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Mountain Springs developers mailed over 10,000 letters last week to Tuolumne County residents, highlighting changes in plans to build hundreds of homes near Sonora. The development, 1,063 acres around Mountain Springs Golf Course property, will include 897 golf course homes, a 154-room hotel, shops, offices, parks, and trails.
Developers have obtained feedback through two years of open houses and meeting. The mailing is another step in that process, says operations manager Ron Kopf, who is proud of the plans and wishes to achieve balance between the current community and the new development.
The letter includes a response card, asking if the recipient is a supporter and if he or she is willing to distribute literature, write letters to the editor or attend meetings. Supporters say the development will address growth, preserve rural character and provide 117 affordable homes. Opponents argue that it is a leapfrog development that will consume land and increase traffic.
The development has been revised many times. In 1997, plans included 2,076 homes on 1,119 acres. Then, the Board of Supervisors approved a 1,105-acre development with 1,500 homes. Voters Choice, an opposing project, gathered more than 7,000 signatures, forcing a countywide vote. Mountain Spring’s developers pulled plans for the project before the referendum reached the March 2002 ballot.
The new letter and accompanying brochure outline changes made since then. Mentioned is the current proposal for 40 percent fewer homes and fewer houses near the site's perimeter, as well as an on-site water plant that will reduce the golf course community’s water needs. Many individuals, both business owners and chairpersons signed the letter.
Voters Choice Chairman Dave Bonnot says he has about 300 members, which will probably do its own mailing to let people know details on public hearings, which have not been scheduled.
While Bonnot complimented the current design and the reduction in homes, he said there is still a key problem: location, which he argues is too far from existing infrastructure and services.
Mountain Springs supporters say the development is well located, less than two miles from services in Sonora. The county is finishing an additional environmental impact report that won't be released to the public until after the first of the year, said Mary de Beauvieres, the county planner assigned to Mountain Springs.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to decide on the golf course community sometime next year.
