Update: Ballot Questions Challenged in Court
The issue will be heard in the El Dorado County Superior Court on March 17, 2016 at 1:15pm. Click here to follow the court case.
Update: January 2016
Coming up at the Board meeting on February 23, 2016 the County will be getting the letters for the two initiatives that were certified by elections on July 2014 so we can start campaigning!
History:
Many community groups spent an enormous amount of energy putting three Measures on the ballot to protect the rural nature of El Dorado County.
Only Measure O made it to the ballot in 2014, which was merely to reduce the Urban Boundary line around Camino, Pollock Pines, Shingle Springs and a strip along Green Valley Road. Measure O was then thrown in with Sacramento Region Builder’s growth Measure N and another local initiative, Measure M to end up being on the end of MNO… (no campaign) …. Then the campaign against us – mostly with Parker’s money (El Dorado Hills Developer) spent over a million dollars to defeat all three measures then at the end supported Measure N. People were so confused they just said No to all of them.
The other two Measures will be on the ballot on June of 2016.
A group who supports Parker, called EDCARP, put out an email for a lunch meeting held on January 22, 2016 that was full of misinformation showing how they are gearing up to once again undermine the Ballot Measures coming up in June 2016.
https://saveourcounty.net/2016/01/21/special-interest-group-plots-against-grassroots-community-groups
The two measures coming up will not be liked by Parker. Reinstating Measure Y puts the responsibility back on the developer to fund their own roads and takes away the Board of Supervisors 4/5 vote to overrule the law of preventing Level of Service (LOS) F (gridlock). Retain El Dorado County’s Current Zoning and Rural Assets directs the Board of Supervisors to look at land use changes based on compatibility rather than favoritism and requires the implementation of existing General Plan policies that protect the County’s historical, cultural, water, and recreational resources.
Parker’s representative Kirk Bone thinks that when they get done with their projects and using public funding, El Dorado Hills roads will be as nice as the one in L.A. County to Orange County.
The video above was in regards to an item on the Board Meeting to let developers know ahead of time whether or not the Board would be approving their projects before the Developer spent millions of dollars. Bone felt if they did that they would kill the competition of our are being considered for big box stores and mega subdivisions that this Board wants. Then those large developers would go somewhere else. (Veerkamp and Mikaluco were on the Board at the time.)
The really sad part is that the Farm Bureau and Winery folks have aligned with Parker in the thought that their water will be protected. They trust Parker. So when you see signs that say “Farmers” support whatever – remember those signs were bought by the campaign against retaining our rural nature. Apple Hill is going to end up being gravely impacted in the long run.
Original post from 2014:
Local Groups Unite to Stop Urbanization in El Dorado County
Placerville, CA February 2, 2014 – Save Our County (SOC) founder Sue Taylor along with Residents Involved in Positive Planning (RIPP) founder Laurel Stroud announced today they have jointly filed two Initiative petitions for the purpose of:
• Restoring Measure Y’s 1998 Original Intent to Stop Traffic Congestion
• Restoring Policies in the 2004 General Plan Intended to Protect the Rural Nature of El Dorado County.
The first initiative petition, ‘Reinstate Measure Y,’ is in response to continuous support by El Dorado County’s general public for the original 1998 Measure Y, which was a tool to prevent traffic gridlock by requiring developers to pay for the infrastructure needed for their projects.
‘Reinstate Measure Y’ restores the original intent of the 1998 Measure Y without the loopholes added into the 2008 version. One loophole being the 4/5ths vote given to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) to override the rules that prevent traffic gridlock.
The second initiative petition, ‘Retain El Dorado County’s Current Zoning,’ is to keep current Zoning and restore other policies promised within the 2004 El Dorado County General Plan. The BOS and Planning Commission have continuously ignored, reinterpreted, or amended parts of the 2004 General Plan that were promised to the public as protections for a rural lifestyle. The initiative outlines several voter approved policies that need to be restored in the General Plan.
These two initiatives combined with a third initiative filed by the Shingle Springs Community Alliance titled, ‘Fix The Community Region Line Flaws’ (CRLF), will restore the policies promised in the original Measure Y and the 2004 General Plan that were put in place to protect our rural lifestyle. SOC and RIPP have come together to support the CRLF initiative.
All three versions are awaiting titles and ballot summaries from County Counsel. Each initiative needs 7,800 signatures from registered voters to qualify for the ballot.
Taylor emphasizes, “The bottom line is the BOS are moving forward with urbanizing major corridors and their surrounding rural communities. These three petitions are an opportunity to remind the BOS of the oath and promises they made to the people of El Dorado County to be good stewards over our resources. We need to act on it now. By supporting these initiatives, we exercise our voice through our vote.”
THE INITIATIVES
Retain El Dorado County’s Current Zoning
Contact: Sue Taylor
530-391-2190
sue-taylor@comcast.net
###
Save Our County - Joint Coalition 