The county's future goes back to the drawing board.
At a joint meeting Tuesday, the Merced County Board of Supervisors and the county planning commission postponed a vote that would have decided how the county will grow for the next two decades.
The two boards were scheduled to choose one of two options that would have updated the county's general plan, a policy document that will guide land use and development until 2030.
The Merced County General Plan Update will eventually be a 20-year plan for county policies on agricultural preservation, land use and development, circulation and transit systems, environmental resource protection, economic development, housing, public infrastructure, public safety, and noise.
In February, the board reviewed four plans that would set broad policy decisions on land use and development, but rejected them all.
On Tuesday, some board members showed a preference for one of the two new alternatives, but each of them said they wanted more time to review plans before making a final decision.
The first new alternative emphasized city-centered growth with an emphasis on building new towns, such as the Villages of Laguna San Luis, Santa Nella and Fox Hills. Under this plan, called Alternative D in planning documents, 23 percent of future growth is expected in new towns and 60 percent of new residents would call existing cities home.
The second plan, Alternative E, takes the opposite tack. Fifteen percent of growth would be expected in already approved, master-planned new towns, while cities would absorb 72 percent of new growth. Alternative E emphasizes resource protection, infrastructure availability and increased residential density in established population centers.
Supervisors Jerry O'Banion and Hub Walsh asked the county's consultant to provide more information on each of the plans before they could make a decision. While the two alternatives included expected losses in prime agricultural land, they were also based on different population densities.
The consultant, Jim Harnish, said he would provide more directly comparable information by Thanksgiving.
A new vote is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 8, spokeswoman Katie Albertson said.
Board members also said they wanted time to consider the findings of a groundwater report that is set to be released today before establishing land use rules for the thirsty Westside.
The county began the process to update its 1990 general plan in 2006. If the alternatives report is approved in December, the supervisors will create new goals and policies for the general plan, commission an environmental impact report and host other public review hearings before the new general plan is in place in August 2010.
General plan update documents can be read at http://www.co.merced.ca.us.
Reporter Danielle E. Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2477 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.
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