On May 9 the Lompoc City Council was scheduled to conduct a Council Review and Discussion of Proposed Amendments to the City of Lompoc 2030 General Plan. But it didn’t happen.

The general public probably has never read or even knows that the city has a plan for the future; it’s known as the General Plan that as the GP intro says is “a blueprint that defines not only how the City will evolve through 2030, but the steps the community will take to make this vision a reality.”

The process to develop the GP starts with scores of Planning Commission workshops and public hearings, and ultimately an environmental impact report.

Any change to the GP will also require another lengthy series of hearings, and possibly an environmental review before any of them are considered for final adoption.

It was anticipated to be a lengthy discussion, and that’s why a special meeting was scheduled so the council could focus on each change that was being proposed.

Since it was a workshop, there would be no final actions taken, only “direction to staff.”
 
On the appointed evening the city manager announced that the consultant wasn’t available, and one councilmember was also absent; he then suggested that the item be continued.

Councilmembers Dirk Starbuck and Victor Vega were appointed several months ago by the council as the ad hoc committee to develop a list of proposed changes to the GP.

Councilmember Starbuck noted that there were 66 items in the Summary of Ad Hoc General Plan Comments handout that was provided to the council. 

One of the items recommended by Councilmember Vega was to remove the Economic Development Element from the GP and eliminate the Economic Development Committee.

His suggestion was that this function be transferred to the Chamber of Commerce. Several years ago, the City Council “defunded” staff support for this function.

I was a planning commissioner when this element was added to the GP; the reasoning was that the chamber had not been effective at creating new businesses or improving the economy of Lompoc in the past and had focused primarily on inviting tourism through the placement of advertising in various media.

For this “service” the council provides around $100,000 in funding.

Whether the chamber could be effective at promoting economic development today is open to debate.

Another recommendation propose by Councilmember Starbuck was to remove the following policy:

“The City should encourage creative and efficient site designs in residential developments which address natural constraints, promote energy efficiency and overall sustainability, walkability, and bike ability, protect aesthetic qualities, maintain neighborhood character and improve public health.”

This recommendation is in direct conflict with the Introduction to the GP, which says the plan “represents the City’s comprehensive effort to define what makes Lompoc a special place, delineate a vision for its future, and formulate action-oriented programs to achieve that future. The plan functions as a blueprint that defines not only how the City will evolve through 2030, but the steps the community will take to make this vision a reality.”

Another recommendation by Councilmembers Starbuck and Vega is to remove this policy statement: “To ensure that requested annexations do not negatively impact City fiscal health, such requests shall be accompanied by a study that analyzes the fiscal impact to the City presented by the annexation.”

Annexations can levy a heavy burden on both the General (police, fire, parks, and streets) and the Enterprise (utilities and solid waste) funds.

It is irresponsible to support an annexation that will create service needs that cost more to provide if the fees/taxes that will result from a project are less than the cost of services.

For example, a city manager once told me that annexations for housing always create more of a burden on police and fire services than the funding they provide in property taxes. And, when annexation occurs, the county retains a significant portion of the property taxes for several years to offset the loss of revenue for county government.

Currently, there are other changes to the GP in various stages of completion and another major update for the start of the 2040 GP could begin as early as the end of 2027.

One thing is for sure, the Starbuck/Vega changes won’t be studied in detail any time soon.
 
Maybe it was a good thing the consultant didn’t show up because it’s obvious that a lot more thoughtful and reasoned debate among all City Councilmembers is needed before any of the 66 changes being proposed by the Ad Hoc committee are sent to the Planning Division. 

Reference: 
Summary of Ad Hoc General Plan Comments: 40271 (cityoflompoc.com)

General Plan introduction: 636659043109400000 (cityoflompoc.com)