Guest editorial: Placer County asking too much of Granite Bay for rezoning

Residents of Granite Bay are angry. With a deadline for approval set for May 21, we are informed by the Placer County Planning Commission that due to the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) mandate by the State of California, we must rezone property to high-density low-income housing. Surprised? Probably, since Placer County was only obligated to notify property owners living within 300 feet from the selected properties and the rezoning signs just went up in early March. Granite Bay adopted its original Community Plan in 1989 and updated it in 2012. In these plans, areas were set aside to accommodate low-, medium- and high-density areas and provide zoning to include housing, commercial zones, mobile home parks, duplexes, residential care facilities, etc. With little regard to the complexities of this beautiful property, the county has identified 12.2 acres (Lot 26) at the corner of Auburn-Folsom Road and Fuller Drive in Granite Bay to be an ideal location for a minimum 240-unit to a maximum 360-unit high-density housing complex. This site was identified as a 10 out of 10 on the county's Site Ranking Criteria, and it was noted that "the County can facilitate the development of housing affordable, lower-income households in this area and mitigate the current concentration of affluence." Word soon spread to the community and residents are rightfully alarmed. This property is located next to Cavitt Jr. High School and Folsom Lake and is bordered by the already heavily impacted Auburn-Folsom Road corridor and Fuller Drive, a two-lane residential street that leads to single-family home neighborhoods. A development of this size could easily add another 500 cars and 1,000 people to our area in a short amount of time. Because of careful planning over the last 35 years, we have been able to retain a rural quality that our residents have worked hard to preserve. We are proud of Granite Bay's organic growth and variety of housing alternatives. Granite Bay is home to some gated communities but within a 2-mile radius of Lot 26, we also have three mobile home parks and a 35-year-old duplex development. It is unacceptable for Placer County officials to markedly increase our population in such a short amount of time without consideration given to the residents, the Community Plan or impact to the character of our community. Currently, this area of Placer County does not have a public transportation system. Walmart, the closest discount grocery store, just closed, which leaves only Raley's, a decidedly premium market. This property is next to a federally protected waterway and has been noted as a salmon and bald eagle habitat. Environmental impact issues have been ignored in regard to wetlands and flood zones. There would be direct free access to Folsom Lake into an area of the lake that does not have lifeguards, monitoring or restroom facilities. Increased public use would only lead to further degradation of the trail system and add to the trash left behind. Understandably, the entire community is impacted by the county identifying this large piece of property for its quick fix to meet a 1,400-unit quota that was levied upon Placer County by the State of California. With only 5 percent of the county population and 1.5 percent of its land mass, the citizens of Granite Bay are being asked to shoulder more than 25 percent of the rezone burden with the development of up to 360 units on Lot 26. We strongly urge the Planning Commission to consider properties that are much smaller in size, thereby lessening the impact to one certain area. The resulting need for increased infrastructure directly impacts the burden on schools, utility costs, the need for additional water and sewer and increased traffic congestion. Taxpayers will ultimately be the ones burdened for the costs of services and development that we did not plan for in our community. We understand the need for housing for all people, but it seems unfair and ill-advised to so dramatically change an already established area when there are other alternatives to be explored. To take action, contact stophighdensityrezoning@gmail.com and be notified of important meeting dates where you can voice your concern. The time to speak up is now.