To:	Capital/Southeast Connector JPA
Cc:	El Dorado County Board of Supervisors, Assemblymember Alyson Huber
From:	El Dorado Hills Citizens Alliance
Date:	February 9, 2009
Subject:	Connector Planning for the El Dorado Hills area, including eastern Folsom: Concerns of the EDH Citizens Alliance and others

This communication is for attention of the Connector Board of Directors, Executive Director, Staff, and Advisory Committee.
A copy of this is posted at http://www.edhca.net/collector_letter_1.html


We are encouraged by addition of John Knight to your Board of Directors. The Citizens Alliance Board has confidence in Director Knight's understanding of Connector-related planning issues and his ability to proactively represent the interests of El Dorado Hills.

We are also encouraged by our initial communication with Executive Director Zlotkowski. One of our most immediate responses will be to generate a list of El Dorado Hills community leaders to suggest for participation in meetings with JPA staff. We consider this to be particularly essential in the earliest stages of planning.

We continue to have these concerns:

• It is not apparent that the JPA as a whole understands the extent of road network development needed in the El Dorado Hills area.
• White Rock Road is not viable as the only designated route to carry Connector through traffic across El Dorado Hills.
• To date there has been no public outreach in El Dorado Hills. This is essential in early stages of project planning.
• The JPA's continuing references to beginning an EIR/EIS process instead of beginning a planning process are alarming.
• El Dorado Hills needs voting representation on the JPA board commensurate with that granted to cities.
• To date, Connector planning for the El Dorado Hills area can be categorized at best as not yet started, at worst as negligent.
  In light of past work directed toward Sacramento County areas as small as Sheldon this also appears to be inappropriately discriminatory.

The EDH Citizens Alliance, the Bass Lake Action Committee, and the Four Seasons Civic League all have generally similar concerns about the Connector project. In the absence of representation by a city government we recommend that the JPA establish a working relationship with these groups, as well as with other community leaders.

Our concern about representation for El Dorado Hills applies to many other agencies as well. Current economic and political conditions are such that incorporation will not be feasible for several years at best, with a strong chance that it will not be feasible for more than a decade. The reality is that we in the largest actual city of El Dorado County need representation as a city. Despite strong advice to date that this is not politically feasible, it is necessary. We recommend that the County of El Dorado take the lead to form an El Dorado Hills Representation Special District and to work with agencies such as this JPA to amend their bylaws to recognize that Special District as equivalent to a city. We believe this is sufficiently essential that the County of El Dorado should be prepared to litigate, to petition for a writ of mandate, if necessary to compel such action.

Concern about premature initiation of an EIR/EIS process may be a question of differences in understanding of the language used. We need assurances that the JPA recognizes the need for ab initio planning, with the preparation of a CEQA Initial Study only after basic requirements analysis and initial planning are completed. Our greatest fear is that the JPA would expedite movement to a Notice Of Preparation for a Draft EIR before adequate planning is in place for the El Dorado Hills area.

Consequently, we recommend that the Connector Route map be modified at its eastern end to appear approximately as shown below until planning has advanced to the point of having produced at least a reasonable set of possible routes. In a separate letter we offer an example of the sort of alternatives that should be considered. We feel that it should be possible to plan regional road network choices that will make the Connector an asset to El Dorado Hills rather than a liability.

Thank you for your consideration of our comments.


Submitted on behalf of the El Dorado Hills Citizens Alliance,


Paul Raveling
President