Shafter council OKs $1.5M for new General Plan

The city will spend up to $1.5 million for a new General Plan.

The City Council approved a contract with Place Works, Inc., to create the updated document..

The agreement includes making a vision for the city for the next 20 years. This will include economic, business, retail expansion and education plans. The process is expected to take about two years to complete.

The council also discussed regulations regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the city. This includes sophisticated software that can improve the efficiency of administrative operations, including day to day work, as well as special projects, according to presenter David Franz,

He said that this software also can come with risks, such as being subject to hackers that attack certain programs. Franz said that for this reason, it would be prudent to create firewalls to protect the systems.

City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez said that there would be guidelines for city staff when utilizing the software, such as to not use information that may be subject to copyright laws.

In other action, the council approved a six-month extension on a development agreement between the city and the Seventh Standard Ranch Investors and Lennar Homes. It was brought to the council that the current agreement expires soon and an extension would ensure that a development agreement would be completed before this new deadline.