Archive for April 12th, 2008
Temple City Task Forces Moving At Full Speed
Temple City is moving at full force towards completing one of its goals: updating the General Plan. The General Plan is a long-range planning document that was last updated in 2002.
On October 23, 2007, the Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Carl Blum delivered a report to the entire Planning Commission over the presentations recently given to the other task force committees.
In July 2007, three task force committees: Commercial, Housing, and Parks and Open spaces, were created to assist with the modernization of the General Plan. Each committee has been charged with addressing the needs of a specific area impacting Temple City.
Blum cited his concern over the lack of a mechanism to speak with the Asian population of Temple City.
Commissioner Blum also stressed the need to find a consultant to organize and arrange town hall meetings. (*Note: The Housing task force committee has recently found a consultant to assist them with the General Plan)
For the fiscal year 2007-2008, the City budgeted $50,000 for a consultant to focus on updating the Housing element. According to Blum, the Housing task force is worried about putting together plans.
The Housing subcommittee has been assigned to produce a plan to build affordable housing units in Temple City. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), a regional authority, had ordered Temple City to have a plan for 978 additional affordable housing units.
After the report, the Planning Commission decided to first find two to three alternatives before looking for a consultant.
The goal of the Planning Commission is to have the three remaining task forces finish making their recommendations by December 2007 or January 2008.
This article was written by Margaret Thi. It was published in the Temple City Voice on February 27, 2008.
