Wednesday, September 10, 2008

‘Head west,’ says GPAC

Patterson’s General Plan Advisory Committee recommended Tuesday that hundreds of acres west of Interstate 5 should be brought into the city and developed.

The development of land in the Del Puerto Canyon had been one of the more hotly debated topics as the committee got the ball rolling on revisions to Patterson’s general plan.

The committee has one more meeting scheduled, Oct. 6, before turning the plan over to Patterson Planning Commission and ultimately Patterson City Council, which has the final say when it comes to the plan. So, there will likely be significant changes and plenty of time to let your voice be heard before the plan is finalized.

When complete, the plan will establish what type of local development, if any, should occur and where.

The committee is recommending hundreds of acres along the hills of Del Puerto Canyon be designated for mixed use. Exactly what mixed use will be hasn’t been defined. One of the area’s major landowners, Jeff Arambel, has talked about putting residential and commercial development in the hills.

Property owner and developer influence over GPAC has also been an issue raised during GPAC proceedings. Several large landowners sit on the committee and its chairman, John Ramos, has been instrumental in several large developments in Patterson.

Planning commissioner and candidate for mayor, Luis Molina, in a recent interview went as far as to say Ramos shouldn’t be chairing the committee because of his development background, and cast doubt on the entire general plan process.

Look for expanded coverage in Saturday’s paper.

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