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THE EFFORT TO SAVE CLOVER VALLEY

By Marilyn Jasper
Clover Valley Foundation, Sierra Club Placer Group

http://www.pclfoundation.org/projects/ceqasuccessclover.html

Clover Valley is located about 30 miles east of Sacramento in the Sierra foothills. It consists of 622 acres, 2 miles long, approx ¾ mile wide with steep slopes, wetlands, oak and riparian woodlands, diverse wildlife, a perennial creek, meadows, grasslands, scenic ridges, historic and 33 prehistoric sites (one dating back 7,000 years). The Clover Valley provides a buffer between Rocklin, Loomis, Lincoln and Placer County lands.

This area is important for several reasons. It is the last vestige of what Placer County and the foothills really looked like. With rock walls, stone corral, and 33 prehistoric sites, along with the cornucopia of ecological resources, it could be a unique historic nature preserve completely secluded and protected from any traces of rampant urban sprawl just on the other side of its steep slopes.

The call to arms occurred when the project/issue was discovered by accident when a notice went out that the city of Rocklin was going to approve a “Mitigated Negative Declaration” on the project.

This particular development project involves all the major regulatory agencies, not only at the CEQA level, but also at the permitting process level. The lead agency is the City of Rocklin and the project proponents consist of a partnership headed by Buzz Oates, Rick Massie, Phil Oates, and David Garst.

The opposition to the project started with only a couple folks, but later grew into a 501(c)3 non profit and ultimately formed a coalition that involved many other organizations as each stepped up to support the effort to “SAVE CLOVER VALLEY.”

The CEQA process was first utilized to force the City of Rocklin to abandon their plan to slide with a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND). We had over 100 people show up at the Planning Commission to testify that the MND was in violation of CEQA. Since a Programmatic EIR was certified in 1998, the proponents and the city proceeded with a Tiered EIR in 2002. However, in addition to our environmental attorneys shooting it full of holes, we were able to obtain a copy of a Cultural Report that had been hidden from us. The city knew about the report before the Draft EIR was released (we obtained a memo that proved they were aware of the new report). Instead of 6 prehistoric sites, there were 33, and all were eligible for National Registry. Shortly after this discovery, the city abandoned the 2002 Tiered EIR and decided to proceed with a full EIR. This one was certified in 2007, and led to our filing the lawsuit.

Just before the Rocklin City Council cast their votes to approve the project, with about 200 of our supporters in the room, they patronizingly told us what a wonderful job we did in “improving” the project and thanked us. To our coalition, the project’s reduction to 558 units still increased traffic (14,000 additional trips), took out over 7,000 oaks (half of which are blue oaks), encroached on creek minimal setbacks, and allowed many other “significant but unavoidable impacts.” It was as if someone said they were going to improve the project by cutting out one lane of a four-lane freeway through vernal pools and wetlands. We do not believe the project has been “improved;” it’s been changed, but is still unacceptable.

We also tried a referendum but lost. We had 2/3 support for saving the valley going in. We raised $70,000; the opponents spent close to $900,000—final FPPC filings have not been made yet. The campaign turned nasty; the proponents said they were saving open space and reducing traffic (with the cross valley highway). Many of our supporters became confused and voted “yes,” thinking they were helping to save the valley.

One of the major challenges was/still is fundraising for the lawsuit. We have not saved Clover Valley yet; we have filed a lawsuit under CEQA and expect a probable court date either late 2008 or early 2009. We also anticipate an appeal process (theirs or ours) and will be fundraising for that as well.

With our CEQA lawsuit, Clover Valley Foundation and Sierra Club are co-plaintiffs. The Town of Loomis also sued in a separate lawsuit. The loss of the referendum had unintended consequences with many people now believing the valley is lost to development. We are working double time to correct that misperception and bring our supporters back into the fold.

Another challenge is keeping supporters active. After nine-years of working to save the valley (writing letters and articles, following up all leads, contacting/meeting with regulatory agencies, tabling at any and all events, attending public hearings, giving presentations to other groups, etc.), some folks have moved on to other issues. However, a good solid hard-core base of supporters remain determined to save this remarkable place.

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Developer Wins Close Election Battle over Plan for Clover Valley

From http://saveclovervalley.org/

Thank You Voters of Rocklin - 7,295 of You Came out and Cast Your Vote to Stop This Horrible Development, But Even with the Big Money and Powerful Influence that was Poured into this Election it was ONLY Passed by 2.6% or 883 Votes out of 15,473 Voters. Please Ask our Elected City Officials About the 'Deal' with Thunder Valley Casino to Purchase 154 Lots and ALL the Valley Floor within Clover Valley as stated in their Campaign (Contingent on Measure H Passing). Ask for the Details - The City of Rocklin Must Disclose this Information. They never will if we do not ask. Can they some day build on these Lots? Where are these Lots? Ask to see a Map of the Modified Plans. Let's Keep our City and the Owners of Clover Valley and Thunder Valley Casino Honest and Make them Keep their Word.

