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C a l i f o r n i a ’ s O l d e s t N e w s pa p e r – E s t. 18 51
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mtdemocrat.com
Volume 170 • Issue 56 | 75¢
Signs they are a changing
New proposals tossed into the Central EDH mix
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Sel Richard Staff writer
Mountain Democrat photos by Krysten Kellum
Nooses are disappearing from city of Placerville street signs after the City Council voted to remove noose imagery from the city logo and city seal. First appearing on the city logo in the 1970s, the noose symbol to some represents the vigilante justice that in Gold Rush days gave Placerville its original name — Old Hangtown — while to others it perpetuates hate and racism. Tuesday morning most nooses on street signs downtown had been covered up with what appeared to be brown tape. City logos on parking signs and outside City Hall were yet to be changed. The council’s decision does not apply to business or property owners displaying a noose — such as the dummy hanging from the Hangman’s Tree building that is constructed over the site where in 1849 vigilantes hung men for their crimes.
After more than a year’s hiatus, the gateway to El Dorado Hills is back on the table. Parker Development’s second recirculated draft environmental impact report for the Central El Dorado Hills Specific Plan now includes updated traffic data and offers two new alternatives, one of which is an option for land use pursuant to current zoning, negating the need for an El Dorado County General Plan amendment. As part of a 45-day public review period ending on June 14, the county’s Planning Commission will hold a workshop on the proposal May 27, during which no formal action will be taken but the public is invited to participate. It will also be presented at tonight’s May 12 Area Planning Advisory Committee meeting. Historically, the most contentious portion of Parker’s proposal for approximately 1,000 residential units along El Dorado Hills Boulevard hinges on a county General Plan amendment to allow the defunct executive golf course zoning to be changed from recreational facilities-high intensity to residential. In 2015 more than 91% of El Dorado Hills voters were against a zoning change, but the measure was merely an advisory vote, not a binding piece of legislation. Four years later Parker Development presented a revised project, which has since seen three Planning Commission hearings, including one held at District Church in January 2020 when almost 500 residents turned out in protest. The Planning Commission’s final recommendation to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors was then delayed due to coronavirus-induced shelterin-place orders as well as consideration of a new traffic evaluation metric, VMT or vehicle miles traveled. The zoning-consistent alternative proposes 510 detached single-family residential units at a density of less than 1-5 units/acre: 135 units on Serrano Westside north of Serrano Parkway and 375 units on Pedregal. An additional 144 attached multi-family residential units at a density of 14-24 units/ n
See Central EDH, page A6
Residents rally against Dollar General
Photos by Cecilia Clark
South county residents gathered on the corner of Fairplay and Mt. Aukum roads Saturday in protest of chain store Dollar General being built in Fairplay. The Dollar General proposed to go in at that very intersection does not need Planning Commission approval as the site is zoned commercial and the county has no design requirements in place that might protect the rural character of the area. Residents say the region, which is known for its wineries and scenic countryside, is not the right fit for a chain store.
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