By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun

     CAMPO — At a meeting, held last Monday, April 10, in Campo, community and planning group members got an from developers for the proposed Star Ranch. The special meeting was called specifically to give residents an opportunity to ask questions, give comments, and get answers from the developers.
     Developers and Campo residents have discussed Star Ranch since 2001, when the 2,150-acre, 480-home and commercial center development was first proposed. Since then, the project has undergone some changes, suggested at several public and planning group meetings.
     According to Mike Ratajski, senior project design consultant, some of the changes that have taken place due to public input are a reduction in acreage for the village commercial area from 29 to 14.5 acres and the retention of the functional ranch that has been there for years. The number of houses has also dropped from 480 to approximately 460.
     “We want to get a dialogue going. We want this to be an open and transparent process. We'll talk about the good and the bad,” said Doug Paul, co-owner, with Barry De Vorzan, of Star Ranch and president of Star Ranch Company LLC. “We want to try to answer all of the questions and concerns raised by the community.”
     The proposed development includes 40 estate size lots of about two acres, about 400 other residences, and a commercial village center, which would abut the already existing Cameron Corners commercial area.
     Developers, about 80 percent of the total project has been reserved as open space and will remain as such.
     Much of the concern from residents has to do with Campo’s community character statement, adopted last year by the Campo/Lake Morena Planning group, and whether a large development such as this is going to fit in the rural town.
     “That's moving the flatlands up to here,” said planning group member Bill Slaff.
     According to Greg Konar, senior project planner for Star Ranch, the proposed development is consistent with all the community character and county policies except for the recommended density restriction, restrictions on cluster projects, and the prohibition on expanding the Campo Wastewater Treatment Service Area.
     “We believe that Star Ranch is consistent with the core values expressed in the community character statement,” he said. “We took all the policies, separated them out and analyzed them. I’d say we were consistent with 85 to 90 percent of the policies.”
     Konar said that Star Ranch, “is a rural conservation community — rural by design, growing greener.” He added that currently about 60 percent of Mountain Empire residents live in villages and 50 percent of the lots are less than one acre in size.
     The current county designation for density in the Campo area is based on a slope analysis, which means that the number of houses allowed depends largely on topography. According to Konar, using this analysis, the permitted number of dwelling units for the Star Ranch lot would be 492.
     A few people at the meeting argued that the smaller density and cluster of homes would be an asset to many residents in the area, who would be housed within walking distance of the commercial center.
     “I work with a lot of seniors in the area, and they love this idea,” said Barb Lenac. “These people often can’t take care of their larger lots anymore, but they want to be able to stay in Campo because they love it here.”
     “You get to a certain age and you don’t want to keep all the weeds off a two- or three-acre lot,” said Lake Morena resident John Long. “These people want to sell their properties and buy smaller places to live.”
     Planning group member Pat Noblitt agreed that such a place would be good for local seniors, but argued that the houses in Star Ranch would be too big and too expensive for many. Paul said that planners are looking in the possibility of some sort of condominium or apartment unit for just this purpose, but understand that attached housing is shunned in the community character statement.
     With the current General Plan 2020 update in progress, and the possibility of land-use re-designation in the area, resident Mike Thometz questioned which standards are guiding the developers’ studies.
     “We have filed project plans that adhere to GP 2020 as well as current land-use designations,” Paul said. He said that the final plans will depend on the outcome of the GP 2020 process, which is expected to be completed sometime in 2007. 
     The effects on groundwater in the area are also a major concern for residents, many of whom rely on wells.
     According to John Peterson, a hydrologist working with Star Ranch, a comprehensive groundwater study on the impacts from the project will be completed in compliance with CEQA and county groundwater ordinance guidelines.
     He said that preliminary studies have shown that the development will not overdraft the groundwater basin to the detriment of nearby residents. The 40 ranch estate lots in the back of the ranch will rely on wells for water, and septic tanks for waste disposal. At one point, developers had planned to form a new public sanitation district for the remaining homes and the commercial area. After discussions with the county however, planners are looking into combining with and upgrading the existing county system, which is old and decrepit.
     “I’ve always been appalled at how water facilities have been developed in this area,” said resident Sid Fox, who worked as a hydrogeologist for many years. “The water system they’ve come up with is light years ahead of anything around here now — it’s an example of really good development.”
     Traffic impacts are another major issue for local residents, who have seen an increase in car accidents on local roads due, in large part, to increased congestion.
     At full build-out, planners expect that 1,200 people will live in the new development, which could increase traffic on Buckman Springs Road and Highway 94 by a projected 3,000 daily trips. According to Star Ranch planners, impacts to roads and to local schools, mainly Campo Elementary and Mountain Empire High School, will be thoroughly studied in the environmental impact report for the project.
     Planning group member Bob Shea questioned the impact that the increased number of residents could have on local emergency services such as police and fire. In the area currently there are only six deputies and two volunteer fire departments.
     “We expect a development of this size is going to require more personnel for emergency services,” Paul said. “These are all things that the county will tell us in the scoping letter, and we will have to be able to answer those concerns.”
     He added that, with the increased population numbers and a broader tax base, the area would have more money to provide those services.
     Star Ranch planners don’t expect to have a completed EIR until December 2007, and the first public hearings on the document are expected to be in April 2008. Paul said he doesn't expect to begin construction until 2009 and project completion is expected to take eight to 10 years.
     The planning group did not vote on the project, but members Jean Bates, Larry Johnson and Bob Shea announced they will abstain when the development comes up for a vote because they live on adjacent land. 
     Planning group members and Star Ranch planners said they will continue to meet every few months to discuss the progress of the project and get input from the community.
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