Page 6 - Sanger Herald 5-31-18 E-edition

A map showing vacant parcels of land within the city limits that might be rezoned to comply with a state housing element law.
SANGER HERALD 6A THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018
Operation Rezone
in Sanger is not
like the one in
Fresno in the '90s
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
Don't be surprised if you receive a notice soon that a parcel of land near you is going to be rezoned.
Even though the new zoning may not make a lot of sense to you and if you're old enough it may rekindle memories of a rezoning scandal in Fresno back in the late '90s that brought down nine crooked politicians, lobbyists and developers, it's nothing like that.
It's legit.
It's Sanger's effort to comply with Califor- nia's housing element law which is requiring that Sanger find a total of 63 acres somewhere within the city limits that can be rezoned to accommodate "affordable" housing.
The planning commission was told by Sanger's senior planner, David Brletic, that there just aren't very many empty parcels of land within the city limits that can be rezoned to meet the standards of the state mandated "housing element."
Brletic showed the commissioners, on the map at the left, the parcels, totalling 63 acres, that could be rezoned. He acknowledged there were a few other parcels that might qualify.
The commissioners will now work through a process of analyzing each vacant parcel of land in Sanger to see if any would be more suitable than those on the map Brletic pre- sented.
When that's completed, the rezoning will begin and by the time that's completed it's likely the next five year housing element phase will begin and the process will start all over again.
The city has no plans to build anything on any of the vacant parcels, Brletic pointed out. That would be up to private developers.
The effort right now is just to comply with a state law.
A lengthy explanation of the law on the state's housing and community deveopment website goes like this:
Since 1969, California has required that
all local governments (cities and counties) adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. California’s local governments meet this requirement by adopt- ing housing plans as part of their “general plan” (also required by the state). General plans serve as the local government’s "blue- print" for how the city and/or county will grow and develop and include seven elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety, and housing. The law mandat- ing that housing be included as an element of each jurisdiction’s general plan is known as “housing-element law.”
California’s housing-element law acknowl- edges that, in order for the private market to adequately address the housing needs and demand of Californians, local governments must adopt plans and regulatory systems that provide opportunities for (and do not unduly constrain), housing development. As a result, housing policy in California rests largely on the effective implementation of local general plans and, in particular, local housing elements.
The reporter can be contacted at sangerher- ald @gmail.com.
More than $100,000 in scholarships go to Sanger High School seniors
Photos from Sanger High School's Scholarship Night
2018 Graduation/Promotion Ceremonies
May 31
Sanger Adult School
7 p.m. - Sanger High School MPR
June 1
Kings River - Taft
6 p.m. - WAMS Theater
June 6
CDS/Taft 8th grade promotion
10 a.m. - Community Day School
June 6
Quail Lake Charter School
6 p.m. - Quail Lake MPR
June 6
Sanger Academy Charter School
6:30 p.m. - SACS amphitheater
June 7
Fairmont Elementary School
7 p.m. - Fairmont
June 7
Washington Academic Middle School
7 p.m. - Tom Flores Stadium
June 8
Sanger High School
7 p.m. - SaveMart Center
June 9
Hallmark Charter School 8th grade promotion
3 p.m. - Saroyan Theater
June 9
Hallmark Charter School - High School Graduation
6 p.m. - Saroyan Theater
For additional information please call the school.
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