EDH APAC

October 13, 2017 in EDH APAC

October 2017 EDH APAC Meeting Minutes Posted Online

The El Dorado Hills Area Planning Advisory Committee held its October 2017 meeting on Wednesday October 11th at the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Norm Rowett Pavilion. The minutes of the meeting have now been posted online HERE

Supervisor Communications

El Dorado County District 1 Supervisor John Hidahl offer comments about Transportation funding from California’s Senate Bill SB1 (Gas and Vehicle Registration Fee increases). Some of the funds that El Dorado Count will be receiving will be going to a project to complete a road surface overlay of El Dorado Hills Blvd (the most heavily traffic-ed road in unincorporated El Dorado County). This project will take several years to complete – some of the phases include cleaning up and rough texturing the road surface, followed by pruning and maintaining foliage along the road. A new pavement overlay will follow with a new formula for the road surface, which is suspected to last longer than conventional overlays. The project is projected to be completed in 2021.

Supervisor Hidahl also spoke about a new effort underway to re-vision the El Dorado Hills Business Park, which has fallen short of build out expectations of when it was originally approved. After more than twenty years, it has not become the employment center it was envisioned to be, and remains half full. Several property owners in the EDH Business Park have started a study that would add new land use concepts, and amenities – including:

488 total acres of employment – research and development
186 acres undeveloped – which is a twenty year supply of space

35 acres of parks
140 acres of open space
8.5 acres of mixed use commercial and residential – 255 dwelling units
23 acres low density residential – 115 dwelling units
72 acres medium density residential – 909 dwelling units
17 acres high density residential – 401 dwelling units
1680 total dwelling units

Supervisor Hidahl stressed that this a conceptual project, and will continue to evolve.

APAC Projects

APAC also updated statuses on the following projects:

Portico Development: 40K square feet in four buildings at the corner of White Rock Rd and Carson Crossing Rd
Vineyards at El Dorado Hills – previously approved for 22 lots, now seeking an increase to 41 lots – in the Malcolm Dixon area
EDH 52 Commercial development on Silva Valley Pkwy and Tong Rd along HWY50
El Dorado PV – a solar power project next to the PG&E substation on Joerger Cutoff Road at Silva Valley Pkwy and HWY50
Southpointe Meadows Residential development in the Lakehills Drive area consisting of 7 single family homes
Generations at Green Valley (old Dixon Ranch) – Pre Application Hearing at the Board of Supervisors is scheduled
Bass Lake Area Projects – summary of seven Bass Lake areas projects planned or underway

See all of this year’s APAC meeting minutes HERE

October 6, 2017 in EDH APAC

EDH APAC October 11 2017 Meeting Agenda Now Online

The El Dorado Hills Area Planning Advisory Committee has posted the October 11, 2017 meeting agenda online HERE.
Printing the agenda, and bringing it with you to the meeting helps APAC volunteers defray the costs of supplying printed agendas at the meeting.

Topics include:

Supervisor Communications: Supervisor John Hidahl

APAC Projects

EDH52 Commercial: Silva Valley Parkway and Tong Rd area – Application to to split the property into 4 parcels
El Dorado Photovoltaic: Use permit for Solar/Battery power generation at Joerger Cutoff Rd
Southpointe Meadows: Public Hearing Planning Commission- (Oct 26): 7 single family residential lots ranging in size from 1 to 1.3 acres in the Lakehills Drive area
Generations at Green Valley: Pre-application Public Hearing at BOS (Oct 24)
Bass Lake Area Projects updates
- Bass Lake Hills Specific Plan – Bell Wood, Bell Ranch, Hawk View 10 year extensions. Time line for Country Club Dr re-alignment
- Park at Bass Lake: CSD/Serrano Park at Lot H.CSD negotiating with EID and the County for property at Bass Lake
- Serrano J5/J6 Residential Grading / Safeway (Sienna Ridge Commercial) grading
- Silver Springs Parkway connector to Bass Lake Rd (timeline)
- Springs Equestrian Center
- Bass Lake Estates (6 year TM Extension)
- Bass Lake Golf Course Rezone

