Sunday General Plan Meeting Will Tackle Often Controversial Land Use Designations

If you've been to a meeting of the General Plan Update Steering Committee you've probably noticed that the line-by-line review process can be arduous at best, and at worst, maddeningly tiring. But the occasional need for eye drops and energy drinks in no way means process is any less important. In fact, the General Plan is one of the most significant documents in Sierra Madre governance.

That’s why the members of the GPUSC decided to hold the review of the document’s section on “Land Use Designations” on a Sunday afternoon rather than at a typical 6 p.m. weeknight meeting.

“We know this is a section of the plan that draws a lot of interest from the community,” Planning Director Danny Castro said. “We wanted to hold it during the day so that we had plenty of time to discuss it and we could get input from as many people as possible. Since people work on weekdays, we decided to hold it on a weekend.”

Charged with guiding development throughout the city for the next 20 years, the General Plan is a sort of playbook, the broad overarching themes of which the City Council must adhere to in decades to come. By far the largest section of the General Plan, the Land Use Element covers such occasionally hot button issues as residential and commercial zoning. Not to mention its inclusion of such colloquialized dirty words as “High Density” and “Mixed Use.”

And if the sheer number of pages dedicated to the Land Use Element isn’t evidence enough of its importance, the popularity of GPUSC member Ed Miller’s “Land Use” table at the Nov. 14 General Plan Town Hall Forum surely was. Miller took pages of notes that included a from concerned residents during the well-attended event.

But if Sunday’s Land Use Element discussion sounds like a beast to be tamed by only the most ardently involved residents, Castro is quick to remind us that the General Plan is just that: general.

“This won’t be like the ,” Castro said. “This document does things like say, ‘We need to create a Canyon Zone.’”

The GPUSC meeting on Land Use Designations will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13, at and is open to all interested residents. And for those who may want to do a bit of homework to prepare their input, a copy of the General Plan itself is attached to this article.