38] that this one

[34:39] in its totality will last

[34:42] for a similar period of time,

[34:44] maybe longer, maybe less. It

[34:46] depends on a number

[34:46] of factors. Obviously, there

[34:47] will be updates

[34:49] along the way, amendments

[34:50] to various things, changes

[34:51] in state law. In terms

[34:54] of the elements themselves, the

[34:56] mandatory elements and all

[34:58] other topics or elements that

[35:00] are within the General Plan are

[35:01] required by law

[35:02] to have equal weight. So you

[35:04] don't--land use or housing

[35:05] don't have a higher level

[35:07] of weight or character

[35:09] between any of the others.

[35:10] They all have

[35:11] to be equal and they ought

[35:12] to be consistent

[35:13] with each other. So if you say

[35:14] something on page 35, it must

[35:15] be consistent on page 197. The

[35:19] elements themselves, though,

[35:21] the way the law describes them,

[35:23] it uses that word "elements,"

[35:24] it never uses the word

[35:25] "chapters." Many communities

[35:26] have interpreted or implemented

[35:29] that by having each element be

[35:31] its own standalone chapter. As

[35:33] we approach this,

[35:34] the dialogue we've been having,

[35:36] starting

[35:38] with the issues discussion back

[35:39] in June and following through

[35:41] with the outreach and where the

[35:43] outreach may take us,

[35:45] the discussion may take us

[35:46] over the next six, eight

[35:48] months, I would not be

[35:49] surprised if the organization

[35:50] of the General Plan, how the

[35:50] information is presented,

[35:51] is more in line

[35:54] with those topic elements,

[35:55] those topic components rather

[35:57] than the more traditional every

[35:59] required element or every

[36:00] optional -- that has

[36:01] its own chapter. Because

[36:03] of the inner relationship

[36:04] between those various pieces,

[36:06] how can we talk about land use

[36:08] if you're not also talking

[36:09] about transportation? How can

[36:11] you talk about air quality if

[36:12] you're aligning that with what

[36:15] your transportation issues are?

[36:17] So based on how we've been

[36:18] approaching this

[36:19] for the issues' list,

[36:21] there's a different

[36:23] organization, a different

[36:24] framework pattern that may be

[36:26] more approachable for folks.

[36:26] So we're going

[36:28] to be exploring that.

[36:30] >> Thank you.

[36:30] >> All right, thank you. Now

[36:32] Councilman Detrick?

[36:33] >> On the 500-plus visitors

[36:35] that--I've looked at this. Do

[36:39] you guys keep track of unique

[36:40] visitors versus total count?

[36:41] >> No. That total count was

[36:46] based off of map locations,

[36:48] because not everyone--because

[36:52] there's no requirement,

[36:53] for example, to sign

[36:55] in or check in when you visit a

[36:56] mobile workshop. It was based

[36:58] on those folks who wanted

[36:59] to volunteer the location

[37:00] of their residence within Elk

[37:02] Grove. So what it is, is I

[37:04] would say it's a good rough

[37:08] estimate of the amount

[37:10] of participation,

[37:11] but it certainly doesn't

[37:13] account for anyone who may have

[37:14] given us a comment

[37:16] but not put a pin on a map or

[37:19] had their child color a piece

[37:22] of artwork but didn't chose

[37:23] to sign in. So it's really just

[37:25] our best guesstimate as to how

[37:27] many folks have participated

[37:29] thus far through the mobile

[37:30] workshops.

[37:34] >> Chris, I noticed under the

[37:34] regional agencies groupings

[37:37] that one agency that wasn't

[37:39] mentioned,

[37:40] and there's been a lot of talk

[37:41] about it

[37:43] within the visioning workshop,

[37:44] is transportation. I didn't see

[37:48] regional transit as a

[37:49] participant.

[37:52] >> We will do coordination

[37:53] with them as we get

[37:54] into the specific policies,

[37:56] particularly as we talk about

[37:57] fixed transit opportunities.

[38:00] Because we operate our own

[38:01] local and commuter bus service,

[38:03] there isn't as much overlap.

[38:05] Their engagement has been

[38:06] more--at this point

[38:08] in time more to the extent that

[38:10] it's been occurring--with the

[38:12] comprehensive operational, and

[38:14] now the transit is undergoing

[38:15] right now. So we will be

[38:16] involving them as we get into,

[38:18] okay, what is the vision City

[38:20] has

[38:22] for whether it's light rail,

[38:25] would be RT or something else,

[38:26] how that gets coordinated

[38:29] with them long term.

[38:32] >> Okay. I know we've had a lot

[38:33] of discussion, you know,

[38:34] during SEPA,

[38:36] and the college has mentioned

[38:37] it in here too. So I want to

[38:39] make sure that we do include

[38:40] them at some point in time.

[38:43] >> I'll say one thing too.

[38:44] Something to keep in mind, I

[38:45] mean, obviously, the General

[38:46] Plan update doesn't come

[38:48] around very often and, you

[38:50] know, doesn't come around even

[38:53] as often as it should.

[38:55] But keep in mind that,

[38:57] obviously,

[39:00] the end product is extremely

[39:01] valuable, but the process is,

[39:03] I would say,

[39:04] equally as valuable. So I think

[39:05] the fact that, you know, what

[39:07] you've summarized here is some

[39:09] outreach to those that are

[39:11] involved--certainly our

[39:12] committees or commissions,

[39:14] folks that are already

[39:15] involved, advocates, community

[39:16] groups--those are folks that

[39:19] are already involved in the

[39:20] community. I think the mobile

[39:22] studio gets you beyond the

[39:23] folks that are already

[39:25] involved. And, you know,

[39:27] we threw out some groups I

[39:30] think you could see them do a

[39:31] deeper level of outreach too.

[39:33] But also, you do have other

[39:35] groups that are involved

[39:36] in their neighborhoods

[39:37] but not necessarily involved

[39:38] in the City. And that's just

[39:39] all of our neighborhood

[39:40] associations,

[39:42] community groups. So I think

[39:44] that's another place. I mean if

[39:45] you're going

[39:48] to dig deeper for, you know,

[39:48] some other nuggets,

[39:49] I think there's a whole layer

[39:50] beyond the mobile studio that

[39:52] you can do

[39:53] to really dig deep.

[39:54] Recognizing that, again,

[39:56] the goals are twofold,

[39:58] I fundamentally believe. And

[39:59] it's about the end product,

[40:00] but it's also about engagement

[40:02] and making sure this this

[40:03] process is used in a way to

[40:04] really engage folks. I mean I

[40:06] think you're off

[40:08] to a great start and I'm

[40:09] excited

[40:10] about this continuing. Other

[40:14] thoughts before we go

[40:15] to public comment?

[40:17] >> With the neighborhoods, we

[40:18] can piggyback their neighbor

[40:19] watch 'cause we got

[40:20] to keep the database already

[40:21] on that. So the neighborhood

[40:22] watch is a great one

[40:23] to piggyback off of.

[40:28] >> Yeah. Okay, let's see.

[40:28] Well, let's see,

[40:30] I've got someone signed up

[40:31] to speak. Mark Doty?

[40:41] >> I'm it?

[40:42] That's so disappointing.

[40:44] It's not often I--

[40:45] >> Just first, that's all.

[40:47] >> Okay, good.

[40:49] Councilmembers,

[40:50] Commissioners, it's a pleasure

[40:51] to speak

[40:52] with you this evening. I'm

[40:54] Mark Doty. I'm Chair of the

[40:56] Trails Committee,

[40:57] but my comments

[40:58] in no way reflect the Trails

[41:00] Committee. I've been stuck on

[41:00] that a few times. A couple

[41:03] things I just wanted to talk

[41:05] about tonight. It's already

[41:07] kind of been discussed.

[41:09] But when I was reading

[41:12] through this, I was just kind

[41:13] of curious what the community

[41:14] has been bringing up, and you

[41:16] saw trails was mentioned

[41:17] numerous times. There's 500

[41:20] people or so that have been

[41:22] surveyed, and a lot

[41:23] of it came up. So I mean I want

[41:24] ahead and tabbed some things:

[41:27] improved bicycle

[41:28] infrastructure,

[41:30] connect the trail system. Some

[41:32] other interesting ones I saw

[41:35] was the Multicultural

[41:37] Committee said we need to

[41:39] complete our bike path network,

[41:41] we need a network where you

[41:42] don't need to cross

[41:44] at the intersection,

[41:45] which I've been at Planning

[41:48] Commission meetings and City

[41:49] Council meetings hammering

[41:51] on that.

[41:52] >> Once or twice.

[41:53] >> A few times. Apparently,

[41:55] it's getting out to other

[41:56] people 'cause I didn't expect

[41:57] the Housing Youth Authority or

[42:03] the Youth Commission--a lot of

[42:05] different people mention the

[42:06] trails--school district,

[42:07] I was talking

[42:08] about safe routes

[42:09] to school and trail system.

[42:13] Even Sacramento Safe Help

[42:15] Housing mentioned active

[42:17] transportation is key. The

[42:20] streets in Elk Grove are almost

[42:21] freeway-like and are a big

[42:22] barrier

[42:23] to biking and walking. Make

[42:24] sure there are sidewalks

[42:28] everywhere and make it safe

[42:29] to walk and/or bike. Youth

[42:33] Commission I thought was very

[42:34] interesting. You know, same

[42:36] thing: bike lanes should be

[42:37] separated from the road.

[42:40] Everyone drives

[42:40] in the bike lane,

[42:41] so it's not safe. Some

[42:42] suggestion, green ways,

[42:44] mixed use pass separated

[42:45] from the roadways. The trail

[42:47] should be connected,

[42:49] and it should connect

[42:50] to parks. And then overall from

[42:52] the visioning workshops there

[42:56] was also talk

[42:58] about the trails and so on. So

[43:01] I think that speaks pretty well

[43:04] of what people like about Elk

[43:08] Grove and what they want

[43:09] to see continue. One other

[43:11] thing that's not trail related

[43:12] that I didn't even--wasn't

[43:15] looking for when I read this

[43:16] but came

[43:18] across it is the expansion

[43:22] of the City. I saw all these

[43:26] different groups, but the only

[43:28] group that was pro expand the

[43:32] boundaries of the City was the

[43:36] developers. The whole group was

[43:37] a bunch

[43:37] of housing developers. Some

[43:38] of them are probably sitting in

[43:40] the back and probably not

[43:41] liking me right now.

[43:42] But anyway, I'd just throw it

[43:43] out there that it doesn't

[43:45] seem--I don't see the

[43:47] Multicultural Committee and the

[43:48] Youth Commission saying we need

[43:51] to expand our City, you know,

[43:53] we need more housing,

[43:54] more blowing past Kammerer

[43:56] Road to the south. I know there

[43:59] was probably a need for it and

[44:01] will happen probably someday.

[44:02] But, you know, so I have kind

[44:03] of been out there. And

[44:05] since I got nine of you here,

[44:06] I'll throw it out there,

[44:08] that you need to listen

[44:09] to your constituents,

[44:10] the people that live here. And

[44:11] I don't know,

[44:13] I read this whole thing cover

[44:14] to cover and I didn't see one

[44:16] group besides the developer

[44:17] group that was, you know, hey,

[44:19] we need a bigger city

[44:20] to make a better city,

[44:22] 'cause we really don't. So

[44:23] appreciate your time,

[44:24] thank you.

