Tiny house rental development sparks fire fears in Foresthill

Foresthill residents were introduced to a potential new tiny house development this month, and they were not excited. During the Feb. 7 virtual Foresthill Forum meeting, a Getaway representative pitched the idea of Getaway Foresthill Outpost, a rural recreation resort with 60 cabins for short-term nightly rental on a 308-acre property in Foresthill. Getaway operates 18 outposts with 680 cabins across the United States. Before the presentation, Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson shared with residents this was the very beginning of the process for the development. "This is not the end of a process," she said. "It's the very very beginning. In fact, the applicant hasn't even submitted yet to the county. They are seeking your input before they submit, then there would be at least two required meetings before this group to move forward." The land is located on the west side of the Foresthill community, north of Foresthill Road between Idlewild Road and Melody Lane. The rural recreation resort would feature tiny cabins, roads, pads and an operation structure to house the on-site manager. The land is zoned as residential forest land and would require a conditional permit to use the acreage for residential recreation. Each tiny house comes with a private fire pit, which is the main concern of some nearby residents. The Bridge Fire was only a few months ago, and it's not hard to forget how frightening that experience was for Foresthill residents. The Bridge Fire, which shut down Foresthill Road, highlighted the dangers of how difficult it is to get in and out of Foresthill. Adding 60 to 200 temporary residents increases that danger, residents said. "People just don't understand our fire danger up here, and every year it gets worse and worse," said Bonnie Rosta, a Foresthill resident. Getaway shared it would have an on-site manager and put locks on the fire pits on no-burn days, but that wasn't enough to appease Rosta and fellow resident Sandy Simester. "We know how entitled people feel when they are paying to camp," Simester said. "The company says they will have 24-7 management, but we aren't comfortable that will be enough." Rosta agreed, saying, "People carry bolt cutters. If they want to roast marshmallows, they are going to do that. Our sheriffs and fire are overworked, and this is just a bad idea all around." Simester, who lives on Melody Lane, questioned the need for the commercial development nestled between two residential neighborhoods. She said the only way she knew this was even a topic of discussion was because a neighbor, who was one of a few properties notified by Placer County on Melody Lane, made copies of their notification and stuffed them in their neighbors' mailboxes. "We want to make sure more residents are notified about this," Simester said. "The notifications need to have a broader reach." Simester shared a number of reasons she doesn't support the project, but overall, she said it's not a reasonable use of the land. "We know it has to be developed sometime, but it would be better to have residential housing of 20 to 30 residents who are vested in the community," she said. "They aren't just here for the weekend and then are gone and don't give a darn." The Journal reached out to Gateway but did not hear back from representatives before press deadline Tuesday. The next opportunity to provide feedback is March 7 at the next Foresthill Forum meeting. The meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m. at the Foresthill Veterans Memorial Hall, 24601 Harrison Street.