Summary: Friday, August 24, 2012 A City General Plan Update is still pending in the City of Capitola. I encourage Capitola City residents to read the latest version of the General Plan Update, and to get involved in the General Plan Update process. While project level planning decisions always attract the most attention, the long range planning decisions that are incorporated in a community’s General Plan are actually more important. That is because all project level approvals have to be found “consistent” with the adopted General Plan. The General Plan, in other words, is just what the courts say it is, a “constitution for land use.” Just as the enactments of the U.S. Congress must be consistent with the U.S. Constitution, actions taken by local governments that affect land use have to be consistent with the community General Plan. In the meantime, as the General Plan Update process proceeds, the City of Capitola continues to process various land use related projects. One project that might be interesting to KUSP listeners is the proposed Villa Capitola Senior Housing project. This proposed project would require the demolition of an existing commercial salvage yard and the subsequent construction of a 23-unit market-rate rental development in a new, three-story building. The project is proposed at 1575 38th Avenue. The comment period on the project Initial Study ends on Monday, September 3rd. More Information: Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog City of Capitola Website General Plan Update General Plan Update Schedule A Special Note: Recruitment is underway to fill a vacancy on the Capitola Commission on the Environment. The Council is seeking applications from persons who are 18 years of age, or older. Applications can be obtained from the receptionist at the Capitola City Hall, 420 Capitola Avenue, or by calling 831-475-7300, or can be obtained online at http://www.ci.capitola.ca.us/capcity.nsf/CtyCnclComm.html.
