General plan wrapped up

In the face of an implied lawsuit threat, and with one member dissenting, the Butte County Board of Supervisors adopted the first complete general plan in county history Tuesday. It was the culmination of an effort that began in April 2006.

Supervisor Kim Yamaguchi, of Paradise, was the lone nay vote. The 20-year plan didn’t focus sufficiently on economic development and creating jobs, he said.

During a public hearing, residents of Butte Valley and representatives of the Butte Environmental Council charged that the plan lacked a required scientific assessment of the cumulative impacts of projected development on groundwater supplies in that area. Residents said their water table is dropping every year. BEC attorney Richard Harriman hinted that a lawsuit might follow adoption of the plan.

Supervisors, convinced the plan and its supporting documents offered sufficient groundwater analysis, voted 4-1 to approve it. Additional zoning decisions will be made in the future, but the county will begin implementing the plan immediately.