Residents contesting proposed Shingle Springs developments

SHINGLE SPRINGS RESIDENTS Lori Parlin, left, and Frank Verdin look over plans for the San Stino development that would be located between French Creek Road and Old French Town Road. Verdin, who lives near the proposed residential housing development doesn't believe the nearby roadways would be able to handle the increase in the population. Democrat photo by Krysten Kellum

Lori Parlin and Frank Verdin are feeling somewhat besieged these days what with the number of new developments being proposed for Shingle Springs.

Devoted to the peaceful rural nature of the area where they live, they are looking for others like themselves who don’t want the community to change.

“We’re going to get hit hard if we don’t back each other up,” said Parlin.

In particular, they are focused on fighting two projects that are currently in the early stages of being processed by the El Dorado County Planning Department.

One proposed development, called Tilden Park, is located across the road from Parlin’s home. Twelve acres in size, the property is approximately 500 feet from the northwest corner of the intersection of Crosswood Drive and Wild Chaparral Drive and is zoned one acre residential.

The property owners, Real Returns LLC out of Raleigh, North Carolina, want to rezone the property and put in 14 homes, a hotel, restaurant and a grocery store.

Parlin said she’s not opposed to the property developing as originally zoned, but the new proposal would dramatically change the character of the area and add to traffic problems because of the estimated 4,000 trips it would generate.

Frank Verdin, on the other hand, is concerned about a vastly larger project near his home which he said would affect 70 percent of the residents in Shingle Springs.

Called San Stino, it would be located on the old Scheiber Ranch. The 645 acre property is presently zoned RE-5 on four parcels and AE (Agricultural Exclusive) on another and is south of Highway 50 between French Creek Road and Old Frenchtown Road, and South of Mother Lode Drive near its intersection with Buckeye Road.

The Scheiber family wants to rezone the property and build 1,041 single-family homes. A portion of the property would be reserved for a future school, park or residential and 270 acres of open space would be preserved or created.

Verdin, who first learned of the project less than two months ago, noted that “when I bought my property, which is adjacent to the proposed project, it was supposed to be 5 acre residential development.” What’s being proposed is a “city within a city,” he said.

Since then, Verdin has circulated a flyer to his neighbors and held a meeting with them. But he said the developer has been going out to his neighbors and offering them perks if they didn’t contest the development. He said those perks are listed under project accommodations. Some of his neighbors told him they know the property is going to be developed anyway and it’s in their best interest to go along with it.

“But it will be a train wreck because of the amount of traffic it will generate,” he said.

“We hope to get people noticing,” said Lori. “We want people to be aware of these projects and head some of this off.”

Contact Dawn Hodson at 530-344-5071 or dhodson@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @DHodsonMtDemo on Twitter.

Dawn Hodson

Dawn Hodson covers news and features.

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