Our web site is using a new basis for reporting population
The bar chart on the edhca.net home page inow reports today's EDH population based on Fire Department statistics:
Today's estimated population is 41,583. This reflects population in a 37 square mile area instead of the previous 31 square mile area.
The
main reasons to make this change were to adopt a data source which is
updated annually and to better represent the still-growing area that is
generally recognized as El Dorado Hills. See our new
Population Notes page for additional information.
The
Board of Supervisors approved new Traffic Impact Mitigation fees
at an insufficient funding level for EDH needs
Supervisors voting for the new fee schedule were Helen Baumann, Jack Sweeney, and Norma Santiago
Supervisor Rusty Dupray voted against the new TIM rates
Supervisor Dupray cited the appropriate reason: We need more
funding for road system improvementsthan provided by these rates. He
deserves our thanks for his vote and for his articulation of this
principle.
The problem is illustrated by this data, extracted from the Dowling
Associates report accepted Tuesday by the BOS to supplement the General
Plan Environmental Impact Report:
El Dorado Hills Traffic
Total peak hour volume on all links:
Sum of volumes reported in Exhibit 1 for EDH road segments
from Dowling Associates report
|
2001 |
2005 |
2015 |
2025 |
| Count |
32,520 |
45,695 |
62,178 |
78,649 |
| Percent of 2001 count |
100% |
141% |
191% |
242% |
Number of road segments at...
|
2001
|
2005 |
Unmitigated
2025
|
Mitigated
2025
|
LOS A
|
0
|
0 |
0
|
0
|
LOS B
|
4
|
1 |
0
|
0
|
LOS C
|
17
|
10 |
7
|
9
|
LOS D
|
5
|
12 |
7
|
21
|
LOS E
|
2
|
2 |
4
|
4
|
LOS F
|
1
|
4 |
11
|
0
|
Cyan background highlights the median Level Of Service (LOS).
A
Mountain Democrat article by Noel Stack summarized consequences of the shortfall in these words:
"El Dorado County Department of Transportation Director Richard Shepard
told the supervisors in his presentation prior to the vote that the
program could face a $130 million deficit by year 10 in the 20-year
program, but said he was confident that adjustments in the program,
combined with additional revenue and reserves, would fill that gap."
We have three main concerns with the
new TIM fee schedule: The first is that road system improvements needed
no later than 2016 will be deferred to later years.
The second is that the County is mitigating only minimal levels of service, not total level level of service. Measure Y, now operative in the General Plan as Policy TC-Xa, includes a requirement that "
Developer-paid traffic impact fees shall fully pay for building all necessary road capacity improvements to fully offset and mitigate all direct and cumulative traffic impacts from new development
upon any highways, arterial roads and their intersections during
weekday, peak-hour periods in unincorporated areas of the county".
The third is that the required pace of road system capacity improvements may be underscoped.
Forecasts of future needs are based on the General Plan, but El Dorado
Hills population growth so far has outpaced the EDH population forecast
in the General Plan.
Our web site is using a new basis for reporting population
The bar chart on the edhca.net home page inow reports today's EDH population based on Fire Department statistics:
Today's estimated population is 41,583.
The main reasons to make this change were to adopt a data source
which is updated annually and to better represent the still-growing
area that is generally recognized as El Dorado Hills.