Amador County – Plymouth’s development agreement with Reeder Sutherland finalized Wednesday includes $410,000 in advanced impact fees for the city’s new water pipeline, and reserves rights to expand the Arroyo Ditch through the new development.

Plymouth City Council approved the Development Agreement in a special meeting Wednesday. Councilman Jon Colburn asked for specific language to protect the city’s Arroyo Ditch easement for future expansion of both volume of water with linings or placing a pipeline through it. Colburn said the city has diversion rights to 30 cubic feet per second of water from the Cosumnes River, although the ditch capacity is 12-15 cubic feet per second. He said the city has the ability to pipe the ditch and should protect the easements through the Zinfandel Subdivision.

Councilman Peter Amoruso asked about liability of the open ditch and someone falling in. Special Counsel Adam Lindgren said any time you put a municipal waterway through a development you open the city to litigation. Developer Bob Reeder said you add the city as additionally insured. Mayor Sandy Kyles said the Arroyo Ditch runs through town without fencing, and Colburn said “we’ve got 18 miles of it before it gets there,” also not fenced.

The Council approved buffers for agricultural lands that border the developments where no agreement had been reached with landowners. It gives the City authority to require a 6-foot, no-climb fence and 15-foot buffer zone between the fence and ag parcel, or an 8-foot no-climb fence, with no buffer. Colburn wanted to avoid buffer zone maintenance.

Reeder argued against an 8-foot fence, saying it would be unsightly, like a prison, and their developments will discourage fences because he prefers the “open space look and feel.” Reeder said his father’s developments in the 1950s and 1960s had the same approach. Like these, there were higher priced, and still are, because people tend to take care of the homes because it helps property value. His partner, Stefan Horstschraer said: “I believe we are trying to build an attractive residential area” and an 8-foot fence looks like an inner city basketball court.

Amoruso thought he was hearing two things: that fences are ugly, but they want two fences with the buffer. Reeder said ag fences would be standard barbed wire, and not as noticeable.

Horstschraer said he agreed with a comment by Lindgren that “we have reached a level of detail” that should be discussed during plan and final map approvals. Councilwoman Pat Schackleton, who made the motion to approve, partially agreed, saying in the past, a “lot of times the city made mistakes, and I think that’s why we split hairs.” Kyles said in 23 years of planning, she has “never seen the level of involvement in documents that this council has had.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.