September 20, 2017 in EDH APAC

APAC Sep 2017 Meeting Coverage – Village Life

The El Dorado Hills Village Life has a new article regarding the September 13 2017 APAC meeting, which was ride-ranging, with updates on projects that APAC had reviewed earlier in 2017, as well as new projects on the horizon

From the article:

Project reinvention
Dixon Ranch is back as Generations at Green Valley. Aidan Barry, managing general partner of The True Life Companies, which controls the 280 acres located between Malcolm Dixon and Deer Valley Roads off Green Valley, explained that since the Dixon Ranch project was denied in February 2017, it has been revised to take into account “mistakes made,” including “major issues with traffic and density.”
Dixon Ranch included 605 home lots, but the new plan proposes 439 lots of varying sizes, ranging from one-third of an acre to 3- and 4-acre lots. There are 200 units of age-restricted homes in the proposed project’s center. When the land entitlements are eventually sold to a home builder, Barry said he will find “a good fit” in a builder for the new plan’s design concepts for aging in place, including wider doors, among other things.

Also covered, updates on the proposed Central El Dorado Hills Specific Plan

The Central El Dorado Hills Specific Plan includes the fate of the former 98-acre Executive Golf Course, which residents overwhelmingly voted to keep open space in a 2015 advisory vote.
“There’s been silence since June, 2016, but the plan is supposed to go back to the Planning Commission in October or November,” APAC chairman Tim White said at the meeting. “We have heard that the plan for 1,000 homes on the golf course has been reduced to 700 and that the new plan includes single family homes and condos — no apartments.”
When asked to comment, Parker Development Company’s Director of Government Relations Kirk Bone shot down the rumor. “There is no change to the proposed plan,” he said.

And, new information on:

A 115-room Aloft Hotel, by Marriott, to be constructed between Mercedes Benz of El Dorado Hills, and the Regal Cinema
Some suggested changes to The EDH Apartments, with details supplied by Town Center East DRC Charir Norb Witt
The Montano de El Dorado Phase II project
Portico At Carson Crossing

To see the full APAC September 13 2017 Meeting Minutes,click HERE

September 10, 2017 in EDH APAC

EDH APAC Sept 13 2017 Meeting

Wednesday September 13 2017 at 7:00PM at the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Norm Rowett Pavilion – 1021 Harvard Way EDH.
Arrive early – the CSD is also conducting the Food Truck Wednesday Event in the CSD parking lot at the same time of the APAC meeting, so parking will be crowded.

APAC Event details HERE

Topics to include:

Supervisor Communications from District 1 Supervisor John Hidahl.

APAC Projects:

Update on El Dorado Hills proposed projects:
El Dorado Hills Specific Plan
Montano de El Dorado Phase II Master Plan
Portico at Carson Crossing
Saratoga Retail
Bass Lake Hills Specific Plan area Developments

Generations at Green Valley

Aidan Barry, Senior Vice President of The True Life Companies, will present a conceptual overview of the proposed 439 residential units to be built on the 280 acre Dixon Ranch site. A general plan amendment and zoning changes are being requested. Proposed mitigations from increased traffic will be addressed.

See the full APAC Sept 2017 Agenda HERE

August 16, 2017 in Commercial Development EDH APAC Environment Residential Town Center Village T

APAC Meeting Coverage – Village Life

The El Dorado Hills Village Life has a new article regarding the August 9 2017 APAC meeting, focusing on the El Dorado Hills Apartments at Town Center East.

From the article:

A Stockton-based developer went back to the architectural drawing board to reduce the density of its original plans for the apartment complex proposed on a vacant 4.6-acre lot in the heart of El Dorado Hills Town Center.