[44:25] >> Thanks, Mark. All right,

[44:25] Leo, you're up. If anybody

[44:30] would like to speak after

[44:31] Leo, please get your form in

[44:33] 'cause I don't have anybody

[44:34] else at this point.

[44:38] >> Good evening,

[44:38] Councilmembers and

[44:39] Commissioners. I appreciate all

[44:41] the work you're putting

[44:42] into this whole thing. It's

[44:44] very valuable. It's going

[44:46] to be the most valuable thing,

[44:47] I think, that the City has. As

[44:50] for myself,

[44:51] I'm a lifelong resident

[44:53] of the area. I was raised

[44:54] on what is now the Pilgrim

[44:56] Ranch on Sloughhouse Road. And

[44:58] I've lived

[45:00] in my place for--before I moved

[45:03] out here, I was the last class

[45:05] out of the old historic

[45:07] Rhoads School down

[45:10] at the park. And I just tell

[45:14] you that because I dye my hair

[45:15] white, it's not because

[45:17] of my age. But you're all

[45:22] to be very much complimented

[45:24] for doing this. I think it's a

[45:25] very, very important element

[45:27] for the future of this City.

[45:30] And we all, us that live out

[45:32] in the rural area,

[45:33] we treasure it. And one

[45:34] of the things that I've got

[45:38] to compliment all of you for is

[45:40] you've supported us all this

[45:41] time through. And in talking

[45:45] to Jason, it looks

[45:47] like we're going

[45:49] to finally put an end to the

[45:51] General Plan, and that's very

[45:52] important. That'll keep it

[45:54] in place. The other thing that

[45:57] I want to say is the biggest

[46:02] issue that we have out there,

[46:04] to my knowledge, is traffic.

[46:09] So when the circulation element

[46:11] is put together in the

[46:12] General Plan, I would suggest

[46:14] that staff meet,

[46:17] have a few more meetings

[46:18] with the people out there so

[46:19] they can--you know, we can

[46:22] express our concerns and maybe

[46:24] they can get more information

[46:26] that we can help them

[46:27] with too.

[46:28] But other than that, there's

[46:30] nothing we can do other than

[46:32] thank you

[46:33] for everything you've done

[46:34] to support us, all of you.

[46:36] Thank you very much. And people

[46:37] like Shane Diller here,

[46:39] he has worked with us,

[46:41] and every time there's an

[46:42] issue, he gets it resolved.

[46:45] And that's the kind of topnotch

[46:47] people we have here and

[46:49] in our City. You're

[46:50] to be complimented. Thank you

[46:52] so much.

[46:53] >> Thank you very much, Leo.

[46:54] You nailed it. I mean Shane is

[46:55] an example,

[46:56] but I think that is everybody

[46:58] on City staff though.

[47:00] >> Mr. Mayor, can we start

[47:01] Leo's clock over again? I'd

[47:02] like to have him come back up

[47:03] here.

[47:09] >> All right, thanks, Pat.

[47:11] >> He was joking. Beth, you're

[47:12] next. And by way,

[47:17] I didn't announce it earlier,

[47:19] so if you would like to

[47:19] participate and make some

[47:20] comments, you can. Just please

[47:22] fill

[47:23] out the speaker request form

[47:23] at the back

[47:24] of the room and bring it up

[47:25] here to Jason.

[47:27] >> All right, I'm Beth

[47:28] Ruthven, and like Leo, I was

[47:30] born and raised here in Elk

[47:32] Grove, and I appreciate all the

[47:33] work done on the General

[47:35] Plan. And I'd like

[47:36] to piggyback on what Leo said

[47:38] in terms of the rural area.

[47:40] That's extraordinarily

[47:41] important to us. And I think

[47:42] that's reflected in a lot of

[47:43] community wishes. I think

[47:46] perhaps that one of the issues

[47:48] in bringing both east and west

[47:50] together is that as long as

[47:52] there are concerns about

[47:54] whether or not the rural area

[47:56] will be preserved,

[47:57] that it's going

[47:58] to be an us or them kind of

[48:00] problem. I know working as a

[48:01] teacher at Elk Grove High

[48:03] School that when it comes

[48:06] to promoting headlines for

[48:08] Elk Grove, one of the things

[48:10] that we do every year is we

[48:13] take lots and lots of awards

[48:14] through our ad program. Our

[48:16] rural kids who attend our

[48:20] school attend and have an

[48:23] opportunity to participate

[48:25] in one of the most amazing ad

[48:28] programs. And these are our

[48:30] country kids. And we'll lose

[48:31] that if we lose the character

[48:33] of our country areas.

[48:36] Personally, I miss it. I still

[48:38] live in the rural community,

[48:40] but it does not feel

[48:42] like it used to. And so I'd

[48:43] like to see it reflected

[48:45] in the General Plan that we're

[48:46] working on taking care of that

[48:49] and ensuring that it will stay.

[48:53] And in fact, trying to maybe

[48:55] make some changes so that

[48:58] Sheldon Road does not become a

[49:02] main artery,

[49:03] so that the portion of Sheldon

[49:06] that's just beautiful and

[49:08] overhung with oaks,

[49:10] that we can maybe extend that.

[49:11] And I know our homeowners'

[49:12] association is interested

[49:14] in partnering with the City

[49:16] in providing trees

[49:18] to help make that happen. We do

[49:20] need to look

[49:20] at traffic calming measures.

[49:22] But that really needs

[49:24] to be respected in the

[49:25] General Plan. And I think that

[49:27] would resolve a lot of the us

[49:29] against them stuff. As long as

[49:31] the rural community kind

[49:32] of feels threatened, when we

[49:34] have such a long history there

[49:36] and we have kids involved in

[49:38] this stuff and this is just

[49:40] such a part of our roots,

[49:41] there's always going to be,

[49:42] you know, some headbutting.

[49:44] And I don't think it would be a

[49:45] difficult thing

[49:46] to resolve overall. Anyway,

[49:47] just wanted to throw that

[49:49] out there. And

[49:51] in case you weren't aware,

[49:52] right,

[49:53] we do nationally recognized ad

[49:56] programs, so we need

[49:57] to support our kids,

[49:58] right?

[49:59] >> Yep, well said, Beth. I

[50:01] think everyone here knows when

[50:02] you go to the state fair,

[50:03] the county fair, and that Elk

[50:04] Grove dominates. And not just

[50:06] Elk Grove High School, you

[50:07] know, many of our high schools

[50:08] dominate.

[50:09] >> Nationally ----

[50:11] >> Yep.

[50:12] >> ---- so anyway.

[50:14] >> Agreed. Thank you.

[50:18] >> Not that I'm partial

[50:19] to us --.

[50:21] >> Okay. Anyone else care

[50:22] to share? Do we have further

[50:25] staff presentation?

[50:36] >> Good evening,

[50:37] Commissioners, Councilmembers.

[50:38] I'm Jeff Henderson, Special

[50:39] Projects Manager with the

[50:40] City. And I'm going to take us

[50:42] through the second half

[50:43] of our presentation,

[50:45] which is really on the draft

[50:47] shared community vision,

[50:50] two modifiers there. Draft

[50:52] in the sense that this is, you

[50:54] know, all of it looks kind

[50:55] of glossy and flashy. It's a

[50:57] work

[50:58] in progress and it's meant

[50:58] to be that. This is the

[51:01] starting point, this is some

[51:02] of the first texts, if you

[51:04] will, that we're drafting

[51:05] for the actual General Plan.

[51:06] And the purpose

[51:08] of tonight's discussion is

[51:09] to share

[51:11] with you our initial thoughts

[51:12] on what the vision looks

[51:13] like based on all

[51:14] of the input that Nora and

[51:16] Sara summarized earlier and

[51:18] to relay that as a draft, to

[51:21] say this is our starting point.

[51:22] And as Christopher mentioned

[51:24] earlier, it can and should be

[51:25] tweaked a bit as the policy

[51:28] discussion progresses.

[51:29] But it sets

[51:30] for us that initial course

[51:32] for the direction that we want

[51:33] to go for the next 15 years.

[51:35] It outlines what we believe

[51:38] to be a good vision for

[51:39] essentially bringing the

[51:42] community together

[51:43] toward a common vision.

[51:45] Again, trying to say, you know,

[51:46] one

[51:47] of the objectives potentially

[51:48] of this plan going forward is

[51:49] so that 15 years from now,

[51:51] when we're here talking about a

[51:53] potential general plan update

[51:54] again, you know,

[51:55] maybe the initial point of

[51:57] conversation isn't an east-west

[51:59] divide,

[52:00] it's some other new challenge

[52:00] or issue, but that that's

[52:01] something that we've

[52:02] potentially worked

[52:04] toward resolving

[52:05] over the course of the nest 15

[52:06] years. So it's a more common

[52:08] vision

[52:09] toward a brighter future,

[52:11] which is one of the key themes

[52:12] of the General Plan update.

[52:14] And it really represents a

[52:15] summary of where the City is

[52:16] going to go, what it's going

[52:18] to do, and how it will do it.

[52:19] That's ultimately what the

[52:21] General Plan does. This

[52:22] document really kind of starts

[52:24] with that first bullet point,

[52:25] where do we want to go? What do

[52:27] we want to be in 15 to 20

[52:28] years? The vision is used

[52:31] ultimately in conjunction

[52:35] with the rest of the General

[52:36] Plan--sorry -- back.

[52:38] It's used in tandem

[52:40] with the policies and actions

[52:41] of the General Plan. This is

[52:43] sort of the first step, the

[52:44] very top level step that's then

[52:46] implemented further

[52:47] with goals, policies,

[52:49] and actions. To use

[52:51] Christopher's analogy earlier

[52:52] about driving east, you know,

[52:54] we know we're going to the

[52:55] East Coast, just as an analogy,

[52:57] we know we're going to the

[52:58] East Coast. We don't know yet

[52:59] whether we're aiming more

[53:01] toward Boston or more toward

[53:03] Miami. As we move farther east,

[53:04] we start choosing highways,

[53:06] we start determining the

[53:08] timeframe, how fast we want

[53:09] to go, and ultimately what the

[53:10] final destination is. And

[53:12] that's a process that can be

[53:14] kind of drawn parallel

[53:15] from this vision level,

[53:17] where we're essentially

[53:18] pointing east,

[53:19] and an action level which says,

[53:21] you know,

[53:21] at what timeframe and by what

[53:24] mode and how fast are we going

[53:25] to get, say, Washington, D.C.

[53:28] as our destination. So that's

[53:31] really an analogy

[53:33] for where this vision fits in

[53:34] to the overall system.

[53:36] In our next Roundabout Reach

[53:37] that we'll initiate

[53:39] after the first of the year, in

[53:40] future joint study

[53:41] sessions--and at the end

[53:42] of the meeting we're going to

[53:44] outlay the calendar that we've

[53:45] selected for getting us

[53:47] from where we are now

[53:48] to a very key timeframe in

[53:51] June where we'd be presenting a

[53:52] preferred alternative that's

[53:54] the basis for the plan,

[53:55] and then ultimately

[53:57] to the release

[53:58] of the draft plan

[53:58] toward the end of next year.

[54:00] And those study sessions are

[54:01] very important points. This one

[54:02] is the first. These are very

[54:04] important points for us

[54:06] to essentially check

[54:07] in and say, is this

[54:09] on the right direction,

[54:11] shall we proceed

[54:12] to the next step? And that's

[54:13] really the type

[54:14] of direction we're seeking

[54:14] from you tonight. So I'm going

[54:19] to take a minute, and this is

[54:20] the one slide I'm going

[54:21] to read, because this is

[54:23] ultimately the draft

[54:25] of the community vision itself.

