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Government
Nevada County Board of Supervisors
The BOS Web site has board meeting agendas, notices of public hearings, minutes of past meetings, and
Information about each supervisor and how to contact him or her.
Nevada County
The official Nevada County Website.
City of Grass Valley
The city's Web site has a calendar of public meetings and links to
the Grass Valley General Plan.
Agendas for planning commission meetings are posted a few days before the meeting
on this site.
Grass Valley City Council
Email address for city council members:
Council&Admin@cityofgrassvalley.com
Regular mail address:
Grass Valley City Council, 125 East Main Street, Grass Valley, 95945
Local Agency Formation Commission of Nevada County
LAFCO reviews all annexations of county land by cities, and then either approves, denies,
or conditions each annexation. LAFCo meetings are at 9:30 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month
in the County Board of Supervisors chambers, unless otherwise announced by LAFCo
on its Website. The state-wide association of LAFCOs has a Website with information about the
history of LAFCOs and what they do.
Government meeting agendas
Agendas for Nevada City city council, Nevada County BOS, Nevada County commissions and
agencies, etc. (A section of the YubaNet site).
Local media and organizations
Citizens Concerned about Traffic (CCAT)
Good info about the poor LOS (level of service) ratings of our intersections.
CCAT is doing excelleing work keeping city officials honest.
The Union
On the Union's Web site, you can search for older articles, get up-to-date news,
and submit and read letters to the Editor.
Foothills Community Access Television
Our local community TV station.
KVMR
Our world-class local community radio station.
KNCO
Yuba Net
The YubaNet Web site has a Community calendar, excellent local news, and many good links.
Wolf Creek Community Alliance
This local, volunteer-run organization is dedicated to restoring and protecting Wolf Creek,
which runs through the middle of Grass Valley. They have weekly meetings (fourth
Thursdays at the NID building at 6:30), are seeking volunteers for water quality monitoring,
and sponsor occasional creek walks.
Rural Quality Coalition
The Rural Quality Coalition is committed to ensuring that land use
and development decisions in Nevada County have a positive impact
on our neighborhoods and communities and reflect good design principles
in keeping with our rural and small town environment.
Land use planning, neighborhood support, political watchdog for environmental concerns.
PO Box 1345, Nevada City, CA 95959
Phone: 530.265.0642
Email: rqccolvin@ncws.com
North Star Foundation and North Star House Restoration Project
"The North Star Foundation is a citizen's organization formed to assist
in the restoration of the North Star House, located in Grass Valley California
at the old North Star Mine site."
Save Auburn Allison Valued Environment (SAAVE)
This neighborhood organization is "composed of Auburn Road and Allison
Ranch Road area residents, property owners, and others living in the general area
who are concerned about neighborhood safety, health, and quality of life.
At present, the consensus is that rural advantages should not be sacrificed to urban sprawl.
SAAVE seeks to preserve the rural nature of the tree-covered hills and quiet valleys we call home.
Public documents
City of Grass Valley General Plan 2020
The General Plan contains many objectives that are consistent with our goals of
smart growth, in-fill development, protection of natural resources, etc. City government
often makes decisions that are arguably contrary to the objectives specified in the General
Plan; if you are testifying or writing a letter, pointing out these discrepancies
by quoting from the General Plan can be very effective.
You can obtain a copy of the General Plan at The House
of Print and Copy, 11501 Nevada City Highway (near the top of the hill
at the southern edge of Brunswick Basin).
A full-color copy, containing many color copies of maps, is rather expensive (about $60),
but you can ask them to make a black-and-white copy for less than $17.
A Sierra Landscape In Transition:
Land Use and Social Change in Western Nevada County, California
An informative report by Dr. Peter Walker of the University
of Oregon that provides "information about patterns of change in land
ownership and land use in western Nevada County over the last four decades,
as well as information
about opinions among rural landowners about related land use issues."
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Regional and national organizations
Orton Family Foundation
The Orton Foundation is "a nonprofit, private operating foundation working with rural communities as they
cope with rapid economic, social and environmental change.
Our mission is to provide rural America with the tools they need to undertake
responsible rural and land use planning."
Smart Growth Network
The Smart Growth Network is a network of private sector,
public sector, and non-governmental
partner organizations seeking to create smart growth in neighborhoods,
communities, and regions across the United States.
Building Better Communities Network
The Building Better Communities Network website is an information clearinghouse and
communication forum dedicated to building inclusive communities and to successfully siting
affordable housing and community services.
Sustainable Communities Network
A national NGO with good links.
PLANetizen
"The Planning and Development Network." Lots of good, recent articles
on planning and growth issues from a variety of
sources.
J. Laurence Mintier & Associates
The resources page of a Sacramento-based planning firm. Many good links!
Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP America)
This large, nation-wide organization (with a California chapter)
shows that protecting the environment is a bi-partisan cause.
REP director Jim DiPeso says that people who think "that conservation
and environmental protection are left-wing plots against the American way of life" are
"hard-core idealogues" with a "bizarre notion."
Sierra Club Challenge to Sprawl Campaign
An excellent site with a great deal of information and resources.
Environmental Council of Sacramento
Sierra Watch
"Sierra Watch is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting
the unique scenic, biological, and agricultural resources of the Sierra Nevada."
Sierra Nevada Alliance
The Sierra Nevada Alliance is a regional coalition of grassroots and regional
groups working in the Sierra to protect and restore the natural and community
values of California's most cherished mountain range.
Planning and Conservation League
The Planning and Conservation League is a nonprofit,
statewide alliance of nearly 10,000 citizens and more than 120
conservation organizations united to protect wildlife and restore the quality
of California's environment through legislative and administrative action.
Sprawl Watch
An excellent e-newsletter on sprawl issues in the U.S.
Urban Ecology Institute
Includes an online sustainable cities toolkit.
Local Government Commission
"The LGC is a nonprofit organization working to build livable communities."
California Futures Network
A statewide advocacy coalition.
The Northern California Nonprofit Housing Network
Green Building Network
Congress for the New Urbanism
"Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is a San Francisco-based non-profit
organization that was founded in 1993. We work with architects, developers,
planners, and others involved in the creation of cities and towns, teaching
them how to implement the principles of the New Urbanism. These principles
include coherent regional planning, walkable neighborhoods, and attractive,
accommodating civic spaces. CNU has over 2,000 members throughout the United
States and around the world. We sponsor annual conferences, known as Congresses,
for the sharing and discussion of best practices in New Urbanism."
New Urban News
An online newsletter about the New Urbanism (aka Smart Growth).
Books
Shaping the Sierra:
Nature, Culture, and Conflict in the Changing West
by Timothy Duane. Published by UC Press.
"Tim Duane has written an inspiring and instructive text.
It's a massive accomplishment. . . Rich in personal anecdote
and hands-on experience. . . heading straight into thorny and contentious
issues--angry polarizations--and finally suggesting some emerging models
of a responsible life-in-place that go beyond the current debates."
--Gary Snyder
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