Valley
Springs area residents received a
crash course on “Smart Growth” principles Wednesday evening when more than 200
people attended the MyValleySprings.com and the Foothill Conservancy forum at
Paul Zykovsky, director of Land Use and Transportation
Programs for the Local Government Commission, was the featured speaker and he
outlined “10 Principles of Smart Growth and Livable Communities.”
Wednesday’s presentation was the first in a series of
programs MyValleySprings.com and the Foothill Conservancy plan to offer to
bring citizens into the process for revising the Valley Springs Community Plan
and the Calaveras County General Plan.
The next presentation is tentatively scheduled for March 29th.
The principles, which Zykovsky attributed to the “Ahwahnee
Principles” developed in 1991, begin with the preservation of open space, farms
and the area’s natural beauty.
Zykovsky’s second principle was to strengthen and direct
development toward existing communities.
He advocated the preservation and repair of existing historic buildings
and revitalization of town centers. He
added that communities should look toward clustering homes and development
closer together to reduce runoff and the cost of providing services and
infrastructure.
Zykovsky’s third principle was taking advantage of compact
building design. As the overall
population increases in age, more compact development on smaller lots and
within walking distance of services will become desirable, he said.
Along those same lines, a mixture of land uses with retail
and personal services near housing was Zykovsky’s fourth principle.
He displayed examples of housing located over retail shops
and restaurants, including a recent development in Murphys with housing
situated over its
Zykovsky’s fifth principle was to foster distinctive,
attractive communities with a strong sense of place. His sixth principle was to provide housing
opportunities and choices for different income levels and stages of life. This includes a mixture of housing types from
single-family homes to four-plexes and cottages within the same housing
development and he added, “Affordable housing doesn’t mean poor quality.”
The creation of “walkable communities” was Zykovsky’s
seventh principle. He showed how
communities could create safe, walkable streets, improved crosswalks and the
benefit of roundabouts for vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Similarly, Zykovsky’s eighth principle was that communities
should provide a variety of transportation choices including bicycling, walking
and public transit.
His ninth principle was to make development decisions
predictable, fair and cost-effective. He
said communities should target growth areas in their communities and make it
clear to developers where they want to see development. State-of-the-art development codes and
simplified land-use tables will enhance and expedite the review process, he
added.
Zykovsky’s final principle was to encourage community and
stakeholder collaboration in development decisions. He said Wednesday’s full house was a step in
the right direction.
Stephanie Moreno, the county’s Community Development Agency
director, encouraged the public to get involved in the General Plan update
process that is under way and predicted the update of the Valley Springs
Community Plan “will be one of the most challenging” based on the community’s
diversity.
She added that the dates of upcoming General Plan hearings
for Valley Springs would be announced soon.