[54:28] And it's describing Elk Grove

[54:29] in fifteen years. So when we

[54:31] talk about the tense

[54:33] of this statement,

[54:34] we're talking

[54:35] about the community I 15 years.

[54:37] "As Elk Grove is a great place

[54:38] to make a home and a great

[54:39] place to work, our community is

[54:41] healthy and safe and is

[54:43] family-oriented with thriving

[54:45] schools and plentiful parks,

[54:47] shops, and places to work.

[54:49] Agriculture, rural homes, and

[54:52] urban life flourish together.

[54:57] Our natural resources,

[54:58] including water and open

[54:59] spaces, are protected and offer

[55:01] a variety

[55:02] of recreational opportunities.

[55:03] Community members travel easily

[55:06] by automobile, by bicycle,

[55:08] on foot, or using transit.

[55:12] The City's proactive is making

[55:14] daily life healthy and

[55:16] sustainable,

[55:17] considering the needs of future

[55:18] generations while protecting

[55:20] what is valued today.

[55:22] Well-maintained infrastructure

[55:24] and the right mix of services

[55:26] and amenities draw new and

[55:28] dynamic businesses and

[55:29] development to Elk Grove. And

[55:32] development is guided to ensure

[55:34] responsible growth and

[55:36] opportunities for a diversity

[55:38] of individuals that call Elk

[55:39] Grove home." So you'll see a

[55:41] lot

[55:42] of different themes reflected

[55:43] in there. And when we think

[55:44] back to the topics of the

[55:45] General Plan, one of the things

[55:46] the vision statement is

[55:48] intending to do is to try

[55:49] to kind of touch all those

[55:50] bases and make a statement

[55:51] about what's the future

[55:52] direction with regard to the

[55:54] various topics that were

[55:56] mandated to address in the

[55:57] General Plan. So this then is a

[55:59] narrative statement. The intent

[56:02] would be to place this

[56:03] in the beginning of the

[56:04] General Plan as setting the

[56:06] framework for the resulting

[56:07] goals and policies. And it's

[56:08] referenced in the booklet

[56:10] that's been distributed tonight

[56:11] on page 13 by way

[56:13] of reference. That vision

[56:17] statement is supported

[56:18] by a number of what we call

[56:21] supporting principles. So we

[56:22] start

[56:23] from that vision statement, and

[56:25] then the supporting principles

[56:26] dive in a little bit deeper,

[56:28] providing still guidance

[56:29] statements on a variety

[56:31] of very important topics. It is

[56:34] possible this could be one way

[56:35] that the General Plan is

[56:36] organized. Again, that's not a

[56:38] decision that's been made nor

[56:39] necessarily recommendation

[56:41] at this point, but it is an

[56:42] idea that we're potentially

[56:44] kicking around. And that these

[56:46] supporting principles then take

[56:48] a topic like,

[56:49] if we flip the page to 14, this

[56:54] identifies the supporting

[56:55] principles. If we go again

[56:57] to page 17, it will identify,

[56:59] for example, one

[57:01] of those first,

[57:02] the regional goals and

[57:03] influence topic,

[57:05] with another statement, a

[57:06] supporting statement: "Our

[57:07] regional neighbors know us and

[57:10] our contributions." This

[57:11] responds in many ways

[57:12] to the dialogue that initiated

[57:13] in June about Elk Grove's place

[57:15] in the region and the way the

[57:17] region and its overall

[57:20] strategies consider perhaps

[57:23] economic strategies,

[57:24] sustainability strategies and

[57:25] the like, how those influence

[57:27] Elk Grove. But in turn,

[57:28] this is also about Elk Grove's

[57:31] place in this region from a

[57:33] land resource perspective,

[57:36] from an economic perspective,

[57:38] what is it that Elk Grove

[57:39] uniquely brings

[57:40] to the region. And so it's a

[57:41] statement that essentially says

[57:44] in the future, as is true

[57:46] today, Elk Grove occupies a

[57:47] prominent place

[57:49] in the regional dialogue.

[57:50] That Elk Grove's contributions

[57:52] to the region include

[57:53] recreation, higher education,

[57:56] job centers,

[57:57] and quality neighborhoods.

[57:59] That's a preliminary list. It

[58:01] could certainly be added upon.

[58:02] But I think from the types

[58:04] of input that we've received,

[58:06] these are the areas

[58:07] around which the vision is kind

[58:09] of stepping forward and saying

[58:11] here are some ways

[58:11] in which we're going

[58:12] to contribute to the region.

[58:13] And ultimately, jobs/housing

[58:14] balance becomes an important

[58:16] consideration from a potential

[58:18] policy perspective under this

[58:20] guiding principle or supporting

[58:22] principle. And that's tied up

[58:24] in the final statement

[58:26] under that setting, that both

[58:29] housing and jobs are available

[58:29] in the community providing

[58:31] flexible opportunities

[58:31] for different lifestyles. Next

[58:36] key topic is referred

[58:38] to as "Development Fills

[58:40] in the Gaps." This is one

[58:42] that's really kind of

[58:43] about the growth strategy for

[58:44] the community and how growth

[58:46] would be managed in the future

[58:47] in Elk Grove. And it's

[58:49] recognizing that, you know,

[58:51] today there are a number

[58:52] of kind of undeveloped gaps

[58:53] within the communities and we

[58:55] recognize that these are key

[58:56] opportunities to help bring

[58:58] in the types

[59:00] of additions that are wanted

[59:01] in the City

[59:02] from a economic perspective.

[59:03] There's an emphasis here

[59:05] on small business preservation.

[59:07] Again, from the principle

[59:08] of the first step,

[59:09] economic development is

[59:11] to take care

[59:11] of what you have, and then

[59:13] to move forward and to attract

[59:13] things that are compatible

[59:15] with your overall vision. It's

[59:17] a recognition that new housing

[59:21] in the community is a need,

[59:23] both

[59:23] to protect affordability and to

[59:25] improve that potential

[59:27] jobs/housing balance and

[59:29] potentially to help improve

[59:31] commuting distances and similar

[59:32] topics within the community.

[59:37] And a recognition that the

[59:38] City's growth strategy may

[59:40] involve both infill

[59:42] into these existing kinds

[59:44] of gaps within the community

[59:45] and establishing a creative

[59:48] growth management strategy for

[59:49] if and how outward expansion

[59:52] occurs. And, you know, one

[59:54] of the pieces of dialogue that

[59:55] we've heard throughout this

[59:57] process is, if the City's going

[59:58] to continue

[59:59] to expand outward, that the

[1:00:01] General Plan should lay the

[1:00:03] framework

[1:00:03] under which that occurs. And so

[1:00:05] that, you know,

[1:00:06] there's some statement

[1:00:07] in here that talks

[1:00:08] about the types

[1:00:09] of things that would be needed

[1:00:11] in order

[1:00:12] to enable that development

[1:00:13] to occur

[1:00:14] in a fashion consistent

[1:00:15] with the General Plan. So

[1:00:17] that's an important

[1:00:19] consideration as we go forward

[1:00:21] as well. The next topic is "Our

[1:00:23] Economy Thrives and New

[1:00:26] Businesses Add Value." This is

[1:00:28] recognizing the fact that Elk

[1:00:31] Grove is and should continue

[1:00:33] to--is a diverse economy now

[1:00:35] and should continue to

[1:00:36] diversify its economic

[1:00:38] strengths and become a more

[1:00:40] major employment center

[1:00:41] in the region. That's going

[1:00:43] to be one of the important

[1:00:44] strategies going forward,

[1:00:46] that the City should encourage

[1:00:47] an innovative technology

[1:00:49] infrastructure and continue

[1:00:52] to build upon the opportunity

[1:00:54] to provide technical education

[1:00:55] or opportunities,

[1:00:58] and that plentiful goods,

[1:01:00] services, activities and

[1:01:01] entertainment remain an

[1:01:03] important part

[1:01:04] of the mix that, again, draws

[1:01:05] people here and helps

[1:01:07] businesses to thrive

[1:01:08] in the community. The next key

[1:01:12] topic gets to sort

[1:01:15] of the balance between citywide

[1:01:16] values and neighborhood values.

