When the Rancho Cordova Planning Commission invited the public to speak about Sacramento County’s largest land development proposal, the discussion wasn’t about environmental consequences such as filled wetlands or future traffic hassles.

Instead, the developers of the Rio Del Oro project heard exclusively about bike trails.

It’s a decidedly contemporary twist to the push-and-pull between developers and green advocates, and one that’s likely to become more common as the call for sustainable communities increases.

The Rio Del Oro project proposes 11,000 homes, regional shopping, commercial centers and office buildings on farming and former mining land between Douglas and White Rock roads in Rancho Cordova. At 3,800 acres, the joint venture between Folsom-based Elliott Homes and GenCorp Inc. is the county’s largest master plan seeking approval.

The city’s planning commission voted 5-1 this month to recommend that the City Council approve the project’s first tier of entitlements.

There’s already a plan for bike trails in the project, but cyclists are pushing for more — those dedicated trails that are separate from high-traffic roadways, and bridges or other connections when they do come into contact with roads.

“It’s a quality of life issue,” said Bruce Oulrey, director of Bicycling Advocates for Rancho Cordova, who is urging city leaders to press for more from developers. “We’re trying to get the city to realize the concept of being a healthy city. That attracts employers, that attracts people.”

David Hatch, chief operating officer with Easton Development Co. LLC, the real estate division of GenCorp, praised the current bike plan but noted that the developers and city are already at odds over the city’s fees to pay for infrastructure.

“At the end of the day, Rio Del Oro has an excellent bicycling plan,” he said.

Mark Thomas, senior engineer with the city, acknowledged that the city and developers don’t see eye to eye on how to pay for infrastructure. “We are challenged in how we can bring this plan to reality,” he said. “Financing is one of those challenges.”

Oulrey admits the group “came late to the party” when it comes to Rio Del Oro and hasn’t had much input, but he characterized the bicycling master plan as a “wish list” rather than a definitive plan.

The dissenting vote on the planning commission came from Matt Cummings. Cummings, a cyclist himself, said he is concerned about the traditional problems created by huge master-planned communities. Like all large greenfield development projects, Rio Del Oro’s environmental report lists dozens of “significant but unavoidable” consequences: overloaded roadways, degradation of habitat and increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

But Cummings was particularly concerned that Rancho Cordova was missing the “big picture” stuff. “In my mind, the product is not built for the 21st century and beyond,” he said. “We need a walkable and bikeable community.”

Rio Del Oro has been in the works for a decade, and biking has been part of the discussion.

“The trail system we have has been developed over the last several years with the city,” said Russ Davis, vice president for project development at Elliott Homes, which has about 1,500 acres of the development.

Connections between trails have been added and that will create the bikeable community advocates are seeking, he said.

Previously, environmentalists had raised more traditional objections to the project, such as filling of wetlands. But the developers responded, proposing a 507-acre preserve on-site as well as additional off-site acreage.

Neither Elliott nor GenCorp is seeking the final entitlements that will allow them to start building, due to the dismal housing market. Instead, they have pursued an uncommon two-step approval process, seeking first to obtain broader approvals while leaving finer details to be worked out later. Developers and the city also have been unable to reach an agreement on development fees. That doesn’t make it easier to bring the two sides together.

“Our general plan says Rancho Cordova is not a place, it is a destination,” Cummings said. “That doesn’t appear to be the case here.”

GLENBOROUGH

In February 2011, the United State Fish and Wildlife Service issued its Biological Opinion on the Glenborough at Easton and Easton Place project in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Easton anticipates receiving its U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permit by the end of the year.

In May 2011, Easton Development and the Cordova Recreation and Park District entered into a Park Development Agreement for Glenborough at Easton and Easton Place. The Agreement establishes a comprehensive plan for Park Construction, Programming, Design and Construction Standards, and long-term Operations and Maintenance.

Easton Development has prepared, submitted and are waiting for approval for the Phase 1 Glenborough at Easton and Phase A Easton Place Infrastructure Improvement Plans from Sacramento County.

