A no loitering, trespassing sign sits in front of a property off Bass Lake Road. A split parcel map for a potential affordable housing project was proposed for the site, which contains natural wetlands, before being struck down via appeal by the Board of Supervisors Sept. 24. Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian

El Dorado County supervisors have upheld an appeal of approvals for Bass Lake Family Apartments, an affordable housing project in Rescue. The appeal cited concerns the developer was trying to use state laws to avoid environmental review.

"...Without a doubt, exurbanization has transformed the American West. Enabled by loose regulations, the creation of roads, reservoirs, power lines, and Internet connections, public desires for "rural" lifestyles, and the ongoing decentralization of jobs, low-density development has spread far into the nation's forests, deserts, and foothills. As we have shown, it has severe and far-reaching impacts on ecologies and political economies..."