Late this summer on a 3-2 vote, the Sutter Creek Planning Commission recommended approval of the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort. The 1,300-unit, 300-timeshare and golf course resort project is now in the hands of the city council.

The planning commission vote came on August 24 after more than a year of discussion. Patient citizens who packed the Sutter Creek Auditorium were forced to wait until after 11 p.m. to comment on the sprawling development that would double the size of Sutter Creek. After midnight, Chairman Robin Peters rejected a request from fatigued Commissioner Robert Olson to continue the meeting, and the commission held its vote.

Even though it agreed Gold Rush Ranch should move forward, the planning commission took several actions to reduce the severe impacts this project will have on the community and environment. Among these were provisions to:

• Restrict mass grading
• Limit tree removal to building envelopes and roads
• Require additional traffic mitigation fees
• Require a large community park
• Prohibit gated neighborhoods

The commission also unanimously rejected a list of radical last-minute changes from the developers. For many years the developers have been selling this project as a major benefit to the community, yet among their proposed changes were eliminating the park and cutting the golf course back to nine holes until the second phase of the development.

Gold Rush Ranch then moved to the city council. The council is attempting to address the grading questions and fiscal analysis before it makes a final decision. The council is also considering whether to study a smaller project. Developer Bill Bunce has argued that anything smaller than his proposal is the only “feasible” alternative for Gold Rush Ranch. But he has yet to answer why he cannot build a smaller project if it better suits the city’s needs and concerns.

The city council needs to ask the difficult financial questions and demand a project that will be in the best interest of the city, not the developer. The city has the land-use authority and responsibility to ensure that any project approved will bring long-term benefit to the city, the environment, and the surrounding community. It is not the city’s responsibility to ensure a developer’s profits.

The Foothill Conservancy has been working with a broad coalition of community interests to ensure that this project, if approved, benefits Sutter Creek and the larger community. Leading this coalition are the Sutter Creek residents who have formed Preserve Historic Sutter Creek. To help out, contact Bart Weatherly at 267-1404 or Liz Tone.

For more information about the project, contact Chris Wright at 209-295-4900.