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A LOCATOR MAP indicates where the Diamond-Dorado Retail Center will be placed in El Dorado County.
Development of a large shopping mall north of Diamond Springs edged a bit closer to becoming a reality this week. On the drawing boards for five years already, the Diamond-Dorado Retail Center project gained ground Tuesday when El Dorado County Supervisors unanimously approved a nine-point recommendation from the county’s Planning Commission.
The action involved an official board resolution amending the county’s General Plan Land Use Element and creation of a new zoning ordinance reflecting that amendment. Four parcels that make up just over 27 acres were rezoned from Industrial use (I) to General Commercial-Planned Development use (GC-PD).
Local developer Leonard Grado submitted an application for the project in November 2007 as Leonard Grado/GGV Missouri Flat, LLC. And since that time, the county has undertaken a comprehensive General Plan update that eventually would allow the rezone and certified an Environmental Impact Report conducted on the proposed project.
Diamond-Dorado, while significant in its own right, is also one piece of a larger development future which includes construction of the Diamond Springs Parkway, a proposed four-lane connector road from Highway 49 just south of Placerville to Missouri Flat Road. The parkway is proposed as a means to improve traffic flow from Pleasant Valley Road and the south county to Highway 50. It would allow motorists to skirt the narrow downtown Main Street in Diamond Springs alleviating traffic bottlenecks and hastening access to the freeway.
County planners and department of transportation staff have described six intersections generally within the area of proposed development as currently operating at a “level of service F.” That is just short of an “F” grade in school. How those intersections will be affected by the center and who pays for improvements and upgrades is a complex issue that, for a number of reasons, has not yet been determined.
Project spokesman and land use attorney Craig Sandberg explained to the board that the firm’s data showed that “this project has very little impact on these intersections, possibly an increase of about 10 trips per day.” And he noted that “there already is a lot going on at Missouri Flat.”
“We ask that you put the intersections into the county’s Capital Improvement Program instead (of requiring the developer to build them). If we have to do them, it would be a death knell for the project,” Sandberg said. He also noted that if the county takes responsibility for the intersections, the development company would contribute through the regular Traffic Impact Mitigation fee program.
The shopping center is designed to capture retail revenue from the entire area, much of which currently goes west to Folsom, according to project proponents. And the issue has been at the forefront of arguments both in favor of or in opposition to the proposal.
Proponents indicate the center will create hundreds of jobs for local residents, while opponents advise that, like many retail jobs, they are likely to be part-time and pay little more than minimum wage.
The Diamond-Dorado “room” is figuratively crowded with “800-pound gorillas.” Among them are Caltrans, right of way issues, sewer and water connections, funding on the part of the county, access to the Waste Connections Material Recovery Facility and the overall impact of the larger project.
Sandberg directed the board’s attention to an element of the recommendation titled “Alternate 5, Existing MRF Access Plan” which retains the present access road from Highway 49 to the MRF. Known unofficially as “Throwita Way,” the project would include some upgrade of that road rather than an earlier notion of constructing a new access and intersection from China Garden Road.
Preserving the county’s rural atmosphere and historical locales is a significant feature of the General Plan. But then so is economic development, both commercial and residential. And the “site is one of few at the commercial center for the county,” said District 3 Supervisor Jack Sweeney referring to an assumption that the south county will ultimately experience significant growth.
Neighbors and business owners within the project’s area told supervisors they are generally if not “totally” in support of the project. Several noted concerns about inadequate sewer facilities and disruption of their business during construction, however none spoke in overall opposition.
Art Marinaccio, a Shingle Springs consultant and General Plan guru spoke most favorably of the proposed benefits.
“Finally, finally something is before you that is moving this forward,” Marinaccio said. “It gets retail at the south end of Missouri Flat that will lead to revitalization of the area. Serious discussion about sewer, roads and other needs has to take place, but a significant amount of retail is needed in the area. And those other properties (in the Missouri Flat, Diamond Springs, El Dorado areas) need to be developed as well.”
Caltrans has reportedly posed a potential threat to the project with concerns about the traffic impact from the Parkway and DDRC on the Missouri Flat Interchange at Highway 50.
