Residents want resources preserved

Agricultural resources, together with environmental and natural resources were designated top priorities. Tied to those goals is economic vitality, according to exhaustive research that polled residents from Topaz Lake to Indian Hills.

That was the conclusion presented to about 50 Douglas County residents at a special open house Wednesday, hosted by consultants Design Workshops.

"The consistency across the board concerning values was remarkable," said Steven Frisch of the Sierra Business Council, one of the hosts at Wednesday's open house.

In addition to the information provided by county officials, Design Workshops conducted their own series of stakeholder meetings and discussed concepts at length with county officials, all part of the ongoing 10-year update to Douglas County's master plan.

The research will lay the foundation for Douglas County master plan revisions. For the most part, residents attending an open house Wednesday agreed with the primary goals, but some felt they didn't go far enough.

Douglas County resident Jim Slade said the vision statement does not include one of the primary concerns for many people here, the rural character of life.

"Most residents came here for that," he said. "We don't want well-planned communities if it deters the rural character of life here."

Preserving agriculture will probably require promotion of alternative forms of agricultural business, according to Design Workshops.

"We need to spell out all strategies for (new) agricultural businesses," wrote one resident.

"The high number of elderly here need to be considered," wrote another.

"We need to implement all the strategies in the master plan, especially with respect to growth control," said another.

Approved in 1996, the master plan is a comprehensive document that addresses these issues and more. It is flexible and these periodic revisions are designed to include public input through workshops, surveys, interviews and meetings to gauge public opinion concerning the future of Douglas County.

A public review draft should be completed by Sept. 21 and will be reviewed by the planning commission on Oct. 10. A revised draft will be submitted to the planning commission Nov. 14 and the final draft should reach Douglas County's board of commissioners by Dec. 7.

n Susie Vasquez can be reached at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211.