[1:01:19] And this is titled "City Core

[1:01:20] Heritage and Well-Known

[1:01:22] Neighborhoods." And it

[1:01:24] recognizes that

[1:01:25] in the future, you know, the

[1:01:26] City in 15 years from now,

[1:01:27] we recognize the existence

[1:01:29] of a civic core. You know, this

[1:01:31] could include a civics center

[1:01:32] and surrounding uses,

[1:01:33] for example. So civic core, it

[1:01:36] gives good central gathering

[1:01:39] places for community members,

[1:01:42] something in a physical sense

[1:01:44] that unites the east and west

[1:01:45] sides in that regard,

[1:01:46] and that Old Town,

[1:01:48] for example, continues

[1:01:50] to grow and protect--I'm sorry,

[1:01:53] not grow, but that Old Town

[1:01:54] Elk Grove continues

[1:01:56] to protect and showcase the

[1:01:57] City's history and is a

[1:02:00] valuable resource

[1:02:01] for continuing

[1:02:02] to communicate the history

[1:02:04] of the City. And that

[1:02:05] neighborhoods are an important

[1:02:07] value. And that as they're

[1:02:09] organized around your topnotch

[1:02:11] parks and schools, and that

[1:02:13] that interplay is valued going

[1:02:14] forward and is indeed the model

[1:02:17] for which new development

[1:02:19] continues to occur. And that

[1:02:20] the preservation and change

[1:02:24] in neighborhoods is guided

[1:02:25] by local values,

[1:02:27] and local values centered

[1:02:28] on diversity within the City,

[1:02:31] neighborly spirit that exists

[1:02:32] in current neighborhoods,

[1:02:34] and ultimately protection

[1:02:35] of small town character. Even

[1:02:37] as a large community, by doing

[1:02:38] good neighborhood planning, you

[1:02:39] can protect that small town

[1:02:41] character

[1:02:42] by essentially connecting

[1:02:43] people to neighborhoods. The

[1:02:46] next topic is dedicated

[1:02:48] to "Protecting Our Farming

[1:02:50] Heritage and Rural Life." This

[1:02:52] is where essentially the

[1:02:53] strategies for the rural area

[1:02:55] are incapsulated. And the

[1:02:57] intent here is to use the

[1:02:59] General Plan to celebrate rural

[1:03:00] life as a part

[1:03:02] of the community. And you think

[1:03:04] back to the vision statement

[1:03:05] that was the statement

[1:03:06] essentially

[1:03:07] about agriculture, rural and

[1:03:09] urban, all coexisting,

[1:03:11] and that that's part

[1:03:12] of the vision

[1:03:13] of the community. This really

[1:03:15] gets

[1:03:15] to celebrating the rural aspect

[1:03:16] of that, while recognizing that

[1:03:18] there's going to continue

[1:03:20] to be a bit of a struggle

[1:03:21] in balancing that rural

[1:03:22] heritage

[1:03:24] with all the other needs,

[1:03:25] services,

[1:03:26] and lifestyles that are desired

[1:03:27] by Elk Grove residents. And so

[1:03:29] it's an important thing, I

[1:03:31] think, from our perspective

[1:03:32] to document the commitment

[1:03:34] to the rural area and

[1:03:36] to maintenance of the rural

[1:03:37] area and its character in the

[1:03:39] General Plan. And they've got a

[1:03:41] fundamental value of the

[1:03:42] General Plan that then every

[1:03:44] other planning decision on a

[1:03:46] day-to-day basis is measured

[1:03:47] against, but to do that in a

[1:03:50] manner that also addresses all

[1:03:52] the other needs

[1:03:53] in the community. And so just,

[1:03:55] again, reinforcing a commitment

[1:03:57] that the rural area is valued,

[1:03:59] and that that value is clear

[1:04:00] and codified in all of the

[1:04:02] City's planning documents. And

[1:04:04] the best way to do that is

[1:04:05] to start with the General Plan

[1:04:06] and role down. The next

[1:04:13] principle is "Outdoor

[1:04:14] Recreation is Right Outside

[1:04:14] Our Door." And this gets

[1:04:17] to some of the open space and

[1:04:18] conservation topics required

[1:04:19] by General Plan law. And it

[1:04:20] starts with really valuing the

[1:04:23] parks and trails in the

[1:04:25] community and ensuring that,

[1:04:27] you know,

[1:04:27] we are continually working

[1:04:28] toward a consistent and

[1:04:30] connected system that is

[1:04:32] of high quality and continues

[1:04:33] to be highly valued

[1:04:34] by residents and those looking

[1:04:36] to locate in Elk Grove and

[1:04:38] really sort

[1:04:39] of portrayed as an amenity,

[1:04:41] portrayed as a community

[1:04:42] amenity of Elk Grove, and that

[1:04:44] we enhance and maintain our

[1:04:45] recreational open spaces. And

[1:04:47] again,

[1:04:48] here we're conveying some

[1:04:49] values for these open spaces

[1:04:50] of safety, connection, and

[1:04:53] accessibility, and building the

[1:04:55] essentially open-spaced plan

[1:04:57] around those principles. And

[1:05:00] then ultimately,

[1:05:01] looking outward and saying,

[1:05:03] you know, we have a good

[1:05:04] valuable trail system that's

[1:05:06] only enhanced by connecting

[1:05:07] to other things

[1:05:07] in the region. It produces

[1:05:10] potential transportation

[1:05:12] benefits,

[1:05:13] it produces potential health

[1:05:14] benefits,

[1:05:15] and further connects Elk Grove

[1:05:17] to a larger region. The key

[1:05:18] circulation principle here is

[1:05:23] titled "Moving Around

[1:05:24] Anywhere, Any Way." And it's a

[1:05:27] recognition that people need

[1:05:30] to move

[1:05:32] around efficiently and they

[1:05:33] need to be provided a variety

[1:05:35] of ways to do it,

[1:05:37] and that that results through

[1:05:39] connected transportation

[1:05:40] networks, further regional

[1:05:42] coordination,

[1:05:43] and providing options to the

[1:05:46] single occupancy vehicle. Not

[1:05:47] replacing single occupancy

[1:05:49] vehicle but providing options

[1:05:50] to it that are viable and

[1:05:52] support everyday activity. And

[1:05:56] that's done

[1:05:56] through encouraging a variety

[1:05:58] of transportation modes and

[1:05:59] ensuring both efficiency and

[1:06:01] safety in the roadway system.

[1:06:04] And one of the provisions

[1:06:05] of state law that we are

[1:06:06] working to comply with

[1:06:08] within the General Plan update

[1:06:09] is the requirement to address a

[1:06:11] complete streets transportation

[1:06:13] system. And so there's

[1:06:14] recognition at the vision and

[1:06:16] guiding principle level,

[1:06:18] so all the way up

[1:06:19] at this level,

[1:06:20] that there's necessary

[1:06:21] to provide facilities

[1:06:22] for peds, pedestrians,

[1:06:24] bicyclists, and transit users

[1:06:26] as well as a variety

[1:06:27] of other users in clean, safe,

[1:06:30] and well-maintained facilities.

[1:06:36] The next is "Clean Green

[1:06:37] Practices and Healthy

[1:06:38] Living." So this is really

[1:06:39] getting to sustainability and

[1:06:40] health considerations of the

[1:06:42] General Plan. And it's a goal

[1:06:44] for the City to, you know,

[1:06:46] looking back on this General

[1:06:47] Plan and its implementation as

[1:06:49] the City accomplished the goal

[1:06:50] of being a leader in regional

[1:06:52] conservation efforts and

[1:06:54] understanding the roles

[1:06:56] of organizations, businesses,

[1:06:58] and residents in assisting in

[1:06:59] accomplishing that objective.

[1:07:03] Embracing innovations and green

[1:07:04] technologies is a good

[1:07:06] connection, if you will,

[1:07:07] between conservation goals and

[1:07:09] economic development goals

[1:07:10] potentially and looking

[1:07:12] at that and understanding, you

[1:07:14] know, can we develop policies

[1:07:14] that advance us

[1:07:15] toward those objectives. And

[1:07:18] that the City's layout and land

[1:07:19] uses promote healthy living

[1:07:21] with healthy food options and

[1:07:23] destinations nearby. So those

[1:07:26] are also important

[1:07:27] considerations under the clean

[1:07:29] green practices and healthy

[1:07:30] living principle. And the final

[1:07:35] one is "Services for the Needs

[1:07:37] of All Residents." This really

[1:07:39] gets to community services,

[1:07:41] infrastructure and potentially

[1:07:42] social service impacts of the

[1:07:45] General Plan and laying out a

[1:07:46] strategy that connects those

[1:07:48] services and facilities to the

[1:07:50] broader land use perspective.

[1:07:54] And under this, you know,

[1:07:55] safety and services are

[1:07:56] recognized as important

[1:07:57] to all members

[1:07:58] of the community,

[1:08:00] with particular emphasis on

[1:08:02] youth and seniors as well as

[1:08:03] disadvantaged families

[1:08:05] within the community. And then

[1:08:07] the City stepping forward to

[1:08:08] ensure that services are

[1:08:10] provided, not committing

[1:08:11] to provide services itself,

[1:08:12] but in its role, ensuring that

[1:08:15] residents and businesses have

[1:08:17] access to adequate social,

[1:08:19] housing, transportation,

[1:08:20] health,

[1:08:22] and education services. This is

[1:08:24] something that was underlying a

[1:08:26] lot of the dialogue with the

[1:08:28] community that we've had over

[1:08:29] the last several months and

[1:08:30] something that we as a team

[1:08:31] were kind of very intrigued

[1:08:32] to hear,

[1:08:34] was a strong emphasis and value

[1:08:36] on social services

[1:08:37] within the community

[1:08:38] in the context of a General

[1:08:39] Plan. And so it's something

[1:08:40] that we felt important

[1:08:41] to bring forward

[1:08:42] at this level. And that

[1:08:44] entertainment and social

[1:08:45] centers, kind of thinking more

[1:08:47] about the economic component

[1:08:48] of this, support a thriving

[1:08:50] economy and give residents

[1:08:52] places in the community

[1:08:54] to shop, to play, and just

[1:08:55] to relax and enjoy aspects

[1:08:59] of the community. That

[1:09:03] summarizes the overall vision

[1:09:05] and supporting principles. I've

[1:09:07] got a couple slides just

[1:09:09] to summarize next steps, and

[1:09:10] then we'll have another period

[1:09:12] for discussion and public

[1:09:13] comment. And I'll invite

[1:09:14] Christopher to come up and

[1:09:16] conclude the presentation.

[1:09:22] >> Thanks, Jeff. So very

[1:09:23] briefly, as you'll see

[1:09:24] on the screen, are what we see

[1:09:25] as the next steps

[1:09:26] to dive down. And we talked

[1:09:28] about this a little bit ago.

[1:09:29] And some of these key points

[1:09:31] are the three workshops that

[1:09:32] Sara identified a minute ago

[1:09:34] and are summarized here: a

[1:09:35] discussion

[1:09:36] about neighborhood identity,

[1:09:37] about growth strategies, and

[1:09:38] about transportation and

[1:09:39] mobility. As you'll see

[1:09:41] in the next slide,

[1:09:42] we're identifying the end of

[1:09:43] January and first part of

[1:09:44] February to have that community

[1:09:45] engagement and go through that

[1:09:47] process and dialogue those

[1:09:49] issues

[1:09:50] in more detail and start

[1:09:50] to prepare the initial rounds

[1:09:52] of a policy discussion

[1:09:53] around those. That would be

[1:09:55] followed up

[1:09:56] by your next joint study

[1:09:57] session on February 11th,

[1:09:59] where we kind

[1:10:00] of summarize the results

[1:10:01] of that and start to articulate

[1:10:02] where that information is

[1:10:04] taking us and how we can

[1:10:06] proceed forward

[1:10:07] in the drafting of the plan.

[1:10:09] So that brings us

[1:10:10] to nearly the midpoint

[1:10:11] in the overall work process.

[1:10:13] So the dates that we're

[1:10:14] targeting

[1:10:15] for that community engagement

[1:10:16] on those three topics,

[1:10:17] and we don't have dates

[1:10:18] specific to those topics yet,

[1:10:20] we'll be working on those

[1:10:21] over the next couple of weeks

[1:10:22] and then announcing them in the

[1:10:23] new year once folks are back

[1:10:25] from the holiday.

[1:10:26] But the dates themselves

[1:10:28] in this room are January 26 and

[1:10:29] 28 and February 1st. So they're

[1:10:32] right on top of each other. But

[1:10:33] given the importance and the

[1:10:35] schedule over all

[1:10:36] of where we are and trying to

[1:10:37] keep this process moving and

[1:10:39] getting the information

[1:10:40] together and developing the

[1:10:41] plan from a time schedule

[1:10:43] perspective,

[1:10:44] these are important dates

[1:10:46] for us. So with that,

[1:10:49] we'll open up

[1:10:50] for comment and discussion,

[1:10:50] both from -- and

[1:10:52] from the public.

[1:10:54] >> Okay. Councilman Detrick.

[1:10:58] >> You know, from where we are

[1:11:00] in the process, I think you

[1:11:02] guys nailed it so far. You

[1:11:04] know, there's still--obviously

[1:11:05] there's going

[1:11:06] to be some tweaking going on,

[1:11:07] but for where we are, I'm very,

[1:11:10] very impressed what's been put

[1:11:12] together and the all that the

[1:11:15] variety

[1:11:15] of topics you've been able to

[1:11:16] hit. I'm just--and the piece

[1:11:19] itself is not only towards the

[1:11:21] General Plan, I mean the

[1:11:22] marketing of the City of Elk

[1:11:24] Grove. And I give you guys--you

[1:11:28] know, you guys hit it out

[1:11:31] of the park. I look forward

[1:11:34] to hearing some other comments

[1:11:35] from everybody. But I'm very,

[1:11:36] very impressed. Thank you.

[1:11:38] >> Councilman Suen.

[1:11:39] >> Yeah, I would definitely

[1:11:40] echo those comments and that

[1:11:42] sentiment. You've taken a very

[1:11:46] complex document,

[1:11:48] and the way things are

[1:11:49] connected together,

[1:11:50] there's a lot of nuances

[1:11:51] to every single topic. And so

[1:11:53] you're approach thus far I

[1:11:54] think has been very good

[1:11:57] in terms of your outreach. And

[1:11:58] what's coming out was

[1:12:00] resonating amongst the public.

