See FOSH letter and news story below
Galt council revives Delta Greens senior housing
project
By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jan. 08, 2009 | Page 3B
A long-debated Delta Greens senior housing project north of Twin Cities Road
has been revived in a 3-2 vote of the Galt City Council. Technically, the Tuesday
night vote merely clears the way for city staff and and project backers to outline
the application process and cost.
More significantly, however, it signals that a majority of the council since
the November election is once again receptive to hearing the controversial
plan.
Mayor Randy Shelton, reinstated to the council in
November, asked last month
that the project be brought back for consideration. The action drew dissenting
votes from Councilmen Andrew Meredith and Donald Haines, Assistant City Manager
Jason Behrmann said Wednesday.
The proposal on 900 acres along the Cosumnes River
Preserve and north of the
city's urban services boundary has drawn heavy environmental opposition. "From
greenhouse gas emissions to protecting wildlife, there are so many environmental
issues that most reasonable people would say, 'Don't go there,' " Jude
Lamare, president of Friends of the Swainson's Hawk, said
Wednesday. "Local government makes a lot of foolish decisions in this region,"
she said. "Until voters hold them accountable, all environmentalists can
do is stand up and speak the truth as they see it."
Any project would require a change in the city's sphere of influence, its
area of probable growth. And that process, governed by the Sacramento Local
Agency Formation Commission, could take years. Still, the Tuesday night vote
launched a race by project backers to seal a city commitment for Delta Greens
before the 2010 election brings another
change in the council. Jerry Slinkard of JLS Consulting LLC, representing the
property's minority
partner, Chun Mei Dodge, acknowledged that the effort could be hampered by
another council election. But he is optimistic.
"We're talking about a two-year window to take
this through the entitlement
period," Slinkard said. "We all know that the housing needs are going
to
come back, particularly for seniors." He said close to half the project
site would be left as open space and a buffer to Laguna Creek.
In one form or another, growth northwest of the
city of Galt has been talked about for nearly 15 years.
In 2006, a Del Webb project proposed by Pulte Homes had been in the offing.
But in the election that November, Meredith bested then-vice mayor Shelton
for a City Council seat. With that change, the city subsequently pulled back
its expansion plans,
effectively dampening prospects for Delta Greens. Shelton was returned to office
in November 2008 and was elected mayor.
Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 478-2641.