Easton Development is currently working with Sacramento County on a comprehensive Development Agreement for the Glenborough at Easton and Easton Place project. Easton anticipates agreement will be finalized by the end of 2011.

Easton Development is currently working with Folsom Cordova Unified School District on a comprehensive Development Agreement for the Glenborough at Easton and Easton Place project. Easton anticipates agreement will be finalized by the end of 2011.

With construction underway, the Folsom Cordova Unified School District looks forward to relocating its staff to the new Education Services Center (ESC) after its completion in January 2012.

The Education Services Center will be a four story building that will allow the District to combine six different sites into one conveniently located facility in the geographic center of the District. It will be located off of Folsom Blvd. on Alabama Ave., close to light rail and Highway 50, and situated near new developments.

“Absolutely no general fund dollars will be spent on the design, construction, and furnishing of the new center”, said Laura Ruby, Chairperson of the Measure M Citizens’ Oversight Committee.

Funding for the project was derived from Measure M. Measure M is a $750 million bond that will build schools for the new housing developments south of Highway 50 and will provide support facilities for the District. By law, bond monies may only be spent on construction projects for which they were originally passed.  In this case the funds are restricted to the construction of facilities south of Highway 50 and only property owners south of Highway 50 will be assessed for the bond repayment.

“I toured the building a few months ago and have watched the progress of construction,” said Folsom Mayor, Andy Morin.  “I congratulate our school district for delivering a project with economic and educational efficiencies that will ultimately benefit all of our students.”

While funding for the project doesn’t affect appropriations for instruction, the relocation actually benefits the district financially.

By building this new center, the District will be able to close and sell facilities that are not energy efficient and replace them with a building that is LEED Certified, which means that it is recognized by the state as efficient in energy use and in the use of recycled materials.

The savings that are realized through energy efficiency and reduction in mileage will be available to the general fund for programs and services that will benefit children, parents, and staff.

A permanent board chamber will mean that the District’s five member board will no longer have to alternate its meeting locations between two cities.

“I think it will be a real benefit and it will have a stabilizing effect,” said Rancho Cordova Mayor, Robert McGarvey, “parents in both communities will travel about the same distance to the meetings and they will know where to go”.

The board chamber as well as a training lab on the building’s first floor can be reconfigured for workshops and other events and will be made available to members of the public for space rental.

Project progress including construction pictures and plans are available on the District’s website at www.fcusd.org/facweb .

After more than a decade of planning, the city of Folsom pushed forward on its bid Tuesday night to annex 3,500 acres south of Folsom, voting unanimously to send the expansion plan to the local body empowered to make a final decision.

The issue brought protests from a handful of residents during the hearing but enthusiastic and lengthy support from members of the development community, the Folsom Chamber of Commerce, and auto dealers, among others.

“This is a really high-quality plan,” said Mike McKeever, chief executive of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

He lauded the housing mix and the transit planning that would provide paths for walking, bicycle trails, open space and parks. “All of that is a home run as far as we are concerned,” McKeever said.

The council vote sends the annexation plan to the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission, perhaps later this year, for a final decision.

The city has worked on the plan for at least the past 10 years. There are seven landowners in the proposed annexation area. But only three own the largest share of property: AKT Development and Carpenter Ranch Partnership own about 41 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Easton Development owns 18 percent.

The land was acquired by Aerojet in the early 1950s for Aerojet’s operations. Most of the land was used to provide safe buffer zones for Aerojet’s testing and manufacturing operations. Due to changes in propulsion technology coupled with the relocation of certain of Aerojet’s operations, portions of the land are no longer needed for Aerojet’s operations. Consequently, the Company is planning to reposition the excess Sacramento Land to optimize its value, by seeking entitlement of approximately 6,000 acres under the brand name of Easton. The term “entitlements” is generally used to denote the set of regulatory approvals required to allow land to be zoned for requested uses.

The Easton plans reflect efforts to make one of the finest master-planned communities in the region. Easton will include a broad range of housing as well as office, industrial, retail and recreational uses.