[1:12:03] I would risk saying that all

[1:12:04] of us up here agree with

[1:12:06] everything that's been stated

[1:12:07] thus far. So I look forward to

[1:12:09] the next steps and additional

[1:12:11] outreach opportunities.

[1:12:13] Thanks.

[1:12:15] >> Councilman Hume.

[1:12:17] >> So I'll echo those comments.

[1:12:18] I mean I think

[1:12:19] from where you are,

[1:12:20] you're tapping

[1:12:20] into things that I wanted

[1:12:21] to see come out

[1:12:22] of this process, and

[1:12:22] from listening to some

[1:12:24] of the comments here tonight,

[1:12:25] certainly echoing what the

[1:12:26] residents are wanting

[1:12:27] to see come out

[1:12:28] of this process. I'm going

[1:12:29] to go into little more specific

[1:12:30] comments about some

[1:12:31] of the items though,

[1:12:32] other than just heap praise

[1:12:35] on you. My first question is,

[1:12:37] what is the horizon of this

[1:12:39] General Plan once this update

[1:12:40] is completed? Does it--another

[1:12:41] 20 years?

[1:12:45] >> So this has actually been a

[1:12:46] discussion amongst our group at

[1:12:48] a staff level. I professionally

[1:12:49] am of the opinion that while

[1:12:51] you do an update on the

[1:12:52] General Plan, maybe it's 10,

[1:12:54] 15 years, whatever's right

[1:12:55] for the community,

[1:12:57] you should never box yourself

[1:12:58] in to a specific timeframe--so

[1:13:01] by 2030 we're going to be

[1:13:03] this-- because the community is

[1:13:04] always changing. There's always

[1:13:05] something new to think about.

[1:13:08] And you should be visionary

[1:13:09] at a vision level

[1:13:10] of what's the broad approach.

[1:13:12] And certainly, as you get

[1:13:13] into the implementation,

[1:13:14] there should be benchmarks of

[1:13:15] how you are working towards

[1:13:16] achieving that vision. But to

[1:13:18] just unilaterally say there's a

[1:13:20] date and we're going

[1:13:22] to hit this by this date,

[1:13:23] I think shortchanges the intent

[1:13:25] of what a general plan is

[1:13:26] supposed to be. Now that said,

[1:13:28] from an environmental review

[1:13:30] perspective, it has to go

[1:13:31] along with this, there has

[1:13:33] to be a sort of timeframe. You

[1:13:35] have to start marrying these

[1:13:36] things together. And

[1:13:37] from that standpoint, what will

[1:13:39] likely be used is--and we

[1:13:41] talked about this from the

[1:13:42] regional supporting statements

[1:13:46] of connecting with other plans

[1:13:48] and other studies

[1:13:50] around the region--the

[1:13:51] Sacramento Council governs its

[1:13:53] metropolitan transportation

[1:13:54] plan,

[1:13:55] the sustainable community

[1:13:56] strategy,

[1:13:57] and the growth timeframe. It

[1:13:59] identifies from a

[1:14:00] transportation perspective,

[1:14:01] is what's commonly used

[1:14:02] to do that. So I think it's

[1:14:03] 2036, the current version. So

[1:14:05] that information at a

[1:14:06] transportation level would

[1:14:08] likely be a benchmark date

[1:14:10] to use. When you're looking

[1:14:12] at that, puts you at about 20

[1:14:13] years--yeah, 20 years out.

[1:14:18] >> I appreciate that answer

[1:14:19] because you're right, it is a

[1:14:21] living document that you refer

[1:14:22] to as you're going along. It's

[1:14:25] not something that you blow the

[1:14:25] dust off of and go,

[1:14:28] how did we do at the end

[1:14:28] of it all? But I want to point

[1:14:31] out something that I think it's

[1:14:32] kind of shocking to me and it

[1:14:34] takes a little while for it

[1:14:35] to sink in, and that is it'll

[1:14:36] become more apparent in

[1:14:38] January 'cause the math will

[1:14:39] become easier, but

[1:14:41] at some point in June, we are

[1:14:42] now closer to 2030 than we are

[1:14:44] to 2000. And that's just

[1:14:46] mindboggling

[1:14:48] to me when I think

[1:14:48] about it.

[1:14:50] >> Thanks again --.

[1:14:51] I'm getting old.

[1:14:54] >> But--so one

[1:14:55] of the things that I saw in

[1:14:56] this callout is that by--and I

[1:14:57] think 2030 was the date

[1:14:58] used--that the projected

[1:14:59] population adds another 40,000

[1:15:01] or so residents to the City

[1:15:03] of Elk Grove. And so that's

[1:15:06] more than doubled the size of

[1:15:08] Elk Grove when we grew up,

[1:15:10] maybe the size of New Helvetia

[1:15:11] when Leo grew up.

[1:15:15] But those are a lot

[1:15:19] of people. And then when you

[1:15:20] look at what is the overall

[1:15:21] glacial speed

[1:15:23] of growth absorption, you know,

[1:15:25] for local examples, Laguna

[1:15:27] Ridge took over six years

[1:15:28] to plan,

[1:15:29] and it's probably going

[1:15:30] to be close to 12, 15 years

[1:15:32] for full buildout. We're

[1:15:33] already 10 years

[1:15:35] into it now. SEPA,

[1:15:36] similar lead time

[1:15:39] on the planning effort. And

[1:15:40] these were in areas

[1:15:41] of that were already sort

[1:15:44] of cleared for growth, so

[1:15:45] to speak. And so I want

[1:15:47] to talk

[1:15:48] about the infill and expansion.

[1:15:51] Infill is always important.

[1:15:53] You always want

[1:15:53] to use up your available land,

[1:15:55] because if you pass it

[1:15:57] over and growth just keeps

[1:15:58] on going,

[1:15:59] then it's less desirable

[1:16:00] to come back to. And there's a

[1:16:02] lot of problems created

[1:16:03] by empty lots. But what I want

[1:16:05] to make sure that this

[1:16:06] General Plan definitely does is

[1:16:08] remove the Sheldon area or the

[1:16:10] rural area

[1:16:11] from that equation. Those large

[1:16:13] parcels

[1:16:14] of land are not available for

[1:16:16] infill development and they are

[1:16:18] not to be calculated when other

[1:16:19] agencies and other folks take a

[1:16:20] look at where Elk Grove can put

[1:16:23] more density. It's not

[1:16:25] on the table. And so I'd like

[1:16:27] to see the General Plan

[1:16:28] absolutely crystal clear

[1:16:29] on that point, and not just in,

[1:16:30] say, land use,

[1:16:34] but that the fingers of it go

[1:16:36] into the other elements as

[1:16:37] well. And so in that regard,

[1:16:39] on page 18

[1:16:41] of the document where it talks

[1:16:42] about infill and existing

[1:16:44] development, it says, "A create

[1:16:45] growth management strategy

[1:16:46] allows expansion to recur only

[1:16:47] when economic need, community

[1:16:50] vision and regional goals

[1:16:51] align." I appreciate the

[1:16:55] sentiment of that statement,

[1:16:56] but I think if that gets

[1:16:57] codified into a General Plan,

[1:16:58] that's a very dicey situation.

[1:17:00] Because you have a very

[1:17:01] constrained qualifier and only

[1:17:02] followed by some very nebulous

[1:17:04] conditions that aren't clearly

[1:17:08] stated. Economic need

[1:17:09] for whom? Who's benefitting

[1:17:11] from it? Community vision as

[1:17:13] stated by whom? Regional goals

[1:17:16] that who established? And so I

[1:17:18] just want to be careful that

[1:17:20] when we use language

[1:17:21] like that,

[1:17:22] we're not pinning ourselves

[1:17:24] into a box that somebody else

[1:17:25] is going to use our words

[1:17:27] against us at the end of it.

[1:17:29] But, Jeff, you said something

[1:17:32] that I thought was great,

[1:17:33] and something that I've heard

[1:17:35] from the community, and it's to

[1:17:36] really strengthen and document

[1:17:38] the character

[1:17:39] of the rural area. This is not

[1:17:40] a vision of what we want

[1:17:42] to be, it's what it is and what

[1:17:44] it's going to remain to be.

[1:17:46] And I know that

[1:17:46] in the initial General Plan we

[1:17:49] put actual policies, no wet

[1:17:51] utilities, into the area.

[1:17:55] Things that will by the nature

[1:17:56] of them keep that

[1:17:58] from happening. And so I'd

[1:18:00] like to see areas where we can

[1:18:02] strengthen those ideas. The

[1:18:04] other thing I'd like to see

[1:18:05] in respect to that is our

[1:18:08] farming heritage,

[1:18:11] and that that not only goes to

[1:18:13] strengthen the rural character,

[1:18:15] but it also talks about our

[1:18:16] economic development and our

[1:18:18] infill strategies and these

[1:18:19] types of things. You know,

[1:18:20] farm to fork is a huge regional

[1:18:22] moment right now. We should be

[1:18:24] looking

[1:18:24] at food processing facilities.

[1:18:26] We should be looking

[1:18:27] at micro farm--how does the

[1:18:28] City encourage micro farming

[1:18:30] in the Sheldon area,

[1:18:32] so that these chefs can have,

[1:18:33] you know, Sheldon Road carrots

[1:18:36] for their whatever. You know

[1:18:37] what I mean? And this type

[1:18:38] of thing. And that's what I

[1:18:39] like about the General Plan is

[1:18:41] that it establishes the

[1:18:43] overarching goal. This is what

[1:18:45] we want

[1:18:45] to be when we grow up,

[1:18:47] this is how we're going

[1:18:48] to get there, and then it has

[1:18:49] the policies that say these are

[1:18:51] the things that we would like

[1:18:52] to see happen,

[1:18:53] and then it calls out

[1:18:54] like some action items that,

[1:18:55] well, we will put this in place

[1:18:57] so that it feeds back up

[1:18:59] to that overarching goal. And

[1:19:01] so, you know, I'd like

[1:19:02] to see how we can kind

[1:19:03] of take the talk and get it

[1:19:06] down to the walk the walk.

[1:19:08] But I think you're totally

[1:19:09] on the right track, and these

[1:19:10] are just initial comments that

[1:19:12] I have, but I'm going to stand

[1:19:14] against and process. So thank

[1:19:16] you.

[1:19:17] >> Well said, thank you.

[1:19:18] Commissioner Tong.

[1:19:21] >> Hi. So I'm not going

[1:19:22] to do anymore echo

[1:19:24] on the kudos, because I was the

[1:19:25] first one that gave the kudos

[1:19:27] that the guys up here just

[1:19:27] followed that. But I do want to

[1:19:30] make a public comment and

[1:19:32] perhaps some suggestions

[1:19:33] for you to consider. First

[1:19:36] of all, going back

[1:19:38] to the outreach effort,

[1:19:40] I do want to mention,

[1:19:42] I believe the Mayor might have

[1:19:44] mentioned this,

[1:19:45] that the process of itself

[1:19:46] of developing this plan,

[1:19:48] if it's not just important, in

[1:19:51] many cases it's more important

[1:19:52] that the final plan itself. So

[1:19:55] I do like

[1:19:56] to see--'cause I look at the

[1:19:58] next step as further outreach

[1:19:59] effort. Somehow insert more

[1:20:02] excitement and energy in

[1:20:05] promoting this because that's

[1:20:06] going

[1:20:07] to translate more engagement

[1:20:07] from a resident, number one.

