Amador County - The Amador County Supervisors on Tuesday denied an appeal of traffic and water impacts in the Wicklow Way Subdivision, but recommended that the Planning Commission require a fiscal impact analysis and study carbon emissions requirements and mitigations. Commissioners also encouraged the applicant to use local materials, vendors and workers. Denying the appeal by Jackson resident Ken Berry, Supervisors upheld the Planning Commission's certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report for Wicklow Subdivision. Supervisors made recommendations that the project make further provisions and mitigations for carbon emissions. They recommended to the planning commission that a fiscal analysis be done prior to approval of the project. The Supervisors also voted to require that the applicant continue to meet with John Kirkpatrick on the issue of an easement to drive cattle through the property of the project site itself. Kirkpatrick owns property on either side of the Wicklow Way site and told supervisors that the Planning Department said cattle were not an environmental issue. To him it was because moving cows between the properties meant either taking 10 truck trips or making one cattle drive.

Supervisors additionally wanted to stress to staff that the conditions of the approval and mitigation measures adequately address carbon emissions, based on everything that has to do with guidelines in Assembly Bill 32 as released in March. County Planner Susan Grijalva said those requirements were a constantly changing environment. Supervisors also recommended trying to stay local in purchasing from vendors and material. Amador planning department’s Heather Anderson said: “It is really not something that we can require.” But supervisors indicated addressing hiring locally, and that business open up locally. Anderson said the next step is a decision on the Wicklow Way Subdivision project as a whole, which includes zone changes, the subdivision map, a parcel map and the project master plan. The planning commission is looking at January or February to notice and hold a meeting. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).