The commission’s subcommittee on open-space priority areas reported it has begun assembling GIS datasets to support a consolidated 'greenprint' that will inform the city’s general-plan update. Michelle (identified in the meeting) said the subcommittee will focus on gathering underlying datasets used by consultants rather than reproducing consultant maps exactly.

Commissioners identified priority datasets: drainage channels (including lesser-known local channels), land-cover layers, the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB), USDA soil-quality datasets and DWR field-by-field crop maps. Members noted single-year crop-identity maps can be affected by crop rotation and emphasized that land-cover and soil data are more stable for conservation-priority mapping.

The subcommittee plans to import public-agency GIS layers into the city system and run analyses to identify high-priority open-space parcels and corridors. Commissioners discussed producing several component maps and one summary map for the general-plan process, and considered whether daylighting an underground section of channel near a bike path is feasible; they concluded daylighting would be difficult without relocation.

Why it matters: assembling authoritative GIS layers will let the commission and consultants identify contiguous habitat corridors, drainage-network priorities and parcels that support ecological infrastructure for the city’s planning process. The work also informs forthcoming reviews of specific projects (Willow Grove) and the general-plan update.

Next steps: the subcommittee will continue dataset acquisition, synthesize component maps and prepare draft mapping products for commission review.