Amador County – Nearing the latter of dozens of meetings, the Sutter Creek Planning Commission talked about Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort’s specific plan and started looking at its conditions of approval Monday. Gold Rush’s Troy Claveran told the commission that the sole purpose of an agreement with Sutter Creek was to get tertiary treated water for its golf course. Claveran said Gold Rush helped the city and Amador Regional Sanitation Authority in a pinch, when they were close to lose the property on which the sewer treatment plant stands. Gold Rush provided $2.5 million dollars, matched by $375,000 dollars each from the city and ARSA, to save the sewer facility. He said “there has always been a subdivision” on Gold Rush, and “that was the basis for the project.” Commissioner Cort Strandberg said that the first and second phases of residential and golf were accepted, but when Phase 3 came out with 1,100 total homes, that’s when people “filled the auditorium” – to hear about the hotel and time-shares. Claveran said “no one has ever stated how many homes we are ever going to have.” And the “only number that ever existed” was one the engineer came up with and put in the EIR. Commissioner Mike Kirkley said Gold Rush, to his knowledge, “may be the biggest project ever proposed in the city.” But he was worried that it never addressed traffic. And despite the Highway 49 Bypass, he thought the city would still have a “Level of Service” rating of “F” on its traffic. Kirkley said he “could support maybe 500 homes because of traffic.” And he said it was “hard to believe we have this demand for 1,400 or 1,500 homes.” Peters said the city has “locked in this process and someday we’ll come to a conclusion.” He said the they “get the specific plan right, it will be consistent with the General Plan, no matter what the size of the project.” The commission was short 2 members, Frank Cunha and Robert Olson, both on vacation, but went through Peters’ comments on the “Conditions of Approval” for Gold Rush. Commissioner Cort Strandberg said he was “not satisfied” with the specific plan’s consistency with city General Plan Goal 2.1, on preserving the city’s feel. He asked to move on and return to the topic when all 5 commissioners are there. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.