The County of Madera is creating a Specific Plan for the unincorporated community of Fairmead. This plan will determine the way in which the community develops over the coming decades. Residents of Fairmead want to ensure that this Plan will improve quality of life for future residents by creating a vision and plan for a safe, healthy community.

"A Specific Plan effectively establishes a link between implementing policies of the general plan and the individual development proposals in a defined area. A specific plan may be as general as setting forth broad policy concepts, or as detailed as providing direction to every facet of development from the type, location and intensity of uses to the design and capacity of infrastructure; from the resources used to finance public improvements to the design guidelines of a subdivision.  All public works projects and zoning regulations must be consistent with the specific plan. The specific plan process must provide opportunities for the general public, as well as residents located within planning areas, to assist in the planning of their particular communities. Public involvement helps define the community’s vision of future growth and development."

Starting to sound a bit technical, eh? Try actually reading Fairmead's Specific Plan, which is at least 80 pages with a lot of big words. So how can communities be involved in processes that are so arcane and abstract? Using visual tools, like the map we are working on, is one way of helping the community literally see what their current conditions are, in order to visualize what needs to change for a better future.

Join us on Monday, December 15th at the Galilee Baptist Church on Fairmead Blvd from 6pm to 9pm. We will develop recommendations to present to Madera County Board of Supervisors in January and we need your input! Snacks and drinks will be served. Call (559) 662-0565 for more information.