Placer County is updating the Housing Element of the County General Plan. The Housing Element is the portion of the General Plan that sets out the goals, policies and implementation programs for the planning and development of housing throughout the county. Once adopted, the revised Housing Element will be in effect until 2013. California law requires that the Element be completed by the county and reviewed and certified by the state by June of 2008.

To give the public and other interested parties an opportunity to offer input, there will be two public workshops to assess the housing needs in the unincorporated areas of the county. The county will gather input from these workshops and incorporate it into the final version of the Housing Element.

The updating of the Element will be overseen by the Placer County Planning Department and will be a collaborative effort between residents, policy makers, housing developers, special needs interest groups and other Placer County departments. The goal of the update is to produce a balanced and responsive Housing Element that meets statutory requirements, addresses public concerns, fits within the overall General Plan and can be a working document.

"The updating of the County’s Housing Element provides a great opportunity for residents to get involved in shaping how the County meets its ongoing housing demands," said Michael Johnson, Planning Director for Placer County. "These workshops will be the first of many chances the public will have to participate in this very important process."

Because public input on housing issues and strategies is critical to the update, there will be a workshop on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and in Auburn. Planning staff will explain the process for the update and will accept public comment. Those two workshops will be at:

• Nov. 7, 2007, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at the North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, and

• Nov. 14, 2007, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at the Community Development Resource Center, 3091 County Center Drive, DeWitt Center, Auburn.

For additional information about the workshops, please contact:

Ann Baker, Principal Planner (530) 745-3136 abaker@placer.ca.gov

Jen Dzakowic, Senior Planner (530) 745-3008 jdzakowi@placer.ca.gov

Christopher Schmidt, Senior Planner (530) 745-3076 crschmid@placer.ca.gov