Sandberg noted earlier that the state agency might be “stepping into the Board of Supervisors’ shoes regarding land use.”
Sweeney said, “Caltrans shouldn’t be telling us how and where to spend our money. I’m not so convinced that Caltrans is correct about future traffic numbers, and I think we’ve proven to Caltrans that we do the right thing in this county.”
Norma Santiago, Supervisor from District 5, injected a dose of gloom into the otherwise sunny conversation. She suggested that Caltrans “would want over-engineering on Phase 2 of the project.”
But bigger than that concern:
“The developer told me in my office that work won’t start for seven years due to the parkway and Highway 49 not being done yet. Seven years in the government process can turn into 14 years,” she cautioned. “What can we do to move this forward regarding finding funding and getting the environmental reports? I want this yesterday,” Santiago said.
After recording the 5-0 vote in favor of all the recommendations, Board Chairman John Knight came back to the matter of the parkway.
“We have the certified environmental document. Prices are pretty good. Let’s see what we can do on the right of way,” he said.
Contact Chris Daley at 530-344-5063 or cdaley@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @CDaleyMtDemo.
The intersection of Lime Kiln Road and Highway 49 is north, not south, of Diamond Springs.
More substantively, economic-development-by-strip-mall was the approach taken by Folsom; this story even makes an explicit reference to Folsom at one point. But southeastern Folsom has become an ugly and congested (even after numerous road expansions) landscape of asphalt and concrete that provides little more than boring, low-paying retail jobs in national chains. Is that really the kind of economic development that folks in El Dorado County want? Why not take an approach that emphasizes building small businesses, agricultural and natural resources, and creating better opportunities for a college education without leaving the foothills?
Why does this county continue to build when we have more vacant businesses every day. Come look at the corner of Ponderosa Road and Wild Chaparral Drive in Shingle Springs.
There hasn’t been just one failed business at that location, there have been four failed businesses. Now the weeds are three feet high and grass and weeds are growing in the cement cracks. What a huge eyesore to look at every day.
The logic of build-build-build is stupid and lacks no planning whatsoever. Use the vacant buildings and then build new ones when we run out of vacant buildings…..I supposed this makes way too much sense for our BOS and Planning Dept……..sad.
The usual players in this story: BOS Sweeney and buddy-developer Grado; Art Marrinacio (guru? are you kidding me? He’s a special interest lobbyist that even goes over to Amador County and interferes with their General Plan process) a real estate guy with his name on sign in that area; Craig, the usual attorney for developers. Craig, beneficiary pays should be the system here. If the project doesn’t pencil out in paying for its impacts (traffic….are you kidding me, only 10 extra trips a day? Have you seen Bidwell and Iron Point intersection at Palladio? It’s a nightmare), well, there should be NO DEVELOPER WELFARE being paid by the taxpayers of El Dorado County. DEVELOPERS PAY FOR THEIR IMPACTS. If it doesn’t pencil out, Grado, then maybe you don’t make a lot of money. Oh well. That’s business, right?
Seems to me the improvements for the Ray Lawyer Dr overpass and Diamond-Dorado Center are the part of the same project. The Ray Lawyer overpass was required for the EDC jail EIR and was part of the highway 49 project that would line-up with an already constructed Highway 49 section just before entering the jail parking lot. The original route would follow the train tracks to the new Diamond-Dorado Center then on to highway 49 where the intersection was realigned at the stoplight and Pleasant Valley Road making the property next to the dump some of the most valuable in the county. Additionally, another section of road would then be constructed from about the Diamond-Dorado Center following the train tracks east to Missouri Flat Road, it was called the Diamond Springs by-pass at the time Art started working on it. When the road routes are completed it will make a lot of the right boys very rich. Now we know why an effort was made to relocate the dump transfer station some months ago? Its incredible what can get do in El Dorado County if the RIGHT people own the land or stand to gain handsomely from its development. Leona, your correct about the developers and lobbyist. The FBI took a look at these guys in the early 90s which included the Superintendent of schools, but because of the time and cost to round these guys up declined to pursue the investigation because of more pressing matters that involved real bad guys.
