Return and Stall of Bickford Ranch

By Niesha Lofing -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, November 7, 2004 in Sac BEE


Construction at the Bickford Ranch development site has halted because of a temporary stay granted by the 3rd Appellate District court.
The temporary stay was issued Oct. 29 after the Sierra Club asked the court for an emergency ban on development activities, specifically tree-cutting, on the Bickford property.

The environmentalist group was afraid that the trees being felled could potentially be part of an oak woodland preserve the group hopes may become part of a settlement agreement, said Terry Davis, conservation coordinator for the Sierra Club's Mother Lode Chapter.

Davis said the club learned of the tree-cutting after several residents and observers called him.

"Even some Camp Fire girls hiking up on the property were upset to see the trees cut down," Davis said.

The project calls for building 1,890 homes on nearly 2,000 acres between Penryn and Lincoln.

The development will require the destruction of 10,000 oak trees, but the specific plan states that two trees will be replanted for each one lost. The project also includes about 700 acres of open space.

Attorneys for the developer, Lennar Communities, couldn't be reached for comment. The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the Bickford Ranch specific plan Oct. 19, paving the way for construction to begin. In earlier interviews, attorneys said preliminary grading would begin as soon as possible.

Residents are expected to move into the development in 2006.

Many Penryn residents are opposed to the development. The Sierra Club, other environmentalist organizations, a citizens group and the town of Loomis sued over the project because, they claimed, the county violated its development policies when it approved the project in 2001 and that the project's environmental review documents were inadequate.

The case was heard by visiting Placer Superior Court Judge John Golden, who decided in February to throw out the development's first specific plan but required that supervisors revisit approval of the specific plan because of the planning document, which had a confusing series of attachments and wasn't properly recorded.

However, Golden held that the environmental documents remained valid.

The Sierra Club, Sierra Foothills Audubon Society and the California Oak Foundation have filed an appeal to Golden's decision, claiming the the project's environmental review remains flawed.

The Sierra Club and Loomis officials also have said more lawsuits may be filed, especially in light of the supervisors' recent approval of the specific plan.

The Sierra Club, the county and the developer will have 15 days from the day the stay was issued to submit written arguments.

Sierra Club officials hope the stay will remain in place until the court issues a decision based on the appeal.


About the writer:
The Bee's Niesha Lofing can be reached at (916) 773-6846 or nlofing [at] sacbee.com.