El Dorado slow-growth advocates fight development
By Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee
In the county that brought the Gold Rush, surging with newcomers and rough-hewn mining camps, prospects of another boom are unnerving the modern-day populace.
Amid an improving real estate economy, developers are proposing nearly 7,000 new houses for the Western Slope of El Dorado County.
The new wave of potential major projects is emerging after a 2004 county general plan that promised to preserve the county’s rural character while anticipating up to 21,000 additional houses.
In a region renowned for perhaps the most bitter growth battles in the lower Sierra Nevada, current residents are pushing back. Where miners once ravaged land for gold, determined homeowners are digging in for a protracted political fight to protect rustic lifestyles from new people, more houses and increased traffic.
Slow-growth advocates are now threatening a 2014 vote to limit new construction.
I wonder how many of the ‘slow-growthers’ were born in El Dorado County, and how many of them have children?
More hypocrisy. Classic, I’ve got mine, the heck with you.
So, if you move to a place because you like its rural character and have children, your opinion is irrelevant?
Great logic.
The more important reason for controlled growth, is to prevent the situation where growth outstrips the capacity of utilities, water/sewer treatment, roads, schools and other needs that new development requires.
It was true for years that developers were allowed to build and sell homes for which there was no developed, proven water supply to support the development.
Controlled growth, if done correctly, ensures that the developers of the new subdivisions pay for and build the infrastructure that will be required by the new development up front.
Clearly it is not fair to burden existing homeowners to build infrastructure to serve new development.
The worse case, and it happens constantly, is for new development to be approved despite the fact that nearby or even adjacent existing development is struggling with old undersized and poorly designed systems for basic services.
We have to control this and the only way is to manage growth to fit the resources and carrying capacity of the land. Zoning Codes and master/General plans have to be maintained and periodically adjusted to provide the tools to control growth that is not appropriate for a given time and place.
slow growth advocates, endless pressure endlessly applied. You got my vote!
That is why mello roos districts are formed to provide for this infrastructure.
We should build a big fence to keep people from moving to America. :)
Actually, sunriser2, I have been saying that for years.