For Immediate Release

March 6, 2008

Greater Valley Springs Advisory Group Created

Valley Springs. On March 4, approximately 40 Valley Springs area residents and landowners, meeting for the second time at the Methodist Church, committed themselves to crafting a vision statement and suggesting new community boundaries for the Valley Springs area. It was agreed they would operate as the Greater Valley Springs Advisory Group and offer the results of their effort to the Community Development Agency for inclusion as community-specific language in the update of the Calaveras County general plan. According to Calaveras County General Plan Coordinator, Lynn O’Connor, who was at the Tuesday night meeting, the group has until August 2008 to complete the work in time to be included in the update.

The advisory group is the result of a call to action by MyValleySprings.com, a local non-profit organization that promotes the adaptation of smart growth principles to rural communities to preserve the quality and character of rural life. MVS.com also believes broad-based public participation is the key to successful land use planning and community development. “We have been working hard to get the community involved, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results,” said Joyce Techel, MVS.com board president. “This was just the second meeting, and we’ve already made tremendous progress, which is great, because we don’t have much time.”

Seven areas of concern or “elements” were identified and formed the basis for seven sub-groups or committees. The elements are Safety, Economic Development, Community Boundaries/Study Area, Conservation and Open Space, Housing, Circulation and Transportation, and Land Use. In turn, each of the elements has sub-categories. For example, the Conservation and Open Space element includes parks and recreation, youth activities, historic preservation, scenic corridors, bike and pedestrian paths, and air quality. Volunteers signed up to work on the element of their choice, and each element group had a minimum of four members. One member from each element group will form a steering committee.

The individual groups will craft a vision for their element, and the results will be blended into an overall vision for the greater Valley Springs area. Colleen Hiner, who has a Masters degree in community development and is a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Davis, gave the group an overview of a vision statement and its impact and answered questions from the participants. Members of the various element groups exchanged contact information and arranged to meet individually before the next general meeting on March 27. The location of that meeting is yet to be determined. A community survey will be discussed at the next meeting as a possible means of gathering input from a representative cross-section of the Valley Springs area.

Anyone interested in additional information, updates on the Greater Valley Springs Advisory Group’s activities, or working on one of the element committees may email info@myvalleysprings.com or visit www.myvalleysprings.com and click “contact us.”

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