Sutter Creek – The Sutter Creek City Council last week set up subcommittees to look at regional and local traffic mitigation, and also the fiscal impacts of the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. Mayor Gary Wooten also wanted “to have a committee look at grading,” but changed his mind. Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy and Councilman Pat Crosby both said the absence of detailed maps for grading was a problem. Murphy said the developer repeatedly has said “they won’t know what is going to be there,” but “a committee is just going to water it down.” Murphy also said he would like to see some “flexibility for when maps actually appear.” Wooten agreed. Consultant Anders Hauge (HOW-GHEE) said the developer likes detailed wording in grading guidelines, “in case they sell some of the large lots.” Crosby said the city council doesn’t know where it is going, “so why are (they) spending any time on it,” and they should wait for a detailed grading map. Murphy said developers “don’t have a market to justify putting those kind of documents together.” They agreed to use commission recommendations for grading and also “recreation & trails,” and “affordable housing.” They created council subcommittees to look at conditions of approval and the development agreement. Wooten suggested appointment of Councilwomen Linda Rianda and Sandy Anderson to work with Planning Commissioner Frank Cunha, to “review fiscal impacts and come back with specific recommendations” at the October 19th meeting. Crosby said “it would be a good idea to have them look at a Community Facilities District.” Hauge (HOW-GHEE) said the developer wanted traffic mitigation fees locked “for the duration of the project,” while the commission favored floating fees. Crosby said “fees should be those in effect at the time build-out occurs.” Wooten suggested Murphy, Crosby, a planning commissioner and Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe form a traffic mitigation subcommittee and work with Charles Field, executive director of the Amador County Transportation Commission, to determine fair share fee amounts for both regional and local impacts. He also noted that Field recommended the developer donate easements on Ridge Road that would accommodate expansion to 4 lanes, but not require the developer to build it. The traffic committee will come back with suggested regional and local fees traffic that would be appropriate. Wooten said council subcommittee meetings will be open to the public, and public input will be encouraged. Comments on work thus far were also encouraged to be sent to Mary Beth Van Voorhis at City Hall. The traffic committee meets 1 p.m. Tuesday at the community building on Church Street. The council returns to consideration of Gold Rush on October 19th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.