FAQs

The project includes the development of a new Costco Wholesale Member Warehouse retail store and Costco Wholesale fuel facility on both sides of Silva Valley Parkway (collectively referred to as the Costco Wholesale project), just north of US Route 50 (US 50) in El Dorado Hills. Previously, Costco considered other versions of the project in conjunction with development by the former project site owner. Costco now owns the entire project site, and the only development currently proposed is the Costco Wholesale project. 

The project site is approximately 34.13 acres, includes property on both sides of Silva Valley Parkway, and consists of three areas: the South Site Project Development Area, the North Site Project Development Area, and the North Site Remainder Parcel.

• The South Site Project Development Area is approximately 17.05 acres and will include the Member Warehouse store (approximately 165,000 SF), surface parking, and a below grade parking garage.  
• The North Site Project Development Area is approximately 3.29 acres and will include Costco employee parking and a Member fuel facility with 16 pumps/32 handles.
• The North Site Remainder Parcel is approximately 13.79 acres and is not proposed for development as part of this project. Costco anticipates selling this parcel for development by others at some point in the future. Any development proposed in the future will be subject to its own separate project consideration given the site’s PD overlay. 

The requested discretionary items include:  

• Development Plan Permit, consistent with the requirements of the PD overlay zoning, which applies to most of the site, for a new Costco Wholesale Member Warehouse store and Costco Wholesale Member fuel facility. 
• Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow a tire center, single-vehicle outdoor display and storage, and a recurring Temporary Use Permit (TUP) for seasonal outdoor Christmas Tree Sales. 
• Variance to allow greater building-attached signage area on each side of the store building and fuel facility canopy structure consistent with Costco’s typical building signage; no monument nor freestanding signage is proposed. 

The new Costco Wholesale in El Dorado Hills is proposed to cover a site development area of 20.34 acres and would include an approximately 165,000 SF Member Warehouse store, a Member fuel facility with 16 pumps/32 handles, and 831 parking stalls. The Folsom Costco Wholesale project’s site development area is 18.6 acres with a 148,663 SF Member Warehouse store , 741 parking stalls and a Member fuel facility with 11 pumps/22 handles.

The Costco Wholesale Member Warehouse store would be approximately 165,000 SF. The design is contemporary, with a variety of massing elements and appropriate durable materials for the scale of the building. By combining concrete masonry block and architectural metal panels, the design includes architecturally interesting features to minimize the visual impact of a large retail warehouse. The Member Warehouse store is proposed to be located on the South Site, which would allow Costco to utilize the existing slope of the site to further mask the building’s bulk. Specifically, the Member Warehouse store would be positioned in the southeast corner of the site, where the elevation of existing streets adjacent to the site are the highest. By building the Member Warehouse store adjacent to higher elevation land and providing a subterranean parking structure, the height of the building and visual impacts relative to the surrounding environment on Silva Valley Parkway and US 50 are minimized. 

The Member fuel facility on the North Site will include an approximately 13,000 SF open canopy and a 200 SF controller enclosure. The controller enclosure will be a prefabricated unit, built with steel walls and finished with paint to match the fuel facility canopy colors. There would be four covered fueling bays, each with four two-sided fuel dispensers to provide for fueling of eight cars at each island for a total of 32 fuel positions.

Renderings of the proposed project are available in the "Documents" folder above.

The daily Member Warehouse store hours and Member fuel facility hours have yet to be determined. Please check back periodically for updates on business hours.

The current project only includes the Costco Wholesale Member Warehouse store and Member Fuel Facility. 

• The South Site Project Development Area is largely the same as the prior submittal accommodating the Member Warehouse store and surface parking at and below grade.
• The North Site Project Development Area now only includes the Member fuel facility and employee parking. The development previously proposed, which included a mix of commercial and residential uses, is no longer proposed and is no longer part of the project. This modification has substantially reduced the size of the North Site Project Development Area (by approximately 15 acres) 
• The North Site Remainder Parcel is a modification to the previous project. Applications for development previously proposed on this portion of the property have been withdrawn. Under the current proposal, this portion of the property will remain vacant and there is no development planned at this time. 

The Folsom Costco Wholesale store is a very successful store. The current business volume exceeds its design parameters/capacity. All Member Warehouse stores are designed to perform a certain amount of business. When the volume of business exceeds the design parameters, then member comfort becomes sacrificed (no parking, long checkout lines, running out of merchandise, etc.) and Costco looks to develop new locations to meet its members’ needs.

An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and a separate transportation study are being prepared by the County for the project. An EIR is the most in-depth and comprehensive level of environmental study required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and it will analyze impacts related to vehicle miles travelled, along with impacts to emergency access, evacuations in the event of a wildfire or other emergency, and any potential traffic hazards caused by the project.  CEQA requires the County to adopt all feasible mitigation measures to reduce the severity of potential transportation impacts.

