Sutter Creek –The Sutter Creek Planning Commission voted 3-2 early Tuesday Morning to recommend approval of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort “Specific Plan,” and related documents. The documents then go on to the City Council for consideration. The council likely will meet September 8th, and hear a staff report and an explanation of what comes next in the process. An estimated 300 people attended the meeting, which began at 7 p.m. Monday in the Sutter Creek auditorium, and ended after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. Attendees included about half a dozen people holding hand-lettered support signs, with messages such as: “Gold Rush is good for Sutter Creek,” and “Vote Yes on Gold Rush.” Those with green “I support Gold Rush” stickers outnumbered opponents, who wore red circle/slash stickers, crossing out “Gold Rush.” Foes included Foothill Conservancy Executive Director Chris Wright, who wore the anti-Gold Rush sticker. On the other side, former Sutter Creek auto dealer Frank Halvorson was among the many green-stickered supporters. The meeting opened at 7 p.m. and spanned 6-and-a-half hours, with the Planning Commission eventually approving the Gold Rush Environmental Impact Report in a 5-0 vote. They also worked on conditions of approval, on which Commissioner Frank Cunha said the commission stood firm. Cunha said there were no changes in requirements for grading, tree retention, the golf course, community parks and hiking and biking trails. Cunha and Commissioner Robert Olson and Chairman Robin Peters voted to pass a resolution recommending approval of the specific plan of Gold Rush, along with city General Plan amendments, zoning amendments, and a “phased vesting large lot tentative subdivision map.” Voting against the resolution were Commissioner Mike Kirkley and Vice Chairman Corte Strandberg. Cunha said the vote showed that the commission – by a 3-2 majority – “thought it was the best specific plan for the land” and the best use for “that 945 acres.” He said the commission made a lot of changes, as it looked through last-minute revisions that Gold Rush sought. The commission elected to go through each item, and it took public comment. Kirkley said the last-minute list of changes from Gold Rush’s Greg Bardini put pressure on the commission. Peters said he thought the commission needed to look at the list and digest it. Cunha agreed, saying “the attachments are by far the most important section of the Specific Plan, because they allow mass grading and mass building.” The commission still worked another 4 hours on the documents, going through each request and also taking public comment. Mary Beth Van Voorhis, clerk of the commission, said the meeting adjourned at 1:37 a.m. Tuesday. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.