FAQs

The project site consists of two areas: the Project Development Area and the Program Study Area.

The Project Development Area consists of the northernmost and southernmost 30.3 acres of the project site, and is proposed for development as follows: 

• South of Country Club Drive: Two hotels, retail services, two restaurants, a museum, an event center, and associated parking.
• North of Country Club Drive: 56 residential cottages for employee housing, and an additional 56 residential cottages that may be rented on a daily or extended stay basis, as well as associated parking.  

The project applicant is seeking the full list of discretionary entitlements for the Project Development Area, such that the proposed uses can be developed in the near-term, if approved by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors.

The Program Study Area consists of the central and easternmost 30.2 acres of the project site and may include future development of additional hotels, medical facilities, senior housing, townhomes and cottages, and other uses allowed by the proposed zoning districts. The project applicant is seeking only entitlements related to land use and zoning designations for the Program Study Area. Thus, future development of the Program Study Area would require additional discretionary entitlements from the County, and, if determined necessary, additional environmental review. 

If you have a question about the project, please contact the County by email at: TownAndCountryElDorado@edcgov.us

Project documents are available online at the following link: 

Or in-person at the following locations: 

• Planning and Building Department – 2850 Fairlane Court, Building C, Placerville, CA 95667
• El Dorado County Library – 345 Fair Lane, Placerville, California 95667     
• El Dorado County Library – 7455 Silva Valley Parkway, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
• Cameron Park Library – 2500 Country Club Drive Cameron Park, CA 95682

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is currently available for public and agency review. The review period will end on September 9, 2024 at 5:00 PM. Subsequently, the project will be scheduled before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

All written public and agency comments must be received on September 9, 2024 by 5:00 PM and should be directed to: El Dorado County Planning and Building Department-Planning Division, Attention: Ande Flower, 2850 Fairlane Court, Placerville, CA 95667. 

Please include the name of the contact person of your agency, if applicable. Comments may also be submitted in person or via email to TownAndCountryElDorado@edcgov.us. Comments submitted via email must either be included in the body text of the message or as an attachment in Microsoft® Word or Adobe® PDF format.

The project will require a General Plan Amendment to modify the existing Community Region Boundary to include the whole project site in the Community Region; an Amendment to the BLHSP to establish three new land use designations for the BLHSP and apply them to the project site. 

The project site would be redesignated from  Low Density Residential Planned Development with a maximum allowable density of 0.2 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) (L.2-PD) and Low Density Residential Planned Development with a maximum allowable density of 0.7 du/ac (L.7-PD) to Commercial, Multi-Family Residential, and Open Space; an Amendment to the BLHSP Public Facilities Financing Plan; and a Rezone from Residential Estate-10 acres (RE-10) to Community Commercial (CC), Multi-Unit Residential (RM), and Open Space (OS). 

As required by the BLHSP, the Planned Development Combining District (-PD) suffix would be added to all the zoning district designations listed above.

Yes, traffic impacts associated with the proposed project were analyzed in Chapter 4.11, Transportation, of the Draft EIR prepared for the proposed project. 

It should be noted that conventional approaches to transportation impact analysis typically focus on vehicle level of service (LOS) and similar metrics related to vehicle delay. This focus explains how land use and transportation projects affect driving instead of how projects change the amount of driving that will occur. While changes to driving conditions that increase travel times are an important consideration for traffic operations and management, these changes do not fully describe environmental effects associated with fuel consumption, emissions, and public health.

Senate Bill (SB) 743 changed the focus of transportation impact analysis for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) from measuring impacts to drivers to measuring the impact of driving. As a result of SB 743, and Section 15064.3 of the CEQA Guidelines, local jurisdictions may no longer rely on vehicle LOS and similar measures related to delay as the basis for determining the significance of transportation impacts under CEQA, and instead a VMT metric should be evaluated. This shift in transportation impact focus is expected to better align transportation impact analysis and mitigation outcomes with the State’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, encourage infill development, and improve public health through more active transportation. Therefore, the impact analysis included in Chapter 4.11 of the Draft EIR for the project includes an assessment of project generated VMT, rather than impacts related to vehicle LOS. 

In the case of traffic operations, specifically intersection and roadway LOS, such an analysis is not considered relevant pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3(a), as congestion and intersection operations do not constitute a transportation impact under CEQA. However, new development in the County is required to maintain adequate LOS per General Plan Policy TC-Xa.  Therefore, the County is separately reviewing LOS based on a transportation operations report prepared by T. Kear to determine whether the proposed project could result in inadequate LOS at nearby facilities, which could necessitate physical improvements.