In addition, to cover issues not addressed in the CEQA analysis, the transportation study will include a traffic operations analysis to evaluate Level of Service (LOS), 95^th percentile queues, and signal warrants at 19 study intersections around the project site. The traffic operations analysis will utilize data collected during the weekday AM peak period (7:00-9:00 AM), weekday PM peak period (4:00-6:00 PM), and Saturday midday peak period (11:00-2:00 PM). The study intersections were selected based on County guidelines and discussions with County staff. The transportation study findings will be used to identify any near-term transportation improvements required to meet the County’s transportation performance standards factoring in traffic from the project.

The EIR and transportation study will analyze the project’s impacts and determine what improvements would be required to address traffic associated with the project.  As noted above, the EIR will specifically analyze whether the project would increase environmental hazards; it will also analyze the project for consistency with the County’s programs, plans and policies related to transit, roadway, and bicycle facilities. This analysis will consider project impacts to Oak Meadow Elementary School operations, including the project’s effect on pedestrian safety. 

The EIR and transportation study will inform the discussion about what improvements, if any, are needed to maintain a safe pedestrian environment in the area. In addition, Costco will facilitate meetings with the neighborhood, school, and school district to discuss potential concerns and solutions.

This FAQ response addresses potential transportation impacts including, but not limited to, traffic noise and light pollution, to surrounding neighbors, including the school, churches, and residents who live nearby, during grading, construction, and active store operation.

Costco will strive to follow the County’s regulations related to construction times and noise levels will be followed, however, an exception to allow night-time construction (pours) may be requested. 

Regarding active store operation, the Costco Member Warehouse store receiving dock is located at the southwest corner of the building, adjacent to US 50. The bay doors will be equipped with sealed gaskets to limit noise impacts. As a result, noise associated with loading is not anticipated to impact adjacent or nearby properties. 

All impacts and mitigation measures related to traffic noise, light pollution, and more will be studied as part of the EIR.

Regional access to the Member Warehouse store will be from US 50 via the Silva Valley Parkway exit. One full-access driveway with a signalized intersection is proposed along the eastern portion of the site, and an additional three driveways are proposed along the project’s western side to provide access from Clarksville Crossing. An interim signal on Silva Valley Parkway at Clarksville Crossing is proposed to allow a northbound left turn onto Clarksville Crossing. This signal will go away when the County constructs the Country Club Drive extension farther north and Clarksville Crossing is disconnected from Silva Valley Parkway.

The Costco Member Warehouse store and Member fuel facility together are expected to create 250 to 300 jobs that are good-paying and offer long-term career opportunities. The average wage is $26.77/hour. Employee benefits include medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, life insurance, disability, long term care, employee assistance program, and flexible spending accounts; an employee stock purchase program; 11 holidays per year; a college student retention program; a 401(k) retirement savings plan; and a free Costco executive membership with 2% annual reward benefits.

The most northern portion will be reserved for the county’s future construction of the Country Club Drive extension. The other lands will remain vacant and potentially be sold and developed in the future through separate entitlements.

In brief, there are no historic resources on the project site that the project would affect. The project’s potential impact on cultural/historic resources will be fully evaluated in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that is being prepared by the County for the project. 

To inform the EIR, Helix Environmental Planning completed a Cultural Resources Technical Assessment for the project site. The assessment identified previously recorded remnants with the potential to be affected by the project. However, none of these remnants are eligible to be listed as historic properties or historic resources.  Therefore, they can be removed without affecting historic resources.

In addition, the project site falls within the Mormon Hill Historic District.  

The Mormon Hill District boundaries encompass numerous unevaluated resources outside of the project site, and it has not yet been fully evaluated for its eligibility to be a cultural or historic resource. However, the project site does not include features that contribute to the historic character of the District. Therefore, development of the project would not affect the cultural and historic value of the Mormon Hill Historic District.  

Yes, currently anticipated sometime during the first quarter of 2025.

Construction for the Costco Member Warehouse store and Member fuel facility is anticipated to take approximately 10 months, including site preparation, grading, building, and site finishes.

An EIR must be completed before the project can be brought to the County’s Planning Commission for consideration. The current estimated timeline for the Final EIR is Fall 2025 followed by a Planning Commission public hearing in late 2025/early 2026.

Click the following links to sign up for future Planning Commission Meeting notifications: Subscribe for Planning Commission Agendas and Minutes

The Planning Commission is the County’s decision-making body for the project’s land use approvals.  Other agencies with jurisdiction over other aspects of the project will be identified in the EIR.[EP1]