Despite a downsized plan for building homes, foes say they want to save the site.
By Dan Nguyen -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST
A downsized plan may ease some of the resistance for the controversial
Clover Valley Lakes development project, but the group opposed to
building in the valley said it plans to continue fighting. Clover
Valley is a pristine 622 acres of open land covered by a canopy of
28,000 oaks and home to 33 American Indian artifact sites.
Developer Clover Valley Partners hopes to have its new plan - reducing
the number of homes planned for the site by 40 percent - in front of
the City Council for ap-proval by the summer.
Allison Miller, chairwoman of the Save Clover Valley Foundation, said
that given the resistance to the project in the past - it was initially
proposed nearly a decade ago - that timeline is far too
optimistic.
The group has opposed the general plan for the valley, saying that even
a reduced number of lots, plus a proposed throughway connecting Park
Drive to Sierra College Boulevard, would ruin Clover Valley's scenic
and historical character. At a Wednesday breakfast hosted by the
Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce, former Roseville city manager Al
Johnson presented the new plan. It was a presentation he has made more
than a dozen times as a consultant on behalf of Clover Valley Partners.
Johnson said the development now only contains 558 homes, not the 952
proposed previously. Instead of 66 acres of public open space, there
are now 366 acres. Since the builders are required to plant 15 to 20
trees per lot, the valley would end up with more trees than
before.
"We're trying to preserve as much as we can," he told the 60 breakfast
attendees.
Miller of Save Clover Valley attended the breakfast to voice opposition
to the project.
She complimented the developer's efforts to retain the valley's
character but said she still hoped the entire valley could be
saved.
"There's a lot of places to build homes, why (Clover Valley)?" Miller
asked.
The bottom line, Johnson responded, was that the developer had the
right to build the homes.
"There's an obligation by the city to do a project as long as it is
consistent with the general plan," he said.
Councilman Brett Storey said in a phone interview that the city is
legally bound to allow landowners to develop their property. He added,
though, that the council is interested in preventing overdevelopment in
the city.
"Believe me, we are going to make the developer go through the process
and make them understand the citizens' concerns," he said.
Storey said the number of homes in the latest plan was a "much more
appropriate density."
The downsizing of the project was made possible by the current real
estate market, Johnson said. The lots are priced to sell for at least
$1 million each.
He said there was still a possibility of someone else buying the land,
which is estimated to be worth from $50 million to $90 million.
That possibility arose last spring when the United Auburn Indian
Community, which considers the valley to be part of its heritage,
funded a $40,000 Save Clover Valley public relations campaign.
The tribe, which owns Thunder Valley Casino, also expressed interest in
purchasing Clover Valley in its entirety.
But the developer's willingness to compromise has reduced the chance
that the tribe would buy Clover Valley outright, said Howard Dickstein,
the tribe's attorney.
Dickstein said the tribe is "pleased that the project has been
significantly downsized."
He said negotiations between the tribe and developer are still ongoing,
but the tribe's main concern was in protecting the cultural
sites.
"The tribe is particularly interested in purchasing the burial and
artifact sites," Dickstein said. "That is foremost in the tribe's mind,
and progress is being made on that forefront."
Miller said she is aware of the negotiations but doesn't think they
mean the end of the effort to save the entire valley. The group's
current focus, Miller said, is to continue raising awareness of the
valley and its proposed development. She contended that only one in
five Rocklin residents knows of the valley's existence and that the
developers would have more opposition once more people see the
valley.
"(Clover Valley) is incredible; it's like a step back in time," she
said.