[1:20:11] Number two is that the more

[1:20:14] targeted areas,

[1:20:15] the convenience

[1:20:15] for the neighbors

[1:20:16] to participate in this. And I

[1:20:18] think it's a great idea

[1:20:19] with the mobile as well as to

[1:20:21] the fairs and events people are

[1:20:22] attending. But somehow

[1:20:24] to the neighborhood, I know a

[1:20:25] colleague here mentioned the

[1:20:27] neighborhood watch group.

[1:20:30] But then there are also a lot

[1:20:32] of sports activity where all

[1:20:36] the parents, you know,

[1:20:37] taking their kids Saturdays,

[1:20:38] those are a perfect time

[1:20:40] because of the kids are riding

[1:20:41] around the soccer field can

[1:20:42] score, sometimes the parents

[1:20:44] will be good to look

[1:20:45] for some diversion. So I

[1:20:48] think--think about if some of

[1:20:49] those activities and it would

[1:20:51] be a good opportunity

[1:20:53] to just go out to them.

[1:20:55] Third, something to--I don't

[1:20:58] know if this is stored

[1:21:00] out there for you--community

[1:21:02] college students area. I

[1:21:06] thought about high school, but

[1:21:07] perhaps they're a little bit

[1:21:08] young. But I'll also get their

[1:21:09] feedback. And I know you guys

[1:21:11] reach out to the Youth

[1:21:12] Commissioners. But

[1:21:15] at the same time,

[1:21:16] the community college,

[1:21:17] the reason is this: People who

[1:21:18] are college age are looking

[1:21:19] very much on their career path

[1:21:22] where the jobs will be

[1:21:24] attracting them as well as

[1:21:25] they're going to be settling

[1:21:26] down with their family. And I

[1:21:28] think sometimes getting that

[1:21:30] perspective of what is going

[1:21:31] to attract them to, you know,

[1:21:33] find the community,

[1:21:35] to continue to develop. I'm

[1:21:36] sure the first thing is, well,

[1:21:37] where the job is. Well, and we

[1:21:39] have that economic development

[1:21:41] plan here of what type

[1:21:44] of jobs people are looking to

[1:21:45] have. I think somehow you can

[1:21:49] tie this together and get that

[1:21:50] level

[1:21:52] of engagement. I just wanted

[1:21:53] to throw it out there that,

[1:21:54] you know, community college

[1:21:56] students will be a great group.

[1:21:58] Finally, what is the

[1:22:01] perspective

[1:22:02] of residents outside of the

[1:22:04] Elk Grove City? And as people

[1:22:07] are traveling here

[1:22:09] to attend events, again,

[1:22:10] coming back to the youth,

[1:22:11] I know there's a lot of

[1:22:12] regional youth sports events. I

[1:22:15] have residents that are coming

[1:22:16] from Elk Grove, not so much as

[1:22:16] what they want to see in Elk

[1:22:20] Grove, but it's always good

[1:22:21] to get on neighboring

[1:22:23] communities' perspectives.

[1:22:25] What is their perception of

[1:22:26] Elk Grove? What would be

[1:22:27] something that would attract

[1:22:29] them to the City of Elk

[1:22:31] Grove? Or what are the things

[1:22:33] that are, uh,

[1:22:34] this is the reason I don't.

[1:22:36] Just get a more

[1:22:38] of a 360-degree kind

[1:22:39] of a perspective

[1:22:40] in addition to, you know,

[1:22:42] the residents who live in Elk

[1:22:44] Grove. So just something

[1:22:45] to think about.

[1:22:47] >> Great points. Thank you.

[1:22:49] Vice Mayor Lee.

[1:22:51] >> Just a couple

[1:22:51] of things. I am pleased with

[1:22:54] the progress. I do appreciate

[1:22:55] that report. The other thing I

[1:22:57] want to echo and kind hone in

[1:22:58] on specifically is one

[1:23:01] of the things special in Elk

[1:23:04] Grove is the fact that you have

[1:23:06] areas like the Sheldon area.

[1:23:08] And I think that Councilman

[1:23:09] Hume hit the nail right

[1:23:10] on it when he talked

[1:23:11] about that. And I certainly

[1:23:13] will be in favor

[1:23:14] of building that into the

[1:23:15] General Plan as well, to make

[1:23:17] it perfectly clear that this is

[1:23:19] something that -- we

[1:23:20] want to preserve. The third

[1:23:22] item is in terms

[1:23:27] of continued outreach,

[1:23:28] I've heard a couple

[1:23:30] of things: faith-based, sports

[1:23:32] group, neighbor association,

[1:23:35] the watch groups. One other

[1:23:38] thing I might add is, you know,

[1:23:41] I think it's really the

[1:23:42] nonprofits that are prominent

[1:23:43] in our community as well.

[1:23:45] Certainly those that are

[1:23:46] involved

[1:23:46] in nonprofits are --.

[1:23:47] It'd be great if you include

[1:23:50] that.

[1:23:51] >> Thank you. Commissioner

[1:23:52] Spease.

[1:23:55] >> Yes, thank you. So first I

[1:23:57] want to give a hearty amen

[1:24:01] to the support for Councilman

[1:24:04] Hume and his position relative

[1:24:06] to the rural area.

[1:24:08] But my piece to add in this is

[1:24:09] to the east. We talk

[1:24:12] about--excuse me,

[1:24:13] to the west. When we talk

[1:24:14] about infill and

[1:24:15] to look upon building

[1:24:18] on what's out there, we need

[1:24:19] to look at clusters

[1:24:23] for coworking spaces, places

[1:24:24] where entrepreneurs can get

[1:24:28] their footing. And we see a lot

[1:24:31] of that good growth up in

[1:24:32] Sacramento and the surrounding

[1:24:34] areas. We have beginnings

[1:24:36] of that, but I'd like

[1:24:38] to--hopefully we can see some

[1:24:40] of that flush out as we move

[1:24:41] down the road on it.

[1:24:42] >> Great points. Councilman

[1:24:45] Suen.

[1:24:47] >> Yeah, something that

[1:24:48] Councilman Hume mentioned that

[1:24:50] sparked a thought of mine. As

[1:24:53] you do the outreach, I want

[1:24:56] to encourage you to talk

[1:24:57] to folk about implementation.

[1:25:01] So to take you back

[1:25:04] off of--there is a lot of

[1:25:05] speculation or misperception,

[1:25:08] I should say,

[1:25:09] that there's a lot

[1:25:10] of open land to be developed,

[1:25:11] and a lot of times the Sheldon

[1:25:12] area,

[1:25:13] the rural area is included

[1:25:14] in that. And so people don't

[1:25:15] quite understand. And there's a

[1:25:17] lot of great suggestions. And

[1:25:19] Commissioner Tong mentioned

[1:25:20] about college campuses and a

[1:25:22] lot of great ideas out there.

[1:25:25] But then if you look

[1:25:26] on a map and you take

[1:25:27] out the rural area,

[1:25:29] where do you put those things?

[1:25:30] So it's great

[1:25:32] to have a vision,

[1:25:33] but I would encourage you,

[1:25:34] when you talk to folks

[1:25:35] about that vision,

[1:25:36] make them take one extra step

[1:25:38] about implementation and seeing

[1:25:39] whether or not, you know,

[1:25:41] that vision can be realized.

[1:25:43] And if not,

[1:25:44] then what could be done

[1:25:45] to make it realized. So thank

[1:25:46] you.

[1:25:48] >> Chairman Murphey.

[1:25:50] >> Yeah, Chris. Let me borrow

[1:25:52] this, if you don't mind,

[1:25:54] Steve. As no surprise, I agree

[1:25:58] with Councilman Hume. But to be

[1:26:01] a little bit more specific,

[1:26:03] I'd like to see what policies

[1:26:04] and other items,

[1:26:08] such as the real road policy,

[1:26:09] the recent mobility study we

[1:26:10] did,

[1:26:11] how that can be incorporated

[1:26:12] to kind of--you know, those are

[1:26:14] items that I think can

[1:26:16] strengthen the protectors

[1:26:17] out there. So, Pat, you said it

[1:26:19] well. Thank you. On page 22

[1:26:22] of our glossy, the one thing

[1:26:25] that struck me was the phrase

[1:26:27] including both east and the

[1:26:30] west sides. That kind of--it

[1:26:32] just struck me in that we're--I

[1:26:37] know we have a bit

[1:26:37] of a divide and a difference

[1:26:39] in opinions sometimes,

[1:26:41] but I don't know if we want

[1:26:42] to put that

[1:26:43] out there so much. It just kind

[1:26:44] of struck me that, you know,

[1:26:45] we understand it, we can work

[1:26:48] on it, we're working on it. I

[1:26:51] don't know if that needs to be

[1:26:51] in there right now. And the

[1:26:53] last thing that hit me was on

[1:26:56] the draft staff--on the staff

[1:27:00] report draft recap was the

[1:27:02] suggestion

[1:27:05] of a social services element

[1:27:06] in the General Plan. A lot's

[1:27:09] been said about some

[1:27:10] of the needs relating

[1:27:11] to that. And I don't know,

[1:27:14] to me, if another layer is

[1:27:16] needed if we can capture those

[1:27:19] needs

[1:27:20] under our existing elements.

[1:27:23] It's just one more thing we

[1:27:24] have to look

[1:27:25] at and people have

[1:27:26] to go through. A lot's been

[1:27:29] said about it though. And I

[1:27:30] think with most of our policies

[1:27:33] and--I mean our elements that

[1:27:34] are in our General Plan, those

[1:27:35] things are doable. And also,

[1:27:37] some of the services, as was

[1:27:40] said, are really related

[1:27:43] to what other agencies can do.

[1:27:44] We can facilitate that and we

[1:27:46] can encourage it, but it may

[1:27:47] not be totally

[1:27:49] within our purview

[1:27:50] to provide those services.

[1:27:52] Unless you can show me a strong

[1:27:53] reason for including that,

[1:27:54] I'd be hesitant

[1:27:57] to include that.

[1:27:59] >> Yeah. Comissioner Maita?

[1:28:01] >> Yes. Well, we heard a lot of

[1:28:05] good thoughts up here and the

[1:28:06] consensuses have worked so far.

[1:28:08] I would like to back up Pat

[1:28:13] in his regard, is that we need

[1:28:15] to make this understood. And I

[1:28:15] think in having that,

[1:28:19] and I think it was Darren's

[1:28:20] suggestion

[1:28:21] about having that conversation,

[1:28:22] you know, just sort

[1:28:25] of engrained,

[1:28:26] because there is a perception,

[1:28:27] and particularly, I think,

[1:28:29] from some outside agencies,

[1:28:30] that see that as a potential.

[1:28:32] And frankly,

[1:28:34] it's very difficult for people

[1:28:35] to understand the nature

[1:28:37] of that. You know,

[1:28:39] we're getting so far away

[1:28:40] from our -- ways,

[1:28:42] that I think it's kind

[1:28:44] of tough for some people

[1:28:45] to grasp the value there. And I

[1:28:49] would also agree with George

[1:28:53] about the social services

[1:28:56] element. And I would like

[1:28:57] to make a comment related

[1:28:58] to east and west as well.

