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Background Information

The County is proposing targeted amendments to certain General Plan policies and revisions to the Land Use Diagram on the following: 1) Camino/Pollock Pines Community Region to three Rural Centers – Camino, Cedar Grove, and Pollock Pines, 2) Agricultural Districts, and 3) Limited clean‐up identified through the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Update (collectively referred to as the TGPA).

The County is also proposing a comprehensive update and reorganization of the Zoning Ordinance (ZOU) to modernize this General Plan implementation tool and includes revisions of the text and the Zone District Map to bring into conformance with the General Plan. The Board of Supervisors stated objectives for the TGPA-ZOU are to: 1) reduce constraints to the development of moderately-priced housing, 2) support jobs creation, 3) capture more sales tax revenues, 4) protect and promote agriculture and natural resources, and 5) meet the requirements of Government Code 65860.

The Project is limited to the unincorporated portions of the county and would take effect county-wide in those areas under County jurisdiction including county lands outside the cities of Placerville and South Lake Tahoe that are not under the jurisdiction of federal or state agencies or tribal lands.

Following is a chronological summary of highlights from selected Board Items during the TGPA-ZOU process. For a comprehensive list of all TGPA-ZOU related Board Items, click on the Agenda Items accordion below.

April 4, 2011
The Board of Supervisors completed the first 5-year review of the County General Plan (adopted July 19, 2004) and outlined project objectives for a Targeted General Plan Amendment and Zoning Ordinance Update (TGPA-ZOU). The objectives included: development of housing affordable to the moderate-income earner, creation of jobs, improving the capture of sales tax revenues, and preservation and promotion of agriculture and natural resources within the County. The Board also recognized the project should include any revisions necessary to address recent changes in State law since the adoption of the General Plan in 2004.

July 25 - October 24, 2011
Four public workshops were held concluding with the Board providing direction on specific General Plan objective and policy amendments to be considered in the TGPA as they related to the four project objectives identified following the first General Plan 5-year review (April 4, 2011); including the Board’s objective to reduce regulatory barriers in support of the creation of jobs, capture of more sales tax, development of moderate housing, promotion and protection of Agriculture, and also to address recent changes in State laws since the adopted on the 2004 General Plan.

November 14, 2011
The Board adopted a Resolution of Intention (ROI) to Amend the General Plan ( ROI 182-2011(PDF, 978KB) ). This ROI identified a limited (targeted) set of General Plan policies and superseded previously adopted General Plan ROIs including:

ROI 013-2011 to amend Agricultural District Boundaries - Adopted 01/25/2011
ROI 110-2009 to amend the General Plan relating to Community Regions and Rural Centers in the Camino-Pollock Pines area - Adopted 5/19/2009
ROI 2006-04 to amend General Plan Planning Development (30% Open Space) policies to provide flexibility to meet housing needs - Adopted 8/10/2006, and
Policy 8.1.3.1 to incorporate Board approve interpretation of Policy 8.1.3.1 with the criteria for the consideration of a reduction of minimum parcel size agricultural buffer requirement of Policy 8.1.3.1 adopted on May 12, 2009

The Board also adopted two ROIs ( 183-2011(PDF, 1MB) and 184-2011(PDF, 707KB) ), superseding the previous Zoning Ordinance Update ROI ( 44-2008(PDF, 57KB) ). The three new ROIs adopted on November 14, 2014 outlined a project description for completing the update, including the development of design standards and guidelines for mixed-use development and traditional neighborhood design, and additional items the Board desired to address in the draft related to the TGPA project.

December 19, 2011
On December 19, 2011, the Traffic Demand Model Needs Assessment was presented to the Board. The Board concluded there was a need for an updated Travel Demand Model (TDM) and that it would be used in the environmental analysis of the EIR for the TGPA-ZOU. Beginning in early 2012, County staff and the consultant team worked closely with Caltrans and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) throughout the development process of updating the TDM. In February 2014, the updated model was completed, which concluded Phase I of the TDM Update project. Development of a new TDM was one of the four components of the Land Use Policy Programmatic Update (LUPPU), which also included the TGPA-ZOU and 2013 Housing Element Update. The traffic modeling analysis in the TDM Update was used as a basis for the analysis of potential environmental impacts of the TGPA-ZOU on the County’s transportation system included in the EIR for the TGPA-ZOU.

January 24, 2012
The Board approved a scope of work and a contract with ICF International to complete an environmental review of the TGPA-ZOU project as outlined in the ROI.

May 25, 2012
The first Notice of Preparation (NOP) was released for a 45-day public comment period. The NOP and related documents were posted to the project dedicated website and all subscribers to the website were notified. The Board of Supervisors then held a week long workshop on the Zoning Ordinance to review, take public comments and provide staff with direction for revisions to the draft Zoning Ordinance. Staff revised the draft and returned to the Board during three additional Board meetings to review revisions and provide authorization to final the draft ZOU.

July 2012
Four joint Board/Planning Commission workshops held on July 16, 18, 19, and 20th to comprehensively review the March 2012 Public Review Draft of the Zoning Ordinance and to flag specific items for discussion of potential revision.

August - September 2012
Board discussed on August 20th , September 18th, and September 24th the flagged items from the July 2012 week long workshop on the Zoning Ordinance Update, and provided direction on; document structure, treatment of optional analysis, state and federal minimum standards, Article 2 “Use” matrices, mapping criteria, non-conforming uses, structures and lots, and revisions specific to:

Planned Development/Density Bonus/30% Open Space
Protection of Wetlands And Sensitive Riparian Habitat
Hillside Development Standards; 30% Percent Slope
Landscaping and Outdoor Lighting, and
Animal Raising And Keeping

October 1, 2012
A second NOP was released for a 30-day public comment period. Comments received during the review process have been taken into consideration in the proposed TGPA and ZOU. The full texts of the proposed TGPA and ZOU are available under Supporting Documents, October 1, 2012 Notice of Preparation.