OMVI Architecture prepared photo-simulations to aid in the visual character evaluation of the proposed project. The photo-simulations are included as Figure 4.1-15 through 4.1-24 of the Draft EIR.

Project-related impacts to oak woodlands were analyzed in Chapter 4.3, Biological Resources, of the Draft EIR prepared for the proposed project, in accordance with the County’s Oak Resources Management Plan (ORMP). As such, depending on which sewer alignment is selected, buildout of the Project Development Area in combination with construction of the off-site sewer pipeline could have the potential to impact approximately 2.7 acres of oak woodland and 11 to 12 individual trees in fair to good condition, with a cumulative DBH of 453.7 to 464.3 inches. This is a cumulative total of approximately 2.7 acres (44 percent) of impact of the total 6.2 acres of oak woodland mapped within the project area. It should be noted that of the 2.7 total acres impacted, 1.5 acres of oak woodland could be permanently impacted, and 1.2 acres of oak woodland could be temporarily impacted. 

The Program Study Area portion of the project site does not contain any oak resources.

In accordance with the ORMP, the project proponent would be required to mitigate at a ratio of 1:1 for impacts to 0 to 50 percent of the oak woodland within the project area. Based on this ratio, the project would require approximately 2.7 acres of oak woodland mitigation. To ensure compliance with all applicable ORMP requirements, the proposed project would be required to implement Mitigation Measure 4.3-13 of the Draft EIR. 

Impacts to Lincoln Highway were discussed in Chapter 4.4, Cultural Resources, of the Draft EIR. As discussed therein, within the off-site sewer alignment alternatives, the proposed project could result in a potential impact to Lincoln Highway as a result of excavation or trenching activities associated with the off-site sewer line and use of heavy equipment along Old Bass Lake Road (Lincoln Highway), which could damage the old macadam surfaces. Trenching could potentially impact the character-defining features of the road if the road prism is widened or if the road trenching or excavation is not returned close to its previous surface condition. However, Mitigation Measure 4.4-1(d), requires that the final improvement plans for the off-site sewer line alignments demonstrate that the historic macadam surface along Old Bass Lake Road is fully avoided.

Yes, the project would require several new utility infrastructure improvements. All utility improvements are discussed in detail within the Project Description (Chapter 3) of the Draft EIR. In addition, the off-site water and off-site sewer improvements are shown in Figure 3-16 and Figure 3-18 of the Draft EIR, respectively.

 With regard to water system improvements, the proposed project would construct approximately 3,900 linear feet of new 12-inch water line within Bass Lake Road to connect to the existing 24-inch line north of the project site, at Hollow Oak Drive. Pursuant to El Dorado Irrigation District’s (EID’s) request, the EIR also analyzes the potential for the proposed off-site water main to be installed within the alignment of the approved Bass Lake North Bike Trail that is planned to extend along the east side of Bass Lake Road from Hollow Oak Drive to Old Country Club Drive. The Bass Lake North Bike Trail, as approved, would consist of an approximately 1,600-foot-long bike path/multi-use trail. The proposed project would require annexation into the EID service area, requiring El Dorado LAFCo approval, for water service.

With regard to sewer system improvements, two separate options are being considered for the project: 

 The Public Sewer option would result in the construction of approximately 10,510 linear feet of off-site gravity sewer trunk. Two off-site sewer pipe alignments are being considered for the public connection to Russi Ranch Road, with substantial overlap between the two alignments. 

• Option 1 would run south along the west side of Bass Lake Road and then west along the southern side of the AU Energy Parcel, within a 40-foot EID sewer easement, after which it would run along Old Bass Lake Road/Lincoln Highway toward Carson Creek, where the pipe would be hung over the creek and routed west to a point of connection with the existing 18-inch pipe in Russi Ranch Road. 
• Option 2 would differ only in the initial portion of the alignment where it would head west from Bass Lake Road along future Country Club Drive, after which it would join the Old Bass Lake Road/Lincoln Highway where the rest of the alignment overlaps Option 1. Option 2 is generally consistent with the planned sewer trunk alignment shown in Figure 5-2, Sewer Plan, of the BLHSP. 

The Private Sewer option would result in the construction of a septic system serving as an interim solution for the Project Development Area. The Program Study Area would serve as the site for the septic system. If the Program Study Area is developed in the future, the septic system would be abandoned, and connection to the public sewer system would be established.