[1:29:00] Because I think--in my

[1:29:04] experience, I think there's

[1:29:05] more concern and more

[1:29:08] imagination related

[1:29:18] to it than reality. And a

[1:29:19] portion of that is--I think

[1:29:19] where the big difference is,

[1:29:20] is really it's the maturity of

[1:29:21] the community and the stability

[1:29:22] of some--long-term stability on

[1:29:25] the east side that a newer

[1:29:31] community has just a tough time

[1:29:32] getting. Than you have a lot

[1:29:33] of commuters. They can't spend

[1:29:34] time--they're

[1:29:35] on the road so much,

[1:29:36] it's very difficult for them

[1:29:37] to do the--a lot

[1:29:39] of what we--well,

[1:29:39] what I would consider sort of

[1:29:43] normal community activities

[1:29:45] when it comes to civic life,

[1:29:46] if you will, because their

[1:29:47] stresses are different. And I

[1:29:50] think that needs to be

[1:29:52] acknowledged or understood how

[1:29:53] it would work

[1:29:54] in here. I don't know.

[1:29:55] But that's more

[1:29:55] of a rhetorical thought that

[1:29:58] I'd like us to keep

[1:30:00] in mind and not get into this

[1:30:02] east-west thing as much either.

[1:30:05] I think if anything,

[1:30:07] when it comes

[1:30:08] to the west side,

[1:30:09] we just need more opportunities

[1:30:11] for them to engage in a similar

[1:30:13] fashion that the east has had.

[1:30:16] And how that's accomplished,

[1:30:17] I mean I'm not going to

[1:30:19] -- that's what I would

[1:30:19] like to see happen.

[1:30:22] >> Well, going last is an

[1:30:23] advantage and a disadvantage.

[1:30:25] One, you know, a lot of you all

[1:30:27] said what my notes say here,

[1:30:31] and, secondly, you know,

[1:30:33] chomping at the bit

[1:30:34] to join in. But I do want--so I

[1:30:35] think that as we start off

[1:30:38] by giving praise,

[1:30:40] and I think it's due, and I

[1:30:41] think we've done a good job

[1:30:43] to start. However, I think that

[1:30:44] we've got a little ways

[1:30:46] to go. Number one,

[1:30:47] this is just a round thing.

[1:30:48] One, this is a nice-looking

[1:30:49] piece of material. And I don't

[1:30:52] know if it's intentional or

[1:30:54] not, but there's a lot

[1:30:55] of photos in here of

[1:30:56] communities that are not ours.

[1:30:57] So I'm not sure if that was

[1:31:00] intentional,

[1:31:01] but I think we got a little

[1:31:03] work to do on the photos.

[1:31:05] Yeah. Secondly, so as I--yeah,

[1:31:13] I think we're getting a lot

[1:31:13] of good data from our--I mean

[1:31:15] we are getting a lot

[1:31:16] of good data

[1:31:16] from our residents. And as we

[1:31:17] dig deeper, we're going

[1:31:19] to get more and more.

[1:31:20] But as I think

[1:31:21] about what's unique about our

[1:31:22] City, the three things that

[1:31:24] really pop out to me are, one,

[1:31:26] of course, we've all echoed it

[1:31:28] here, is the ag rural nature

[1:31:29] of our City. I mean how many

[1:31:33] other suburban, you know,

[1:31:36] middle-class communities have

[1:31:39] as large of a chunk of their

[1:31:41] City that's zoned

[1:31:42] ag-residential as we do,

[1:31:44] right?

[1:31:45] With no water going in, no

[1:31:47] sewer coming out. I mean it's a

[1:31:48] powerful statement

[1:31:48] for a city. It really can be a

[1:31:50] major part

[1:31:51] of what defines us,

[1:31:53] I believe. And so we need to

[1:31:54] make sure that that's reflected

[1:31:55] here. There are, certainly,

[1:31:57] a lot of rural areas that have

[1:32:01] these components, but how many

[1:32:04] cities have that much

[1:32:06] ag-residential within them? So

[1:32:08] I think that's one thing that

[1:32:09] really makes Elk Grove unique.

[1:32:10] Number two is our diversity.

[1:32:11] We're the seventh most diverse

[1:32:13] city in the United States. And

[1:32:15] in addition to diversity,

[1:32:17] we have integrated diversity.

[1:32:21] We don't have pockets

[1:32:23] of diversity. We're fully

[1:32:24] integrated in just

[1:32:25] about every part

[1:32:26] of our community. And so I

[1:32:27] think that as we look at this

[1:32:29] from a high level, that's the

[1:32:30] second thing that makes Elk

[1:32:31] Grove sort

[1:32:32] of unique that should really,

[1:32:34] I think, stand

[1:32:35] out when we're looking

[1:32:36] at who we are as a city. And

[1:32:37] the third piece I would put out

[1:32:39] there is youth sports and

[1:32:41] recreation. Although I'm sure a

[1:32:42] lot of other communities around

[1:32:44] the country have youth sports

[1:32:46] and recreation opportunities,

[1:32:48] we have the largest youth

[1:32:50] soccer program

[1:32:51] in the country, and I believe

[1:32:52] we have the largest --

[1:32:54] and baseball program

[1:32:55] in the country,

[1:32:56] and I'm sure the list goes

[1:32:56] on and on. So it is a

[1:32:57] differentiator for us. So I

[1:32:58] think

[1:32:59] from our perspective I just

[1:33:01] want to make sure that those

[1:33:02] things that make Elk Grove

[1:33:04] unique, shine, and are kind

[1:33:06] of overarching goals

[1:33:08] of this as we move forward. So

[1:33:09] that's the macro level.

[1:33:12] At the micro level,

[1:33:13] I have a few thought too. Just

[1:33:15] talking about the infill,

[1:33:16] we do have a lot

[1:33:17] of legitimately infill sites.

[1:33:20] If you look at Laguna west,

[1:33:21] if you look to the north

[1:33:22] of our City at Bruceville and

[1:33:24] Sheldon, there are sites

[1:33:25] in our City that are absolutely

[1:33:28] infill sites that are hard to

[1:33:29] develop and that need extra TLC

[1:33:32] if it's ever going to happen.

[1:33:34] And so I think we need

[1:33:35] to ensure that we're aggressive

[1:33:36] in those areas. I'm glad I

[1:33:39] didn't--you know,

[1:33:40] I was thinking about, okay,

[1:33:42] should I bring up the east

[1:33:42] versus west, but I didn't have

[1:33:44] to because everybody else

[1:33:45] seemed to bring it up. But on

[1:33:46] one hand we prescribe a

[1:33:47] solution in here --

[1:33:48] divide the gap

[1:33:50] between east and west.

[1:33:51] On the other hand,

[1:33:52] you start the dialogue

[1:33:53] by asking people

[1:33:54] to self-identify if they're

[1:33:55] on the east or the west. So I

[1:33:56] think that that may be--I think

[1:34:00] that maybe we need

[1:34:01] to change that, and maybe it's

[1:34:02] about your neighborhood. So if

[1:34:04] we're going to ask folks

[1:34:05] to self-identify, maybe what

[1:34:07] neighborhood do you live in,

[1:34:08] because we do have unique

[1:34:09] neighborhoods in our City for

[1:34:10] sure. I think our challenge is

[1:34:11] making sure that the uniqueness

[1:34:12] of each part

[1:34:16] of our community is connected

[1:34:17] to the whole so that we're a

[1:34:19] strong city overall. And then

[1:34:23] just echoing what was talked

[1:34:24] about on the specifics

[1:34:25] in the rural,

[1:34:26] I'll just take it a little

[1:34:27] further,

[1:34:27] 'cause everybody did as we went

[1:34:28] down the line. Two lanes,

[1:34:31] roundabouts. Let's put it

[1:34:32] in the plan, let's solidify it,

[1:34:34] let's be done. And then the

[1:34:38] micro farming, the hobby farms,

[1:34:42] you know,

[1:34:43] I think that's really about

[1:34:43] inspiring the next generation.

[1:34:45] So we have--you know,

[1:34:47] people will want to engage

[1:34:48] in farm to fork. We certainly

[1:34:50] have a very successful farmers'

[1:34:52] market here. As we got the

[1:34:54] Old Town Plaza moving forward,

[1:34:55] there's going to be a space

[1:34:56] to do more. How can we make it

[1:34:58] easier for folk

[1:34:59] in the rural community and,

[1:35:00] frankly, even

[1:35:01] in the suburban community

[1:35:03] to micro farm

[1:35:03] in their backyard, whether it's

[1:35:05] one acre or an eight of an acre

[1:35:06] and take fruits and vegetables

[1:35:09] to market. So it would help

[1:35:10] just to continue to encourage

[1:35:12] not only our consumption

[1:35:13] but helping some, you know,

[1:35:14] folks find some economic

[1:35:17] advantage in doing it too,

[1:35:18] which I think ultimately is key

[1:35:18] to long-term sustainability

[1:35:19] of the rural community too.

[1:35:26] Those were most

[1:35:27] of my thoughts and Councilman

[1:35:28] Detrick's got another one.

[1:35:31] >> When you've done all the

[1:35:31] outreach -- seeing

[1:35:34] Darrell Donn, our Economic

[1:35:37] Development Director, come in,

[1:35:37] are we--so all the public

[1:35:39] outreach that it looks like has

[1:35:41] been done has been internally?

[1:35:44] Have we looked externally

[1:35:45] to see what would be attractive

[1:35:48] to residents and businesses

[1:35:52] to come here? Because part of

[1:35:55] what we're doing is offering

[1:35:56] that smorgasbord. So if we're

[1:35:57] not including those elements

[1:35:59] in not only what we want

[1:36:02] but what we need in order

[1:36:03] to be a complete city to make

[1:36:06] it where we're covering all the

[1:36:08] bases, sometimes you have to

[1:36:10] look outside because somebody's

[1:36:11] going to have a vision

[1:36:12] different than what we have

[1:36:14] on the inside. So hopefully

[1:36:15] that can be included. It'll be

[1:36:19] a good resource.

[1:36:21] >> Councilman Suen.

[1:36:23] >> Yes, I heard

[1:36:25] from project-specific things,

[1:36:26] so I have to throw one

[1:36:27] out there. And I don't see

[1:36:28] Mark Doty

[1:36:29] in the audience anymore, but I

[1:36:32] hope he'll appreciate this. I'd

[1:36:34] like to see a connected

[1:36:36] bike/pedestrian trail that runs

[1:36:37] all the way up parallel

[1:36:39] to I-5 that connects us, if we

[1:36:40] can, to the Sacramento area or

[1:36:42] pocket up there to create a

[1:36:43] regional connection so someone

[1:36:44] could bike all the way around

[1:36:47] Grant Line Road, through the

[1:36:48] City, all the up back into

[1:36:50] Sacramento. Thank you.

[1:36:52] >> All right, great. Any other

[1:36:57] closing comments? No? All

[1:37:02] right. Let's go

[1:37:04] to public comment. Sharon? And

[1:37:07] anybody else,

[1:37:08] if you have final comments,

[1:37:11] because I think we're towards

[1:37:11] the end here.

[1:37:15] >> I'm --. Thank you,

[1:37:17] it's been very interesting.

[1:37:18] First thing off the top is

[1:37:21] there's no sign-in sheet

[1:37:22] at the back. And I've seen a

[1:37:25] lot of faces I've never seen

[1:37:26] before, which is really nice

[1:37:27] to see. So we don't have the

[1:37:29] advantage of signing in with

[1:37:31] our email or our phone number

[1:37:34] or anything like that,

[1:37:35] and it's unusual. Usually every

[1:37:37] city event has a sign-in sheet.

