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Sunday, 14 April 2024

MATH showcases assets for Local Area Plan

MIDDLETOWN >> Lake County Vision 2050 in a continuing quest to settle at an ideal level of not too much but healthy growth to move the county forward with development and yet still retain the small-town congeniality that endears natives and newcome…
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MATH showcases assets for Local Area Plan

William Roller

April 14

MIDDLETOWN >> Lake County Vision 2050 in a continuing quest to settle at an ideal level of not too much but healthy growth to move the county forward with development and yet still retain the small-town congeniality that endears natives and newcomers, played host in a second of local area plan workshops at the Middletown Area Town Hall April 11.

Mireya Turner, Community Development Department director informed the MATH constituents, Vision 2050 is bringing County residents questions, County staff would like to hear back from them. "Where do you think we need more commercial activity or where do think we need less?" she questioned. Because that helps to all to come together as a community vision."

Once the approximately 60 attendees convened into groups to discuss options Lake County attendees and in particular Middletown's appeal, became a hot prospect not obtainable anywhere else. One thing became clear early, Middletown had to acquire resources. The answer may have surprised, but not its source. Fletcher Thornton, a former MATH chair and a long-time entrepreneur in development projects of various sorts, said for him, to attain Vision 2050, all other things pale and could not be as valuable, as more people. "The people we have, people who need help, don't have to ask for it, they just help each other," Thornton said.

Walkability is important explained Thornton, while taking care to not make housing costs too expensive. He also advocates to maintain high density downtown so, people can walk to schools, banks, grocery stores.
"The underlying problem for schools, Lake County, for anything here, is lack of population," he said. "We don't have young couples moving in and having children. We've had an inverted growth period here- our expenses continue to rise, the cost of living and retirement rise."

Thornton went on it all comes back to growth. And he cautions about dividing the county into five and ten acre lots because the land will become so expensive few will be able to build on it. "It'll come down to you guys getting more people in the county," he said. "This place hasn't grown in 10 years," he said. Middletown as a group should make a decision of where we want growth. In what direction? ... HWY 175?"

Those decisions should be made as a group and then transmitted to Lake County government, so they can maintain control over the roads, of what the community wants. "Some people say, 'No Growth' but that's impossible. Yet you can guide how it will happen."

Smart Zoning is a way to achieve this, and residents need to think of that, noted Thornton "Rural residential, suburban residential, we have to think about rezoning without costing a developer $9,000 for a general plan amendment."

Bill Waite, one of the MATH city councilors in a question to Place Works consultant Tanya Sundberg talked about a meeting two weeks prior with collaboration between Cal Fire, County Water Companys and Caltrans on one of the biggest topics, transportation. "Everybody was talking about it and I noticed it's not specifically listed as an item here so, my question is, will Vision 2050 coordinated with Caltrans 2029 Plan. Sundberg did not have specific details. But Caltrans published on its own website, https://calsta.ca.gov/ publication how an infrastructure plan, originally passed under Senate Bill 1 in 2017, also known as Road Repair and Accountability Act. Recent updates to that legislation will Secure $54 billion in fuel taxes and license fees to split allocations between the state and local agencies. Of the total, $18 billion will be spent on pavement rehabilitation, while another $7.1 billion addresses transportation management systems as well as upgrades to bridge improvements and drainage networks.

Lisa Kaplan, who is executive director of Middletown Arts Center and has taught art  here for 35 years said  she does not feel as though there is enough in activities and amenities to induce young adults to return to Middletown. There's not enough to keep people here or bring back my son to raise a kid here," she said. "We don't have a movie theater and I'd like to add, along with all these developments we can beautify arts all over Lake County. Having a bigger arts center we could include movie screenings and could have exhibits and performances."

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