Protect Our Granite Bay Community

See https://www.facebook.com/Granite-Bay-Island-359983784175357/ for more information.

We are the Granite Bay Island Community, a neighborhood to the west of Sierra College Blvd at Old Auburn Rd. We have been enjoying the country setting where we can grow our own produce, raise farm animals, keep horses etc. Recently a development company, Maverick Partners West, has proposed to destroy our rural community by packing 56 units onto only 16 acres, called "The Park at Granite Bay." It is planned to be a gated project of much higher density, despite sharing borders north, south, east and west, with homes on 1 to 4 acres.

The Granite Bay Community Plan is the guide for the growth and development of the community. Among the expressly stated goals of the Plan are the preservation of the rural character of the community, and ensuring that new developments are compatible with their neighbors.

Concerns:

1. Rezoning: Our neighborhood is currently zoned as residential-agricultural, with a 1 acre minimum lot size, resulting in a quiet and spacious neighborhood. The developers of The Park want to change zoning laws and the GB Community Plan in order to cram 56 homes onto 16.3 acres. If this were to happen it would completely alter the character of our neighborhood.

2. Future Developments: This is a game changer. There is still a fair amount of open land in our neighborhood, and if we alter the Granite Bay Community Plan and lose the agricultural zoning, we are potentially opening the door for future developers who would seek to use that land for more high-density housing.

3. Traffic: Sierra College is already a busy and potentially dangerous road. A 56-unit gated community that is only accessible from Sierra College and forces all outgoing traffic to the intersection of Old Auburn Rd is going to have an enormous, and likely dangerous effect on the level of traffic and the number of accidents in this area.