General plan committee gets to work

By JAY GOETTING
Register Staff Writer

It was a veritable love fest as members of the newly formed Napa County General Plan Steering Committee started their first official meeting Wednesday.

But as the session was about to conclude with the election of a chair and vice-chair for the 21-member citizen committee formed to advise county officials about the general plan, the proceedings got interesting.

Winery owner and retired Chevron executive Peter McCrea will serve as chairman of the committee. Building contractor Tom Andrews will be vice-chair.

The 15 to 3 vote for McCrea came after his name, along with those of Andrews and Napa Valley Land Stewards Alliance President George Bachich, were nominated.

Andrews withdrew, leaving the vote between McCrea and Bachich. Bachich only garnered votes from himself, fellow Land Steward Michael Haley and real estate agent Brad Simpkins.

For the vice chair position, Andrews eked out a 12-to-6 victory over planning consultant Beth Painter, who was not present. At least 12 votes were needed to secure a leadership position under the newly passed by-laws of the committee.

To open the Wednesday afternoon meeting, each member gave a thumbnail biography and a description of how he or she hopes the process will conclude.

To a person, members used terms such as collaboration, open-minded, balance and respect.

Bachich urged his colleagues not to have tunnel vision and called for balance.

McCrea called the current general plan "spectacular," but noted some items would require "fixing what's broken."

A schedule to be adopted at the next meeting shows the revised general plan being adopted by the county in January 2008.

If the new general plan affects aspects of the county's Agricultural Preserve and a Measure J vote is required, that vote would be held during the June 2008 Primary Election.

Napa County Planning Director Hillary Gitelman told the committee, "Hopefully it will be just a couple of years" to complete their task. But she held out the possibility of either additional meetings or an extended schedule if things get bogged down.

McCrea called attention to the fact that American Canyon is not represented on the committee. There were no applicants from the county's newest city, but Councilman Leon Garcia was in the audience and vowed cooperation as the city works on its own general plan.

St. Helena Planning Director Carol Poole was tapped by the Board of Supervisors to represent the five cities. She said she plans to keep their administrations apprised of the group's work and bring back comments and concerns.

Planner Nancy Johnson gave the members a crash course she called "General Plan 101," and Board of Supervisors Clerk Pamela Miller presented information on the Brown Act, the state's open meeting law which governs committee activities.

The committee was admonished not to discuss business of the group outside formal meetings.

In addition, each member will tap another 10 people who will receive updates on the process and provide their own input.

Gitelman said the first two meetings would be mostly organizational, but then they would settle into a routine whereby each element of the general plan is discussed at three different sessions.

Consultants and other agencies such as the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency and Open Space Commission will be invited to make presentations, with the circulation (or traffic) element the first to be tackled beginning on September 28.

The committee's next meeting is on Aug. 31, when detailed information on the county's Baseline Data Report of environmental information will be presented.

All sessions will be at 2 p.m. in the second floor conference room of the Hall of Justice at Third and Coombs streets.

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