November 13, 2012
Board revised the project description following comments received on NOP #2, and authorized the following to be analyzed under a program level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the Targeted General Plan Amendment and Zoning Ordinance Update.

Draft Targeted General Plan Amendments
Draft Camino/Pollock Pines Community Region Revision Map
Draft Ag District Boundaries Expansion Map
Draft General Plan Land Use Amendments Maps
Draft Zoning Ordinance
Draft Zoning Maps
Draft Agriculture Opt-in Map, and
Potential Project Alternatives for the consideration in the EIR

Following a two (2) yearlong review, that included more than 30 public hearings with the Board, Planning Commission and Agriculture Commission, the Board authorized staff to proceed with the EIR, directing that an adequate level of review would be completed so that the EIR would offer a range of options for future Board decisions. On this date, the project description was revised to remove from consideration:

Policy 2.2.1.5 and Table 2-3 related to Floor Area Ratios from the General Plan
Option for an “in-lieu” fee for use in purchasing off-site open space to meet the 30% Opens Space requirements for a Planned Development permit
Analysis of High Density Residential (HDR) maximum density increase to 8 units per acre, and
Proposed amendments to Policy 8.2.4.4 as implementation of this policy was already addressed in the ZOU and therefore proposed amendments were not necessary

In addition, the Board directed any additional analysis of possibility adding, amending or deleting existing Community Regions or Rural Center planning areas be removed from the project description and instead considered as a potential Project Alternative in the EIR, with the exception of the proposed amendment to Policies 2.1.1.1 and 2.1.2.1 as they relate to the current Community Region of Camino/Pollock Pines that is being proposed to be amended to the three Rural Centers of Camino, Cedar Grove, and Pollock Pines.

December 2012 - March 2014
Development of the new Travel Demand Model (TDM) - Nine (9) presentations and updates were given to the Board of Supervisors on the TDM, including requests for input and direction on major assumptions of the model, roadway network used, updated traffic analysis zones, and direction on the growth scenarios. Both SACOG and Caltrans staff provided input on the scope and other technical assumptions for the update of the TDM. The TDM was peer reviewed by an independent traffic consultant in May 2013. On February 3, 2014 the County received a letter from SACOG, which stated that they concur that the El Dorado County TDM conforms to state-of-practice in subarea travel demand modeling, meets traffic assignment validations standards suggested by FHWA and Caltrans, and it is an appropriate tool for staff to analyze and forecast traffic for the County’s long-range transportation planning. Analysis for the TGPA-ZOU EIR followed.

September 30, 2013
The Board directed staff to return to the Board in January or February 2014 in line with the release of the TGPA-ZOU Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) with examples and/or options for considering amending the Shingle Springs and El Dorado Hills Community Region Boundary lines. Per the Board’s direction, staff began discussing potential options with the County’s outside Counsel and environmental consultants in October 2013.

October 29, 2013 & February 25, 2014
Potential options related to the potential amendment of Community Region Boundaries for the communities of Shingle Springs and El Dorado Hills were presented to the Board as part of the Long Range Planning monthly update. Board directed staff to address these options separate and apart from the TGPA-ZOU process.

March 24, 2014
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was released on March 24, 2014 for a 120-day public review period. This review period was 75 days more than the 45-day minimum review period required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Board of Supervisors requested the extended review period to allow the public ample time to review the DEIR and prepare comments.

July 10, 2014
The County Planning Commission held a public hearing on July 10, 2014 to receive public comments on the DEIR. The public comment period closed on July 23, 2014. To view comments received during the DEIR public review period, open the DEIR March 2014 "accordion" tab.

August 2014
The Planning Commission held a public hearing consisting of a series of ongoing meetings (August 4, 6, 13, 14, 18, 20 and 27) to receive public comments on the TGPA-ZOU Project, and to prepare a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. For the information discussed on each day, open the Public Outreach tab and scroll down to the bottom.

January 29, 2015
A Partial Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (RDEIR) was released on January 29, 2015 for a 45-day public review period. The RDEIR addressed the following environmental issues: transportation and traffic, water supply and groundwater use and supply, and energy conservation.

March 5, 2015
An open house meeting to accept written comments on the RDEIR was held at 6:30 p.m. in the Planning Commission Hearing Room, 2850 Fairlane Court, Building C in Placerville. Two people attended the meeting. The public comment period closed on March 16, 2015. To view comments received during the RDEIR public review period, open the RDEIR January 2015 "accordion" tab.

August 6, 2015
The County released the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the TGPA-ZOU Project, which includes responses to the comments received on the Draft EIR and Partial Recirculated DEIR.

August 27, 2015
The Planning Commission held a public hearing to receive public comment on the TGPA-ZOU Project and EIR and prepare recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.

September 2, 2015
The Planning Commission continued the hearing from August 27, 2015. The hearing was concluded, and the Commission finalized their recommendation for the Board's consideration. The hearing was held in the Board of Supervisors Chambers and was live-streamed and video recorded. The Commission agenda, minutes and video of the public hearing are posted on the County’s online Agenda Calendar at: https://eldorado.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx (See the Agenda Date and File #11-0356).

November 10, 12, and 13, 2015
The Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the TGPA-ZOU Project and Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The hearing commenced on November 10 and was closed on November 12. On November 13, the Board tentatively approved various actions and directed staff to revise draft documents as necessary pursuant to this tentative action and return on December 15, 2015 for final action. The hearing was held in the Board of Supervisors Chambers and was live-streamed and video recorded. The video and minutes of the public hearing are posted on the County’s online Agenda Calendar at: https://eldorado.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx (See the Agenda Date and File #11-0356).