Lompoc's General Plan Update could have significant impacts on virtually every environmental category in the book, and concerns about some of the potential problems drew about 20 speakers to a public meeting Tuesday evening.

The purpose of the meeting was to gather input on what should be focused on when a city consultant drafts the plan's Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

Members of the City Council and Planning Commission attended to hear what the public had to say about the city's guiding document.

“There's no amount of study and research that can replace the experience you have,” lead EIR consultant Richard Daulton told the audience during his meeting introduction.

Daulton, representing Rincon Consultants, based in San Luis Obispo, was hired by the city to update the 10-year-old Lompoc General Plan. He fielded several questions from the audience.

Several audience members asked if major events and developments in and around Lompoc were being taken into consideration for the EIR, such as the news of a new law enforcement and firefighting training academy being built on the grounds of the Allan Hancock Lompoc campus.

“I was wondering if you've altered your study to take into account that complex?” asked Darrell Tullis, a member of the city's Parks and Recreation board.

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Other audience members asked about ongoing county and state plans to alter Highway 246 as it approaches the city to the East, and the plans for California Space Center at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, and how those changes might impact the EIR study, which anticipates up to 25 years in the future.

Daulton said the consulting team would work with other agencies to estimate future impacts from such potential changes.

One man commented that there was one potential impact left unmarked in the consultant's initial study documents - checking for potential conflicts with existing nature conservation plans for areas such as the Santa Ynez River basin, and the Burton Mesa Ecological Preserve.

Other citizens asked for specifics about the proposed infill zoning proposed along the entirety of the North H Street corridor.

Daulton said he did not have specifics to offer, but that the consulting team had begun working out those details.

Lompoc businessman John Linn commented that any change to the H Street corridor zoning would have to allow economically feasible developments, to be worth the effort of adding to the General Plan.

“We want to bring something to the council that they want to see,” Daulton said after the meeting, when asked about Rincon's goals for the zone details.

Daulton's Power Point presentation, including maps detailing changing land uses, will be available on the city's Web site as of today, according to city staff.

Comments to recommend areas of study for the General Plan EIR can be submitted to the city up to Sept. 8. Those comments and questions about the EIR process can be directed to city Planning Manager Lucille Breese, at 875-8273 or l_breese@ci.lompoc.ca.us.

During the EIR study phase, the Lompoc Planning Commission is scheduled to meet Sept. 30, followed by a City Council meeting on Oct. 21 to review the draft version of the General Plan, and provide Rincon with direction on housing, circulation and land use issues.

A draft version of the EIR report will be made available for review as early as mid-December, according to city staff. The draft is scheduled to undergo public review and revision before final certification.

The certified EIR will be “a big part” of the City Council's decisions regarding the final contents of the General Plan Update, which is scheduled to be put into effect in the spring of 2009, according to Daulton.

Glenn Wallace can be reached at 737-1059 or gwallace@lompocrecord.com

August 27, 2008