By Alex Lane - The battle to approve a Final Environmental Impact Report for the Wicklow Way Subdivision near Jackson had some discussion at Tuesday’s Amador County Planning Commission Meeting, before being tabled until the commission’s next meeting. During public comment, Kim Hudson spoke on behalf of Lemke Construction, the company backing the project. She said that all requests for further analysis of everything from water to transportation to recreation areas had been accurately considered in the current incarnation of the FEIR. But Jackson Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla and City Planner Susan Peters were vehement in their opposition to such a claim, stating for the record that water supply and jurisdiction issues were far from resolved. “Water is clearly our biggest issue,” Peters said. “It’s redundant to have a whole (additional) set of distribution lines put in place for this project.” The current distribution line runs along the south side of Highway 88 and serves Wal-Mart and K-Mart in Martell. Peters said that expansion of Jackson’s water treatment plant would have to be covered in the EIR. Amador Water Agency representative Gene Mancebo reiterated those concerns. Mancebo also reminded the council that the subdivision is in an overlapping area and Jackson does not have the exclusive right to serve that area. One Jackson city council member proposed putting off the approval until Jackson and the AWA could come to some resolution. Despite this conflict of interest, Planning Commissioner John Gonsalves believes Lemke Construction is making a good faith effort to answer every question. “They have been cooperative and have worked diligently throughout this process,” he said. The commissioners agreed that the biggest outstanding issue is the logistics of water supply. Other concerns revolved around transportation corridors, the number of low income housing units available, and the acreage allotted for parkland. Many questions were raised but unanswered. At the request of the applicant, the Planning Commissioners agreed to postpone their decision until October 28,th in order to allow the applicant time to research answers to the questions raised during the meeting.
Thursday, 25 September 2008 04:54
Wicklow Way Final EIR Certification Postponed
By Alex Lane - The battle to approve a Final Environmental Impact Report for the Wicklow Way Subdivision near Jackson had some discussion at Tuesday’s Amador County Planning Commission Meeting, before being tabled until the commission’s next meeting. During public comment, Kim Hudson spoke on behalf of Lemke Construction, the company backing the project. She said that all requests for further analysis of everything from water to transportation to recreation areas had been accurately considered in the current incarnation of the FEIR. But Jackson Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla and City Planner Susan Peters were vehement in their opposition to such a claim, stating for the record that water supply and jurisdiction issues were far from resolved. “Water is clearly our biggest issue,” Peters said. “It’s redundant to have a whole (additional) set of distribution lines put in place for this project.” The current distribution line runs along the south side of Highway 88 and serves Wal-Mart and K-Mart in Martell. Peters said that expansion of Jackson’s water treatment plant would have to be covered in the EIR. Amador Water Agency representative Gene Mancebo reiterated those concerns. Mancebo also reminded the council that the subdivision is in an overlapping area and Jackson does not have the exclusive right to serve that area. One Jackson city council member proposed putting off the approval until Jackson and the AWA could come to some resolution. Despite this conflict of interest, Planning Commissioner John Gonsalves believes Lemke Construction is making a good faith effort to answer every question. “They have been cooperative and have worked diligently throughout this process,” he said. The commissioners agreed that the biggest outstanding issue is the logistics of water supply. Other concerns revolved around transportation corridors, the number of low income housing units available, and the acreage allotted for parkland. Many questions were raised but unanswered. At the request of the applicant, the Planning Commissioners agreed to postpone their decision until October 28,th in order to allow the applicant time to research answers to the questions raised during the meeting.
