She said there are inconsistent designated land uses in the Draft EIR, as well as the fact that the City’s proposed minimum lot size is to be 8,000 square feet and the lot sizes proposed in the project are much smaller. Thus the City requested that the lot sizes be more consistent with the City’s and not allow lots smaller than 8,000 sq. feet. Peters acknowledged that this would require a complete redesign of the project. Noise was also addressed and the City requested that construction hours meet the City of Jackson’s Noise Ordinance standards as it neighbors the City. Law Enforcement Services and Fire Services were also addressed and were a major concern of both the Council and public. The Draft EIR does not address the fact that the Jackson Police Department would likely be the first responder to any emergencies in the subdivision. Peters said the DEIR should analyze the need for additional Officers and the impact on existing equipment. In regards to Fire Protection Services the DEIR acknowledges that the Jackson Fire Dept. would likely be the first to respond.

However, the need for more equipment and engines will be necessary due to the shear size of the project and therefore the City is recommending that due to site constraints on their 2nd station that one acre near the commercially zoned property in Wicklow way be reserved for the construction of a new station. As well as the mitigation measure regarding fire services be amended to include an annual assessment to fund two full-time paid positions for the new station. Recreational Facilities were also discussed in the letter as the DEIR failed to address the need for active park land and includes a proposed open space park of 18.24 acres, but all in drainage areas, which Peters and Tracey Towner-Yep in the past has indicated should not be used for park land. The City suggested that the DEIR include active park features and requests that the project be required to pay the parkland fee of $8,670, instead of the County’s fee of $4,300 and that the City receive a portion of the fees. Water Supply is also a concern of the council especially when the DEIR claims the project is in the water service area of the AWA when it is actually in the City of Jackson’s service area. Peters said the DEIR also fails to acknowledge that the developer will be required to bay participation fees to Jackson for each single family or equivalent residence above the meter fee required by the Water Agency. She also added that the DEIR is not in compliance as Senate Bill 610 requires a water supply assessment be prepared, and the Wicklow Way projects document lacks this proponent. Traffic impacts, of course could not go unnoticed and were addressed extensively in the comment letter. Peters explained that, “Overall, the analysis of impacts to traffic circulation are inconsistent with the traffic analysis in the Jackson Hills and Sutter Amador Hospital Draft and Final EIRS and the Draft EIR for Home Depot,” which is to be released in June.

The mitigation proposed in the project’s DEIR is not consistent with the City of Jackson’s Circulation Element as one mitigation measure requires the reconfiguration of eastbound approach of Hoffman Street to Hwy. 49, even though a left and right turn lanes already exist. It also contradicts the City’s objective of removing a majority of the traffic off Hoffman by extending Sutter Street to Hoffman/Stony Creek Road. Another mitigation measure requires the developer to pay the Regional Mitigation Fee towards improvements. The improvements however, are not fully funded, therefore the Fee does not “fully mitigate the impact to a level insignificance,” said Peters. She said the residual impact should be identified as “Significant and Unavoidable.” Chief of Police Scot Morrison commented at one point that, “Traffic impacts will be permanent for us.”  In addition Peters said the proposed traffic mitigations in the DEIR will likely hinder emergency response vehicle traffic as one of the mitigation measures requires operation changes to the Hwy. 88 and Martell Cut-off, Hwy. 49/ Jackson Gate Road, and Hwy. 49/88 Argonaut Lane intersections which will all obstruct emergency access. In conclusion the DEIR does not address some sort of access to the neighboring subdivision, Westview Drive. Peters said while she realizes that many do not want a road punched through to Wicklow Way, from a planning stand point, access between the subdivisions just makes sense so a resident would not have to get on to the Hwy. to access the subdivision right next door. At a minimum she said the project should be designed to at least allow bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Also sure to be addressed were Fiscal Impacts the project is foreseen to have on the City of Jackson. Because the City of Jackson will be providing services to Wicklow Way the fiscal impact is expected to be significant.

The City in return is requesting that the DEIR include a Fiscal Impact Analysis to address the fiscal issues and explore potential annexation. The, subject of Fiscal analysis and annexation got the Council all fired up about another issue - Revenue Sharing. Members of the Council asked that the City pursue talking to the County about revenue sharing possibilities or other solutions that may offer revenue to the City as many of their businesses have relocated to the Martell area. Peters concluded the discussion by saying that the discussion regarding the proposed project “could seg-way into a larger discussion of revenue sharing.” For anyone interested in offering their comments on the Wicklow Way project the comment period on the DEIR ends May 29th at 5pm. Written comments can be submitted to the Amdor County Planning Department. An online version may be viewed at the Planning Department's web site at www.co.amador.ca.us/depts/planning. --Also discussed at this weeks meeting was last weeks special Planning Commission held the week before regarding the Jackson Hills project. Three public speakers were concerned with a possible conflict of interest on behalf of one of the Commissioners.

Citizen Jack Georgette mentioned before the Planning Commission began that he felt Commissioner Wayne Garibaldi should recuse himself from voting on the Jackson Hills project as his boss, Larry Standing, had signed a petition in favor of the project. Georgette said he was concerned that Garibaldi’s boss’ standing on the issue may affect his vote as Garibaldi may fear losing his job. Legal Counsel at the meeting said there was no apparent conflict of interest. Georgette relayed all this information to the Council and asked that their Legal Counsel Tom Gibson look into the matter further as he did indeed feel that the situation did present a conflict of interest for Garibaldi. Gibson said he would speak to City Manager Mike Daly about the issue further and said even if there was found to be a conflict of interest it would not affect the recent vote on the project, but it would change some of the City’s processes in the future, although he did point out that it did not appear to be the case.