On a split vote last week, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors said no to the 605-house Dixon Ranch subdivision.

Only Supervisors Sue Novasel and Brian Veerkamp were in favor to the El Dorado Hills development. They would have liked the project to be revised, while the others were completely against the project.

This 280-acre development off Green Valley Road has been a contentious issue on the West Slope for at least four years.

Opponents who filled the meeting room on Feb. 14 were most vocal about traffic and safety. Roads in the county are already clogged; more housing would exacerbate the issue. The county can’t maintain the roads it has, so adding more pavement would compound that problem.

Plus, Sue Taylor with Save Our County questioned if traffic from the project would violate voter approved measures Y and E.

CAO Don Ashton also had reservations about the plan, citing the financial agreement as being less than iron clad. Traffic mitigation fees were going to be reduced.

Supervisor John Hidahl said the county should be looking at affordable housing to help the residents who live here now, and not be approving projects that worsen county conditions.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report