Local News Comments

I heard a supervisor or administrator telling us this weekend that Calaveras county not being bushiness friendly was a bunch of " gobely gook" and she doesn't know what they mean by not being business friendly.Well to that supervisor, this sort of thing is what they mean. Also shutting down the activity's at lake tulloch,and not allowing certain concert venues at the fairgrounds. People remember to vote some youth in. I think these elderly people are too afraid of change to allow growth or anyone to have fun.

Calaveras county does not want to become the bay area of the foothills.

It's not elderly people. I'm in the elderly category and would welcome some real shopping choices. It's a pain in the neck to drive 25-60 miles to go shopping. And you can't tell me that Walmart or Target would take business away from any of the local businesses. We are already going elsewhere and the local businesses are not selling the same items. And I don't consider Save Mart, Rite Aid or CVS to be local businesses.

I'm actually quite relieved that the Bd of Supes voted down this project. Copperopolis is a small rural community that doesn't need to find itself the new "Fremont of the Foothills". (No offense to Fremont, it's just the first name that came to mind.) The type of housing project proposed by Castle & Cooke brings the very type of urban density that many of us moved here to escape. Copperopolis does not have the infrastructure needed to support the 1000+ homes C & C wants to build here, in its two development projects. Until the issues of water availability and waste removal are addressed, it's inappropriate to be building that number of homes.

Actually Fremont was a nice town. As people from Oakland moved in as well as thousands of illegals, home owners have installed bars on the windows and is starting to resemble Oakland.

@flutterbeads it was 500 homes. And it's the mentality like yours that is hard to understand. You moved hear to to escape urban density. But now that you live here you don't want anyone else moving in.Does sound a bit hypocritical doesn't it?
And don't worry about the growth. Both Calaveras and Tuolumne county are projected to grow less than 3% in the next decade, maybe less.They have actually seen a loss of population over the last decade. If your not growing your dying. There are some family businesses like contractors, electrical supply and plumbing houses that depend on new construction.

You realize the Castle and Cooke own and built Saddle Creek right??
Look at the dive houses next to the Golf Course. $1,000,000. The riff raff.

Thank goodness the Supervisors had the good sense to follow the recommendation of the Planning Commission, my hats off to Rebecca Willis (Planning Director) for having the smarts and the guts to put her foot down to Dave Haley/Castle & Cooke, they have been telling the county how the cow eats the cabbage for so long, that they really thought they were in charge and that is how we have more entitlements hanging in the balance and not enough water to serve them, that is why Town Square has a giant port o potty arrangement rather than a sewer system. Copperopolis needs more industrial and commercial growth to bring jobs and that does not fit into Castle & Cookes plans, they want "exclusive" communites and businesses and the word EXCLUDE comes along with that ie. not for working class people.

OK, let me get this straight. It was alright for someone to develop up here until you moved in. Now that you are here, HOLD THE PRESSES, NO MORE DEVELOPMENT!!! I remember when Fremont was open space and Ag land. I also remember when the light at the Junction Shopping was complained about because it was going to be the second light near Sonora. Move to Alaska.

Whatever one's feelings about future development, we can't have it both ways economically. I listen to people complain constantly about the area's lack of jobs and a documented unemployment rate hovering at 20% but are dead set against building more homes or allowing box stores. And you can bet the farm that Castle and Cooke will sue as there is no general plan per se.

Homes=Jobs so sad that our sups don't support the locals. It was developments that brought all the retirees here who don't support the needed growth that supports job growth! Sierra clubers killed our logging industry now your killing our growth industry when unemployment is over 15%.

Trizunky you may need to check public records, Castle and Cooke does own Saddle Creek, but million dollar homes were once upon a time. Saddle Creek has an extremely high number of foreclosures / distress sales and the last unit they developed they sold at auction. It's now half price or less sales.

I love it when these flatlanders move up here with there antigrowth attitude,the problem is there 20 YEARS TOO LATE!!!!growth must continue,the idea that all growth must stop is not seeing the whole picture,if you're antigrowth please movie too Alaska you'll fit right in.

@romeoq55, 2 points: one, I am not against increasing the number of homes in Copperopolis, I am merely opposed to the type of density that Castle & Cooke has proposed. I would like Copperopolis to maintain its rural personality, rather than become a suburb of Stockton packed with crowded developments. Two - the reference to the 1000+ homes includes not just the Saw Mill project, but the proposed Tuscany Hills at the end of Little John Rd, not to mention the increased number of home within Saddle Creek! The only thing that stopped that massive building explosion is the economic downturn. And, thank you travzdad, but no - I don't plan to move to Alaska.

Job well done! Keep it rural!

High density is what the county is requiring for all new developments. It makes water and sewer delivery affordable. Imagine if there was a development of 50 homes each spread out by 4-5 miles. How do you connect that to water and sewer? The county has blocked ALL development under 40 ac. for the last 3 years. The developments along little john (after they are built) would give enough flow to the treatment plant, but not now.
There can be "bad" developments but nothing in any of the planned ones in Copperopolis are anything like Fremont or Dublin. Have you driven there lately?
If you are against more people here, first go ask a local Indian how they feel about you being here, second, where exactly are your children going to live and work when they are ready to be out of the house?

Development is a terrible way to create jobs. You have to keep developing to sustain construction jobs (unless you tear stuff down and replace it). It destroys the land base. What happens when the land base runs out? Other types of work are far superior in this regard - manufacturing, sustainable resource extraction, agriculture for example. Don't get me wrong, the construction trades are an honorable and vital profession, but justifying more houses to create jobs is short sighted. We already have more houses than people.

Why should we invade Alaska and destroy its rural character when it is only a few hours' drive back to the valley for those of you trying to turn us into the sewers from which you came from? Why would you wish the same environmental destruction on Alaska that you wish on rural California?
People who moved here from elsewhere and want to keep it rural are assimilated hillbillies, but those who show up and set out to destroy the rural character of community should be parachuted back down to Simi Valley and Oakland