A battle of words is being waged regarding the future of Donner Summit. Since Royal Gorge presented preliminary plans for development in March 2007, a host of community groups and individuals have lined up to attack the plans and those who proposed them. (These plans called for development in four ‘camps,’ which would include a total of approximately 950 residential units and an undetermined amount of commercial square footage). Whether it is the green ‘Save Donner Summit’ bumper stickers seen everywhere in the Donner Summit area, forums on websites such as Savedonnersummit.org, saveserenelakes.org and saveroyalgorge.org or the blizzard of letters to the editor, those opposed to development on the Summit have been making their presence known.
Often letters have been detailed and impassioned objections to the proposal, occasionally they have resorted to calling the developers liars, or in the case of a series of Burma Shave-style signs along Donner Pass Road, suggested that the developers go to hell. (‘Mother nature…she ain’t well…Foster/Syme…Go to…Savedonnersummit.org’)
Sid Cronin in a guest column in the Sierra Sun wrote, ‘In quintessential Orwellian-double speak the developers presented their vision of clear-cuts, concrete and high-altitude urban sprawl as a ‘Conservation Community.’’ Jason Rainey of the South Yuba River Citizens League calls it a ‘Conservation Calamity.’
In response to the objections from area residents, representatives of Royal Gorge express frustration and point to the numerous public meetings they conducted even before the project application was complete, asking for input from various stakeholders. ‘We have carried out an unprecedented public outreach effort, and the input we’ve received has had a significant impact on our development plans. We have met with and heard from hundreds of people,’ said Kirk Syme, one of the owners of Royal Gorge.
This summer, Donner Summit area homeowners were surveyed by Godbe Research to gauge residents’ opinions on issues such as current quality of life, growth and development, traffic, and recreation. Donner Summit Area Association, the organization that set up the survey, calls it ‘the most comprehensive survey ever performed on Donner Summit.’ More than 500 people responded and 88 percent indicated they are part-time residents. Roughly two-thirds of respondents said the most important issue facing the area in the next five years is ‘regulating growth and development.’ However respondents seemed split down the middle in their opinion on the current status of growth; 46 percent said population growth is happening ‘too fast’ while 45 percent said it was occurring at the ‘right pace.’
The survey will be used as a basis for building a community plan for the entire Donner Summit area. (See sidebar for information on the second annual Summit Summit, to be held Dec. 15.)
The Mountain Area Preservation Foundation (MAPF) this summer proposed a formal get-together with all the summit area organizations regarding development in the area. Initially Royal Gorge was to be included in the process and would help foot the bill for a professional facilitator. But after a meeting between the summit area and interested environmental organizations, John Eagan, of MAPF, said that Donner Summit organizations ‘feel that it would be premature to engage with the developers until the community has developed its vision and its community plan.
‘So much for civilized discourse. Royal Gorge has yet to submit a development application to Placer County and already the organized groups claiming to represent the residents of Donner Summit and environmental interests have rejected a formal dialogue with us,’ said Syme. ‘Instead, they claim they want to carry out a private planning process (without county involvement) for the Donner Summit area. They say that we should hold off pursuing development plans on our property until they are through with their planning to determine what should be built on our private land.’
While there has been a lot of charges and counter charges through the press and on the internet, there also appears to be an effort as well by some folks to get past the name-calling and focus on the issues that concern Donner Summit residents. Sierra Watch’s Peter Van Zant, when asked whether the rhetoric might be a bit over the top, stated, ‘I agree that public civility is important, but it is the lack of clarity regarding the development proposal that causes the objections from Donner Summit residents.’
Van Zant says that Sierra Watch and many Summit residents feel there are ‘monumental issues to overcome. They haven’t found water, the PUD is maxed out (sewage treatment), the whole proposed development is surrounded by railroad tracks – how do you get hundreds of families to safety if a train goes by?’
Royal Gorge says the objections are premature and based on half-truths. Mike Livak, Foster-Syme’s Project Director, has stated that the ‘process has been subverted by a confrontational group that has consistently jumped the gun, taking incomplete drafts of plans and filling in numbers in order to make inflammatory assertions. These individuals have presented a long list of phrases and slogans as ‘truisms’ that will not be borne out by the plan we submit to the County.’
So what is the status of the water and sewer issues? Sierra Lakes County Water District (SLCWD) provides water to, and collects and transfers sewage from, the area where the development is proposed. The sewage is then treated at the Donner Summit Public Utility District facility. Currently SLCWD is conducting studies with Royal Gorge to assess the volume of water currently available, and how much is needed for the existing unimproved lots in Serene Lakes (around 200 lots). Based on that information the agency will know how much water is available to meet the needs of the Royal Gorge proposal. SLCWD tests will take at least a few more months and perhaps longer to determine water availability.
The Donner Summit Public Utility District provides water in the region not covered by the Serene Lakes County Water District, generally the area along Donner Pass Road. They also provide sewage treatment for the entire Donner summit area. In addition to the unimproved lots in Serene Lakes, there are unimproved properties within the Donner Summit PUD boundaries that have not hooked up to sewer service yet. The treatment plant is already at 85 to 90 percent of capacity so no matter what happens at Royal Gorge, an expansion of that plant is necessary.
Tom Skjelstad, General Manager of the Donner Summit PUD says that the district has already been involved in plans to expand the plant to accommodate the needs of the current customers. In fact, the PUD hopes to have an expanded plant online by 2010 or 2011. This plant, however, was only designed to accommodate the existing customers in both districts, as it was planned before the Royal Gorge proposal. Skjestad says, ‘Once Royal Gorge gets approved then we can talk about expanding again to meet their needs.’ Obviously until Placer County has approved a specific number of units and commercial uses at the Royal Gorge development, the PUD will not know what the expanded capacity will need to be.
As to the question of ingress and egress over the railroad tracks, Royal Gorge’s proposal called for either putting the tracks underground or building a bridge over the tracks. The feasibility of this proposal will have to be determined during the planning process. A process that is likely to be quite lengthy.
So what is the next step? Nadine Evans, Project Planner for Foster/Syme said October 29, ‘We are finishing up studies and working on a pre-submittal package for Placer County, which we hope to have in by early November.’ This document will include ‘what we have prepared to date, then the county comes back with their questions and concerns.’ They then ‘hope to have an application into the county by December – when the public meeting process begins. We understand that people have concerns about how the development affects them. We are hoping that some of those fears will be alleviated as the process continues.’
Royal Gorge: Long Process
Royal Gorge hopes to submit their development proposal to Placer County by the middle of November. Since it is a complicated and extensive proposal, however, don’t be surprised if there is a delay. In fact, don’t be surprised if the final outcome may not be known for several years. To keep up to date, go to royalgorgefuture.com or contact the Placer County Planner assigned to the Serene Lakes area, Crystal Jacobsen at 530-745-3085.
To view an extensive survey of Donner Summit Homeowners’ attitudes towards their community and development go to donnersummitareaassociation.org. Also on this website you will find information on the ‘Second Annual Summit Summit’ to be held December 15 at the Donner Trail School. The goal will be ‘to develop a set of development guiding principals for [the Donner Summit] community.’
