Supervisors approve Placer Vineyards development

The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Placer Vineyards development project Monday that is set to include more than 14,000 homes in West Placer. Officials estimate that as the $835.8-million project builds out in 20 to 30 years, the population of Placer Vineyards will be approximately 32,800.The supervisors voted to approve a "base plan" for the project which includes 14,132 residential units, 274 acres of commercial uses, 919 acres of park and open space and 641 acres of quasi-public land (public facilities, religious facilities, schools and major roadways). An alternative plan, known as the Blueprint, supported by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, would have called for 21,631 residential units and roughly 49,300 inhabitants. District 1 Supervisor Rocky Rockholm said the Blueprint alternative would have pushed the project's timeline back even further."Either plan works for me, but this thing needs to move," Rockholm said. "Fourteen-plus years is long enough."The project has been in the works since 1994, when supervisors adopted the Placer County General Plan which included the establishment of a specific plan area for West Placer (Placer Vineyards) allowing for the development of up to 14,132 homes and a variety of commercial and industrial land uses.The project area, which is planned in Rockholm's district, is bounded on the north by Base Line Road, on the south by the Sacramento/Placer County line, on the west by the Sutter/Placer County line and Pleasant Grove Road and on the east by Dry Creek and Walerga roads. Terry Davis of the Sierra Club said Placer Vineyards has been a very difficult project for him to consider.According to an environmental impact report, the project would include the loss of 4,223 acres of agricultural land, a loss of 3,250 acres of open space and a direct loss of vernal pools and Swainson's hawk habitat. "The loss of our natural legacy is unacceptable," Davis said. "Of the county's vernal pools that were first surveyed in 1937, only 20 percent remain - the rest have been consumed by development. Vernal pools are our natural wonders. We have a responsibility to future generations to make sure our last remaining vernal pools survive."Residents also expressed concerns ranging from traffic to density."I enjoy living in the area very much," Roseville resident Randy Roberts said. "The only thing I do not enjoy is the traffic, specifically on Locust Road."Roberts said that road is already used like a freeway and he was concerned the traffic would only worsen as the project builds out.Supervisors directed staff to conduct a study on whether or not the county should close off Locust Road to lessen the impact.In 1994, Supervisors adopted the, The proposed project also includes several improvements to roadways, including the widening of Baseline Road to four lanes with a left (center) turn lane. The roadway will be further widened to accommodate six lanes of traffic. The project will also include the widening of Locust and Palladay roads and new traffic signals at the Pleasant Grove and Locust Road intersection. The developer, Placer Vineyards Owners Group, represented by Tim Tarron Monday, will be required to pay all fees and costs for the project. Tarron said the project would provide a number of new services to the community, including a senior center, fire station, community center and transportation network system that would provide bus and lightrail connections to Roseville, Rocklin and Sacramento. The developer will also be required to complete "core backbone" improvements, such as road widening, before any construction can begin on a residential development and must be completed before the issuance of the 1,501th building permit for the plan area. That, Tarron said, will require the group to invest $235 million before a single building permit is issued. Kent MacDiarmid, Placer Vineyards project manager, said he is pleased to see the project move forward."We are excited that the board took action on either plan," MacDiarmid said. "There are still a lot of steps that need to be taken, but we expect that we can get something going in the next two to three years."The Journal's Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com or comment on this story at www.auburnjournal.com.