The mission of CAP is to promote community-based democracy in Calaveras County so that local citizens have the maximum possible control of quality of life issues that affect them.

Our vision is that by promoting and participating in the local democratic process, CAP will serve to facilitate adoption of land use policies that protect natural resources and so maintain a high quality of life both in the county and in the region.

CAP is accomplishing its mission by organizing and coordinating individuals and groups to better participate in the community planning process, and  by working to make public information accessible to more people.

The General Plan is the principal document which spells out the rules, guidelines, and policies regarding land use, as well as the goals, vision and aspirations of the community.  Often called the “Constitution of the County,” CAP believes that the General Plan Process is the primary process whereby citizens, at the local level, can translate their vision into policy.

Unfortunately, in 1986, and again in 1996, the Board of Supervisors did not comprehensively update the Calaveras County General Plan.

As a result, today some professional planners and land use attorneys consider the Calaveras County General Plan to be woefully outdated, fragmented into separate contradictory and inconsistent documents, and failing to meet current legal requirements.

CAP believes that in a democracy, the citizens and taxpayers who support the County should establish the growth policies of the County.