Tracy council weighs priorities as three-year general plan update moves ahead

The Tracy City Council spent Tuesday talking about the priorities it wants written into the city's next general plan, the long-term document that will guide land use and growth over the next two decades.

The update is a three-year process that began last month with the hiring of lead consultant DeNovo Planning Group and a nine-member advisory committee. DeNovo Principal Beth Thompson gave Tuesday's report, describing the plan's role in setting community vision, land use and economic development policies, infrastructure planning and resource conservation.

Thompson said the work will take heavy community input, and laid out a first phase that produces a Community Outreach and Vision Report, a second phase focused on land use and alternatives, and a third phase that drafts the plan and its environmental review before adoption. Public meetings start with a visioning workshop at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 and a second on Nov. 19, both at the Tracy Transit Center at Sixth Street and Central Avenue.

The council also began setting an updated planning boundary covering city limits, sphere of influence and a larger planning area. Councilwoman Dotty Nygard said she would like to see how the city's Climate Action Plan relates to the general plan and wants green space kept between Tracy and Mountain House and between Tracy and Lathrop. Mayor Dan Arriola said the biggest challenge is preventing urban sprawl and that planning will require coordination with Mountain House, Lathrop and San Joaquin County.