Voting members of the Area Planning Advisory Committee, which studies land use projects and gives recommendations to the El Dorado County Planning Commission, voted against the project last Wednesday night and encouraged the Planning Commission to do the same. Planning commissioners received a project presentation last Thursday but did not vote.
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors will ultimately vote to approve or deny the El Dorado Hills Apartments project, which needs a General Plan amendment since the project calls for 47 dwelling units per acre. The parcel’s current General Plan land use designation allows a maximum of 24. When the project was first proposed in 2014 developers designed it with 56 units per acre. The four-story luxury apartment complex is 15 percent less dense today, with 214 units, ranging from studio to one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
Representatives from developer Spanos Corporation spoke at an APAC meeting last Wednesday night inside El Dorado Hills Fire Station 85 ahead of the vote. The project would consist of two, four-story apartment buildings, outdoor recreation areas and an informal open space area. There would also be a five-story parking structure that would house 411 enclosed parking spaces for residents, 22 motorcycle spaces and 54 guest spaces.
Spanos Corp. Division Manager Jeff Morgan said, “We went back to the drawing board. We believe in this project.” He described it as “Old World architecture,” blending in with Town Center’s aesthetics.
As in 2014 it was described as an ideal place for empty nesters and young professionals — “A lifestyle by choice, that is maintenance free with amenities,” Morgan explained.
Morgan, citing a change in the market since 2014, declined to share expected rents, only saying, “Rents would be competitive.”
Three years ago Spanos Corp. officials said rents would range between $1,600 to $2,200 per month.
El Dorado Hills resident John Davey read a committee report of non-support written by El Dorado Hills Community Council members who extensively studied the project. The first concern was that the project would “nearly double the density under the General Plan,” Davey said. “This would set a precedent.”
Davey said the committee was also concerned about traffic. Several residents in the audience Wednesday night asked questions, uneasy that 54 guest spots wouldn’t be enough and would impact the already limited parking in Town Center.
Morgan said the development company “used historical data” to determine how many guest spaces are needed. “It’s a substantial number,” he added. “This parking ratio works well in our other communities.” When asked, Morgan said Spanos does not have a similar project in the greater Sacramento area but has many across the country.
Davey read the next concern, regarding whether the project would “revitalize” Town Center as a place where people would live, work and play. “We don’t buy the argument,” he said. “There is no job center here. People who live in the complex would most likely be commuting to Sacramento or somewhere else to work.”
Davey continued that the complex “doesn’t address our affordable housing issue” in El Dorado Hills, adding, “This isn’t it. Luxury and affordable are at odds.”
There were also concerns about noise and the potential loss of community events, such as the Santa Run, fireworks, concerts and farmers market.
“How will this benefit the community?” Davey read from the report. A hotel was once planned for the vacant lot, but with this plan, “Transient Occupancy Taxes would continue going to Folsom.”
While Davey, and then APAC members, thanked Spanos representatives for working on reducing density and for coming to the meeting, he ended by saying, “We don’t believe this project is the cure-all for the ails of Town Center.”
Voting members of APAC agreed. At the end of the meeting they voted 7-0 against approval of the project, citing traffic as their “biggest issue.”

Read the full article at the El Dorado Hills Village Life website

August 10, 2017 in Development EDH APAC Government Residential Town Center Village T

EDH APAC August 9 2017 Meeting

APAC held it’s August 2017 meeting at the EDH Fire Department Headquarters at Station 85 Wednesday evening, August 9, 2017.

A presentation was made by Kirk Bone and Andrea Howard of Parker Development/ Serrano Associates, regarding the 12 plus acre park site at Village J, Lot H. This is the final park facility that was required in the original Serrano Development Agreements. The park will be funded partially with Mello Roos fees that have been collected expressly for the purpose of creating park spaces in Serrano. The park will be designed in conjunction withe the EL Dorado Hills Community Services District (CSD), who will accept ownership of the property, and manage the park. El Dorado Hills CSD General Manager Kevin Loewen also provided some information regarding combining Lot H facilities to the existing CSD Sellwood Field, as well as potential opportunities with adjoining property at the site currently owned by the El Dorado Irrigation District, Rescue Union School District, and El Dorado County. No definitive time line is set, but as the project moves through design stages, more information will be available to the public, and input from EDH residents is welcomed.