[1:37:39] So I don't want

[1:37:40] to lose these folks

[1:37:42] in the process,

[1:37:43] if they read it

[1:37:44] in the paper or whatever. So I

[1:37:47] think that's really important

[1:37:47] to get

[1:37:48] before people start leaving.

[1:37:50] Just a couple of comments. I

[1:37:52] certainly appreciate

[1:37:53] Councilman Hume, I always enjoy

[1:37:55] his speaking. Anyway, he has a

[1:37:59] fun way of talking,

[1:38:00] I love it. So anyway,

[1:38:01] what's interesting

[1:38:02] about that, I do appreciate all

[1:38:04] the support you folks have

[1:38:05] given to the rural area 'cause

[1:38:06] that's where I've lived for

[1:38:07] over 40 years and I hope I

[1:38:09] continue there

[1:38:10] for a long time. Anyway, Pat

[1:38:12] was--I mean Mr. Hume is one

[1:38:15] of the only members of all

[1:38:18] of you that worked

[1:38:20] on the original General Plan,

[1:38:22] and there's only a few of us

[1:38:23] in the audience that did that.

[1:38:25] But I want

[1:38:26] to encourage the rest of you.

[1:38:28] It was a long process. The

[1:38:30] public and the original

[1:38:32] Council worked together. It was

[1:38:34] a real learning curve for all

[1:38:35] of us. Don't give up. I think

[1:38:39] it's a great learning process.

[1:38:43] I learned a lot. Just hang

[1:38:46] in there and you'll come

[1:38:49] to speed. So just

[1:38:50] to encourage you on that. I did

[1:38:53] appreciate so many of you

[1:38:55] mentioning--and I hope I

[1:38:57] haven't forgotten

[1:38:58] Commissioners Murphey, Maita

[1:38:59] and Mayor Davis about the

[1:39:00] east-west. I totally agree

[1:39:02] with your comments. It divides.

[1:39:07] Just those two--those three

[1:39:08] words divides us immediately

[1:39:11] off the bat. And I think that

[1:39:13] needs to be deleted, as you've

[1:39:15] said, from the process and

[1:39:17] from any words in this document

[1:39:21] that we were given tonight,

[1:39:23] anywhere else in the

[1:39:24] Powerpoints and all that. So I

[1:39:27] appreciate you bringing that

[1:39:29] forward because that's

[1:39:30] extremely important. And I

[1:39:31] like Gary's ideas

[1:39:33] on the diversity I've known

[1:39:35] since I've lived here that our

[1:39:36] community for 40 years has been

[1:39:39] diverse. All our welcome,

[1:39:41] especially

[1:39:42] within the school district.

[1:39:43] It's been fabulous

[1:39:44] to see that. I grew up

[1:39:45] in a very diverse neighborhood

[1:39:47] Downtown Sacramento after

[1:39:49] World War II. You talk

[1:39:50] about diversity, we had it.

[1:39:52] And it was wonderful. What a

[1:39:54] heritage it gave me. I lived

[1:39:56] in the projects on X Street. I

[1:39:59] grew up there

[1:40:00] until the sixth grade. And then

[1:40:01] we moved into a real home. So I

[1:40:03] have real history with that.

[1:40:05] And I'm so glad Elk Grove is

[1:40:06] known--it's wonderful and I'm

[1:40:09] glad my kids were raised in

[1:40:10] this community as well because

[1:40:12] of that very fact. So I

[1:40:14] appreciate that, Gary. So thank

[1:40:16] you so much. Keep up the good

[1:40:17] work.

[1:40:18] >> Cheryl, before you leave,

[1:40:19] since you mentioned the quest

[1:40:21] about east to west,

[1:40:23] how would you feel

[1:40:24] about if they were to ask what

[1:40:26] district they live in?

[1:40:28] >> Sure, that's be great.

[1:40:29] Anything but that. Or as they

[1:40:31] said, what neighborhood do you

[1:40:32] live in? I think that's a good

[1:40:33] way too. Council district,

[1:40:35] you mean?

[1:40:36] >> Yeah.

[1:40:37] >> Yeah, I think that's a good

[1:40:38] idea. Yeah,

[1:40:39] but just not that east-west.

[1:40:40] We already feel it,

[1:40:42] but I think it--

[1:40:44] >> It would help the Council

[1:40:44] District bridge 99, so that

[1:40:46] kind of takes away the

[1:40:48] east-west issue,

[1:40:49] but splits it up

[1:40:51] into quadrants.

[1:40:52] >> Right.

[1:40:53] >> This gives you at least a

[1:40:54] rough geographical area.

[1:40:56] >> Yeah. But that east-west,

[1:40:57] we know it exists,

[1:40:59] but I think the City has looked

[1:41:01] at getting that eliminated

[1:41:03] from our vocabulary. So we need

[1:41:04] to keep working on it. Thank

[1:41:06] you.

[1:41:08] >> All right, thank you. Bill

[1:41:09] Myers.

[1:41:17] >> Thank you. You're used

[1:41:18] to seeing me talk

[1:41:19] about the rural area.

[1:41:22] But you've done such a good job

[1:41:23] of it, I have nothing to say

[1:41:24] about it. Just I'm very happy

[1:41:26] --.

[1:41:27] >> Thank you very much.

[1:41:28] >> So I want to talk about

[1:41:30] other professional sites that

[1:41:31] you don't know about, okay?

[1:41:32] And I look ahead to some of the

[1:41:33] things I think might be worth

[1:41:35] taking note of, especially

[1:41:36] in regard

[1:41:37] to the economic component.

[1:41:39] First of all,

[1:41:41] several years ago several of us

[1:41:43] around town--I used to teach

[1:41:45] local economic development at

[1:41:46] Davis for a while. I forgot

[1:41:48] to say that. And some of us

[1:41:50] around town got together and

[1:41:51] took a look

[1:41:52] at what the resources might be.

[1:41:54] This was our own thing. We

[1:41:55] weren't commissioned by the

[1:41:56] City or anything. And Elk

[1:41:58] Grove is full of people

[1:42:01] with really interesting skills.

[1:42:04] Some of these skills are future

[1:42:06] skills,

[1:42:06] they're not past skills. We're

[1:42:08] not making use of them. They

[1:42:09] all go to work

[1:42:10] for somebody else. So we

[1:42:11] asked--you know, they go to

[1:42:13] Folsom and they go to the Bay

[1:42:14] Area or whatever. So we

[1:42:16] actually worked

[1:42:18] with our local bank, you know,

[1:42:19] just kind of

[1:42:20] behind the scenes, and we kind

[1:42:20] of took a look

[1:42:22] to see what would it take to

[1:42:24] actually mobilize what we

[1:42:26] already have here in terms

[1:42:27] of our human resources. Set up

[1:42:30] an idea bank or something. I

[1:42:32] actually think these are done

[1:42:33] somewhere, and I won't go

[1:42:34] into details here except

[1:42:36] to say that there are a number

[1:42:37] of ways of working with the

[1:42:39] people that you already have

[1:42:40] to give them a chance

[1:42:42] to put their skills to work

[1:42:43] on their -- they want

[1:42:45] to go into business or

[1:42:46] to do something here. Not just

[1:42:48] to attract outsiders

[1:42:49] to come in. In other words,

[1:42:50] it's growing your own,

[1:42:51] not just buffalo hunting. And

[1:42:53] this is something I think would

[1:42:55] be really worth looking at,

[1:42:56] because I think we have some

[1:42:57] really interesting human

[1:42:59] resources that could be

[1:43:00] cultivated in that way. Second

[1:43:02] point, talking

[1:43:04] about education,

[1:43:06] I think you're dead on,

[1:43:07] that anything we do needs

[1:43:08] to be tied

[1:43:09] to constant education,

[1:43:10] not just for youth. We're all

[1:43:12] going

[1:43:13] to be educating ourselves, you

[1:43:14] know, -- all

[1:43:15] through our lives

[1:43:16] for one thing or another,

[1:43:17] and it's not going

[1:43:18] to be just the standard stuff.

[1:43:19] But I would be a little careful

[1:43:21] about the brick and mortar,

[1:43:22] because brick and mortar is

[1:43:24] getting to be a--well,

[1:43:26] be brick

[1:43:27] around your neck is what it is.

[1:43:29] Everything is happening online

[1:43:31] and that's going to expand.

[1:43:33] We're getting very good

[1:43:35] at putting at whole courses,

[1:43:36] you know, for everybody. My

[1:43:39] daughter, for example, is

[1:43:40] changing her profession and she

[1:43:42] does three-quarters

[1:43:43] of her stuff online from our

[1:43:45] local institutions here, okay?

[1:43:47] But it's basically going

[1:43:50] to work out of homes,

[1:43:50] very small pods,

[1:43:52] and we're not going to need

[1:43:54] classrooms and parking lots and

[1:43:55] all of that kind of thing

[1:43:56] in the future

[1:43:57] like we've needed it so far.

[1:43:58] So it's worth just thinking

[1:43:59] about where the world is going

[1:44:01] and not where it's already

[1:44:03] been. Third,

[1:44:04] about the farming. We actually,

[1:44:08] for some time,

[1:44:09] have actually been wanting

[1:44:11] to move

[1:44:12] toward the micro farming area.

[1:44:13] The big problem has been

[1:44:14] marketing and a place

[1:44:17] to market. And we keep trying

[1:44:18] to remind the City over and

[1:44:20] over that this would be a

[1:44:21] really nice city function. You

[1:44:23] know, it's something we can't

[1:44:24] very well do on our own. There

[1:44:27] have been ideas around. The

[1:44:28] county actually put $20,000,

[1:44:30] $30,000 into a study we did

[1:44:32] with Charlotte Mitchell and the

[1:44:35] Farm Bureau

[1:44:37] on this and it went nowhere.

[1:44:40] But there is a backlog

[1:44:41] of thinking

[1:44:43] about this and what's

[1:44:44] to be done. And I think that

[1:44:45] could be tapped if you wanted

[1:44:45] to get into that. Thank you

[1:44:47] very much.

[1:44:48] >> Well said, well said,

[1:44:49] Bill. Thank you. Okay, I don't

[1:44:52] see anyone else signed up. Do

[1:44:53] we have any further staff

[1:44:56] comments?

[1:45:05] >> We appreciate all the

[1:45:06] feedback this evening. I think

[1:45:06] it's been really productive. I

[1:45:09] think we have the direction we

[1:45:10] need, therefore, we're

[1:45:11] on the right track. There's a

[1:45:13] little bit of fine-tuning

[1:45:14] in a few places. We've heard

[1:45:15] that. We'll work on that. And

[1:45:16] certainly we'll keep continuing

[1:45:17] to revisit these as we progress

[1:45:19] through the process and

[1:45:20] hopefully memorialize it

[1:45:21] into the document

[1:45:23] at a later point. So thank you

[1:45:24] all very much and thank the

[1:45:26] public for being here. We

[1:45:27] really do appreciate the time

[1:45:28] this evening. Thank you.

[1:45:31] >> Agreed, wonderful. Well,

[1:45:32] yeah, thanks to the Planning

[1:45:34] Commission, City Council

[1:45:35] for your time, staff

[1:45:36] for preparing this. And we're

[1:45:37] going to adjourn. And everyone

[1:45:39] please have a safe and blessed

[1:45:40] holiday season.

Special Joint City Council / Planning Commission Meeting

Agenda

Transcript