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Article – FPA Reports |
Reprinted courtesy of West County Gazette, January 2007 Celebrating 2006 by , President, Forestville Planning Association What’s the FPA done for me? The FPA, with its goals of education and advocacy, has had many accomplishments in 2006 on behalf of the Forestville community. In February we held a Town Meeting during which Orrin Thiessen presented his plans for the commercial development of the Crinella property (where the Town Christmas tree is erected every year); he then was provided with lively public questions, suggestions, and criticisms. (A follow-up Town Meeting is anticipated for this spring when Orrin, having integrated public input, will present his revised plans and receive further community comment.) In August we celebrated our second annual Town Social. Another Town Meeting was held in September in which the Good Neighbor Agreement, negotiated by Citizens for Sensible Growth, the FPA, and Blue Rock Quarry, was presented to the community. The agreement included a variety of environmental and other mitigations which would lessen the impact of Blue Rock’s expansion on the area. The majority of those attending the Meeting approved the agreement. FPA representatives testified on a number of local issues before the County Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, and the Transportation Authority. In addition, our Action Alert email notifications helped generate a great deal of grassroots mail to such Boards. Our goal has been to educate local citizens on the issues and to empower them to communicate their opinions before decisions are made at the County level. At our County Supervisor, Mike Reilly’s, request, the FPA nominated five local citizens to serve on a new Forestville Transportation Advisory Committee which is meeting with heads of County departments to expedite the building of the bypass and/or other solutions to excessive traffic downtown. The FPA also nominated six members for a Good Neighbor Working Group to meet with Bill Williams, the general manager of Blue Rock Quarry, to discuss area issues regarding the Quarry. In addition, two grants for $80,000 were submitted by the FPA to CalTrans to underwrite a study of downtown traffic problems and solutions. Meanwhile, the FPA has continued to fiscally administrate and support the Green Valley Creek Project which has been restoring the natural habitat of that creek. And the FPA’s Downtown Planning Committee has continued to develop plans, crafted from public input, for the proposed Downtown Square. And all this has been due to a variety of colorful and wonderful local folks who have taken time out of their busy lives to serve the community and the land we live in. Thank you all! What can I do for the FPA? Continue to attend Town Meetings. Write letters. Check our website, forestvillefpa.org. Join a committee. Or........... Consider joining the FPA’s Board of Directors. Every January we put out a call for new members. The only requirement is your interest in serving the community. We meet once every six weeks or so to identify local issues and how best to address them, to plan Town Meetings, and to guide the overall project which is the FPA. We also have a lot of fun. In addition we will now be responsible for determining cash grants for local needs. The Good Neighbor Agreement with Blue Rock Quarry included Blue Rock’s commitment to make significant yearly donations for the benefit of Forestville. The FPA’s Board will administer those funds. If you have questions or are interested in joining the Board, please call me, Richard, at 887-1985 or contact me at . Back to Top Back to Issues & Updates Page |