Substantial upgrades and modifications to EID’s existing distribution system will be required. Approximately 2,400 ft of 6″ pipe along Hwy 49 will need to be upsized. A pressure reducing station (PRS) near the top of Sacramento hill will need to be repositioned to allow it to properly work in conjunction with the Diamond Springs Main (DSM). These vexing problems were under consideration while I was EID’s Sr. Distribution Operator. The solutions are complicated and expensive. The existing PRS near Placerville is too high on the hill and needs to be relocated approximately 25’-30’ lower on the hydraulic grade to allow its discharge strategy to be coordinated with the DSM’s requirements. The developers need to pay.
Come awn Costco!!!
Four lanes of Highway 49 from Diamond Springs to Diamond Springs Parkway and six lanes for Diamond Springs Parkway… What ever happened to the “Rural Atmosphere” everyone talked about?
And, how can they have a “certified environmental document” on this project with all these objections?
Your right: interesting to know those facts, thanks for sharing.
Phillip: I wonder if they will actually do something about that, or if they will ignore it and cause the level of service to deteriorate for those already in the area?
Eldorado: The current BOS is all about development so they can get tax dollars. They don’t care about destroying the rural atmosphere that the current residents live here for and they don’t promote the rural atmosphere and history to attract tourist dollars. All they see is money hanging on the development trees. Imagine, six lanes!! AND – did you know? An EIR ALLOWS them to make overriding considerations. They actually like EIRs because they can override significant impacts and say that it is a benefit to the community to do so.
As is the norm, the comments are revealing and hypocritical. This is about sales tax leakage and the economic escalators of where money is spent. The sales tax “leakage” is estimated at $800M which means EDC does not get their cut and it goes to Sac or Auburn or even NV. Additionally, every dollar spent in the county has some degree of cumulative effective on the local economy. Buying gas, groceries, clothes, cars, etc. pays bills and employees who in turn spend their money on those same thing. The people complaining about the traffic in Folsom are likely part of the problem. Simply put, where are they spending their money??? It is not about small businesses, but all businesses. It is not a coincidence that Folsom is retail and commerce heavy along the county line. People spend their money elsewhere in part because those products or price points are not available in this county. That same money creates or sustains jobs and attracts other potential employers and at double digit unemployment it all helps. So EDC has two options, do nothing or capture more dollars Approve construction of businesses where people spend their money or do nothing. Focus infrastructure or spread it all over the place. Before you spend money coming home from a job or visit in Sac can you make it to the county line first??
Scary, it’s hard to reconcile the many existing vacancies (pointed out above), the new center and the network of developers/local pols. You scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours. Hypocritical?
Voter, the point and the bottom line is generating, capturing, keeping the money from EDC residents in EDC. There are vacancies, but that does not always mean it is a fit for a larger business. Age of the building, configuration, fees, lease rates, upgrades (can you say ADA?) and new rules because of change of use all work into the equation. Smaller businesses may fit into smaller places just to get started and grow from there. Additionally, the concepts relating to tourism models work along the same line – come, stay, spend and leave. Keep those dollars in the EDC as long as possible. Distaste and suspicion of developers and politicians is usually based on being outside looking in and always subject to armchair disdain. Large parcel land holders at strategic locations wait a long time to get projects through and the county, not just the BoS, works through the system. Spend your dollars inside the county
Progress needn’t include destroying the values that make our County unique. The EDC BOS have proven that they as group do not have the abilities to conclude a general plan that’s fair and balanced and refuse to relay on staff. A simplified description of how our approval system works; EDC highly paid staff of professional submit information to the BOS, the BOS submits this information to the development community, the development community returns information acceptable to them and the BOS approves it with support of lobbyist groups like the Tax Payers group. Any Director or County Department Head who makes a comment or stands against this process is gone at the direction of the BOS. Recent history says it all, Planning Department Directors five, General Services Directors Seventeen since 2000 and transportation four Directors in the last half dozen years.
To Scary. 80% to 100% of the 1% sales tax we get will go back to pay for the roads in that area for the next 40 years. Bottom line, this project is to benefit special interests at the expense of the public being required to front the water, sewer, and road infrastructure along with the clean up of the site. The biggest detriment to the county is the loss of industrial property that could have been used to actually produce something.