Mountain Springs Developers And Opponents Reach Agreement

Sonora, Ca — While action on the Mountain Springs Community project was again postponed this afternoon by the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors, the developers announced that an agreement has been reached with many of the opponents.

Bill Barrett spoke before the Board, representing Mountain Springs. ?We have started collecting signatures, and I expect that no later than tomorrow we´ll have a fully signed document,? said Barrett. ?It represents approximately 20 people and organizations that have been in opposition to this project.?

Barrett told the Supervisors that the chairperson for the local branch of the Sierra Club has agreed to the compromise, as has the Audubon Society and the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Council.

?The basics of the agreement tie to a revised project that is 600 housing units in size, rather than 897,? says C-SERC Director John Buckley. ?It also ties to 200 acres of agriculture easement and open space easement in the southwest corner of the property.?

Buckley says that while his group is not ?jumping up and down? in favor of the agreement, he feels that it is a reasonable compromise.

At next week´s Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board will likely send the scaled down project to the Planning Commission for recommendation, and then have it come back for approval.

Written by BJ Hansen