A presentation was made by El Dorado Fire Department Deputy Chief Operations Mike Lilienthal on the proposed EDH Fire Department Training Facility next to Station 87 in the EDH Business Park. The Fire Department has a special use permit to operate a training facility on the site, which was granted in 2009, and expires in 2018. Deputy Chief Lilienthal presented cost saving changes the plan has undergone in the past several years, and indicated that the focus of the facility has changed from a regional training center, to a narrower basic firefighther training facility for EDH Fire Department employees, with the opportunity to also have training available for other fire agencies.

A presentation was made by representatives of the Spanos Corporation on the proposed El Dorado Hills Apartments at Town Center, highlighting changes and improvements made to the design from the original 2014 project. The project consists of 214 units, in two four story buildings, with a five story parking garage in the center. The focus is luxury apartments that leverage the shopping and services that benefit the project inside Town Center East. The Spanos Corporation representatives followed up the presentation with a question and answer session for El Dorado Hills residents. Following this, the APAC Subcommittee studying the DEIR of the project made a short presentation of the results of their report. The subcommittee recommended non-support of the project as currently presented. A motion was made for the full Area Planning Advisory Committee to accept the Subcommittee recommendation of non-support, and this passed 7 -0.

The full Subcommittee report is available HERE

The letter to El Dorado County Planning and Development Services notifying the County of the vote of non-support can be seen HERE

The August 9 2017 APAC Meeting Minutes are available HERE

July 17, 2017 in EDH APAC

El Dorado Hills APAC Announces New Website

El Dorado Hills Area Planning Advisory Committee is proud to announce the volunteer organization’s new website – EDHAPAC.ORG.

APAC was formed in 1981 at the request of the County Board of Supervisors to provide public input for the development of the County’s new area plan for EDH and the Salmon Falls area.

Comprised entirely of volunteers in it’s thirty-six years of existence, EDH APAC has never had a formally recognized repository of planning history, documents, or data. In fact, other than a volunteer maintained mailing list, and now an email list, EDH APAC has never had the ability to keep El Dorado Hills residents informed in near real time of new projects, road improvements, new development proposals, specific plan changes, or other zoning changes in the area, other than some generous coverage in local weekly newspapers The Village Life, El Dorado Hills Telegraph, three day a week publication The Mountain Democrat, and to a lesser extent, the Sacramento Bee.

Although many APACs were created in the same timeframe, the El Dorado Hills APAC has the unique distinction of being the only surviving and continuously operative APAC over the thirty six years since its inception. While the EDH APAC is only an advisory committee to the County, its recommendations have made a difference by influencing developers, County Planners, the Planning Commissioners, and the Board of Supervisors in the outcome of many proposed projects. APAC’s submittal of written position reports of support, conditional support or non-support represent the community’s strongest voice in local land use planning.

That is why we encourage all residents and business owners in EL Dorado Hills to participate, and lend their ideas and concerns to El Dorado Hills planning. We have but a single voting Supervisor representing our interests on the five member El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. We also only have a single voting Planning Commissioner on the five member El Dorado County Planning Commission. This has not always served the interests and concerns of El Dorado Hills residents well. Making EDH APAC a community resource, and including as much input from El Dorado Hills residents as possible, will provide us a stronger voice at the decision making levels in El Dorado County.

To that end – EDH APAC needs member participation. Any resident of El Dorado Hills is welcome to participate, and become an APAC member. Read some more about EDH APAC membership in our EDH APAC Guidelines – these are from 2012, but we’re busy making updates, to make the concepts clearer, and to streamline the process of participation.

Through efforts of EDH APAC volunteers, we’re making an effort to evolve into a more involved organization, and we seek the input of all El Dorado Hills residents. Because EDH APAC receives no funding from El Dorado County, this website, as well as all APAC events and communications are the result of volunteers funding and donating their labor, efforts, and passions.

It will take considerable time to gather and digitize historical archived documents, and determine the appropriate county, and agency links. If you have any ideas, or documentation to share, please email them to edhapac@gmail.com. Our first efforts will be to get current issues and project information onto the website. As we build this repository, we hope to get as much historical information uploaded as well.

Welcome to EDH APAC – we’re glad to see our neighbors here.