BY DAN McFARLAND

The Orange County supervisors, in an attempt to accelerate their lengthy effort to revise the county comprehensive plan, have adopted a more aggressive schedule for the process.

The supervisors, and in particular Chairman Teel Goodwin, had expressed frustration with a previously proposed timeline calling for a July 2013 public hearing on the revised plan.

At the supervisors' meeting Tuesday, Planning Director Gregg Zody presented a proposed revision to the timeline. It leads to a Board of Supervisors public hearing on the document on March 12.

Supervisor Shannon Abbs questioned the pragmatism of the accelerated schedule, which calls for the Planning Commission to present the final draft of the revised comprehensive plan by Nov. 15. She pointed out that the commission has two large public hearings for special-use permits already scheduled, along with work to do on amendments to the zoning ordinance.

"It just looks like there is a lot to hit by Nov. 15," she said. "It seems very aggressive."

Agreeing with that assessment, Zody noted, "I mean no disrespect to the Planning Commission, but if staff can produce the document, then I don't see why it cannot be heard. We've been working on this since I began here, and I want to move this forward so we can mark it off the list."

County Administrator Julie Summs clarified that the proposal was a response to the supervisors' dissatisfaction with the July date.

"This is the very quickest that we could technically and conceivably get it done," she said. "If the supervisors would like us to narrow that to something in between, we would be happy to go ahead and work that."

Goodwin responded, "I like the more-aggressive date."

The motion to adopt the proposed schedule passed unanimously on a 5-0 vote.

The supervisors also unanimously passed a proposed timeline to process several specific "targeted changes" to the zoning and subdivision ordinances, leading to a Feb. 12 public hearing on those changes.

Dan McFarland:
Email: dmcfarland@freelancestar.com