El Dorado County decisions put two affordable housing projects in doubt
By Ben van der Meer – Senior Reporter, Sacramento Business Journal
Sep 25, 2024
Two proposed affordable housing projects in El Dorado County face an uncertain future after county leaders made two separate decisions stopping their progress.
Affirmed Housing is considering its next steps after county supervisors on Tuesday agreed with a resident group's appeal of a tentative parcel map that would've allowed the company's project, Bass Lake Family Apartments, to move forward.
"We are disappointed with the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors’ decision to approve the appeal brought by the Bass Lake Opposition Alliance, a group formed expressly to oppose the production of 126 100% affordable apartments," the group said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Further, we are concerned that the Board made an erroneous decision based entirely on unfounded public comments, which relied on misguided and incomplete facts."
Bass Lake Apartments would've been on land southwest of where Bass Lake Road meets Green Valley Road in Rescue. Its units would've had rents deemed affordable to people making 50% to 80% of area median income.
Rescue resident Wendy Tonks [sic - Correction: Wesley Tonks] filed an appeal of the county zoning administrator's approval of the tentative parcel map, describing Bass Lake as piecemeal development designed to avoid environmental review.
"The overwhelming evidence points to a developer's intent to circumvent environmental regulations by piecemealing this project, an action repeatedly condemned by the courts,"
Tonks' appeal states. "The situation is dire, and the consequences of upholding this map are far-reaching, potentially irreversible, and heartbreaking."
Tonks' address, as listed in the appeal, borders the Bass Lake site. It's not clear if she's [sic - Correction: he’s] affiliated with Bass Lake Opposition Alliance, the group cited by Affirmed Housing asleading the opposition to the project, though a website for that group mentions similar concerns about the project.
An email sent Wednesday to Bass Lake Opposition Alliance was not returned, though a Facebook posting for the group on Wednesday applauded the board's decision.
Affirmed Housing's statement noted that the San Diego-based company applied for the project under Senate Bill 330, meant to minimize review of affordable housing projects.
The firm also applied under Assembly Bill 2011, a law that took effect this year allowingby-right approvals of affordable housing on land zoned for commercial projects, as the site at Bass Lake and Green Valley is.
"We remain committed to solutions that address the housing crisis and will explore our options to continue this mission in El Dorado County," the statement said.
El Dorado County could face external pressure as a result of the decision. After Elk Grove City Council in 2022 voted down a permanent supportive housing project called Oak Rose Apartments planned for its Old Town area, the city was sued by both the developer and the state of California.
The state's suit focused on the city's rejection of an affordable housing project at a time when California is facing a severe housing shortage. Those suits were settled when the city approved a larger but similar project at a different location by the same developer, Excelerate Housing.
A separate move by El Dorado County may have doomed an affordable housing project in Placerville.
Clementine, by Jamboree Housing Corp., would've been an 84-unit project at the former armory site in that city, though the county owns the property.
But in a Sept. 23 letter, Laura Schwartz, the county's assistant chief administrative office, said residents raised an issue of the site, part of the county's fairgrounds property, being used as a fire camp during wildfire situations.
"The county is concerned that the Clementine project is not compatible with this use," the letter states, adding county supervisors have provided direction to stop negotiations with Jamboree over the site as a result.
A message with Jamboree Housing seeking comment on Wednesday was not returned.