Read more on the natural value of Clover Valley:
http://www.savingclovervalley.org/files/CVcommonsreport.pdf

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Housing plan's foes push to ensure 65 acres are preserved as open space

By Jennifer K. Morita, Sacramento Bee, 2/7/2008

Rocklin citizens group that tried unsuccessfully to stop a Clover Valley housing project at the ballot box wants assurances that land purchased by an Indian tribe will be saved as public open space.

"Going forward, we want to make sure that we know what the deal was between the owners of Clover Valley, the tribe and the city," Save Clover Valley Chairwoman Elaine O'Deegan said Wednesday morning.

"That really needs to be disclosed to the public … Is there a guarantee the land is going to be left as open space?"

Rocklin voters passed Measure H with 52.8 percent of the votes Tuesday, ratifying the City Council's approval of a 558-home housing development in Clover Valley.

Yes on Measure H spokesman Doug Elmets said the developer has been waiting years to move forward with his project.

"It's a great opportunity for the city of Rocklin and its residents," Elmets said.

"For the first time in a generation, people will be able to experience the cultural significance of Clover Valley and the incredible beauty."

Although the approved plan preserves more than 300 acres as public open space, project opponents say building homes in the 622-acre valley would destroy wildlife habitat, sacred American Indian historical sites and increase traffic and air pollution.

Measure H was backed financially by project developer Rick Massie and the United Auburn Indian Community, a Placer County tribe that owns Thunder Valley Casino.

The tribe's plan to buy roughly 65 acres along the valley floor surrounding the most significant cultural sites was contingent on Measure H passing.

Mayor Brett Storey said Wednesday that he's already asked to meet with the developer and tribe.

"We want to ensure that everything is as it seems and that the tribe is indeed going to purchase the land for open space," Storey said.

"We need to make sure that that is included in all the documentation. … Even though it's a private land deal, we want to alleviate those fears."

Community leaders, elected officials and members of the business community actively campaigned in support of Measure H, including the mayor and other City Council members.

"The community leadership, and ultimately the voters, realized that this development was going to happen at some point so it was best to try and do what they could to make it a positive development," Elmets said.

O'Deegan said money and the powerful influence of the developer, tribe and city officials chipped away at the grass-roots campaign to save Clover Valley.

"I don't think you could find a campaign that had more power and influence and money going against it," O'Deegan said.

"Our campaign was grass roots, and we basically got our money from the people of Rocklin."

There is still an ongoing lawsuit against the city and developer over the environmental review for Clover Valley.

"That is a barrier they're going to have to overcome," O'Deegan said. "We got 7,200 votes. That's 7,200 people who were dissatisfied with what they're planning to do in that valley. I think there's probably a good chance people will be challenging the three City Council members whose seats are up in November."

Residents went to bed Tuesday night not knowing whether Measure H had passed or failed.

Unlike in recent past elections, numbers from Placer County were slow coming in due to new state regulations that prohibit modem transmission of precinct results, said Assistant Registrar of Voters Ryan Ronco.

Semiofficial final results came in shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, while in previous elections, voter counts from most, if not all, precincts were posted online by 10 p.m.

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By: Toby Lewis, Gold Country News Service

http://www.theloomisnews.com/articles/2008/02/07/news/latest_news/03cloverweb.txt

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Preliminary election results indicated the controversial development plan for Rocklin's Clover Valley, otherwise known as Measure H, could receive the go-ahead by Rocklin voters during Tuesday's primary election.

"The trend looks very good for 'Yes on Measure H,'" said Doug Elmets, spokesperson for the Yes on H campaign. "Ultimately it's a very good deal for Rocklin and they will be glad that they voted for it."

The decision could end a debate that has virtually divided the community for more than a decade, as illustrated by election results.

Preliminary results of mostly absentee ballots as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night indicated nearly half, 47 percent, of Rocklin voters decided against the development, but 53 percent of voters approved the project.

Measure H is the general plan amendment that allows for the construction of 558 homes in Clover Valley, an historic and undeveloped parcel of land located in the Northeast corner of Rocklin bordering Loomis.

Plans to develop the valley have been in the works between land owner Rick Massie and Clover Valley Partners and the city of Rocklin for about 10 years, after environmental activist groups challenged the original zoning of the property, which was for more than 900 homes.

"I think it's all going to depend on how we did on our 'get out to vote' this afternoon," said Elaine O'Deegan, chairperson for the No on H campaign. "They spent $750,000 on this campaign and ours is based on volunteers. One way or the other, I think it's going to be close."

Under the development agreement with the city of Rocklin, developer Massie would be approved to build 558 residential houses in Clover Valley while retaining 366 acres of public open space.

Massie would also contribute $1 million towards the construction of a new fire station in the area as well as fund a two-lane road connecting Park Drive to Sierra College Boulevard.

Opponents of the plan said the new connector road would bring 14,000 cars per day to Rocklin Streets and act as a short cut to Thunder Valley Casino for those outside of the city.

In a signed letter of intent with the developer, officials of the United Auburn Indian Community agreed to purchase 65 acres of Clover Valley to preserve the valley floor and historic cultural sites dating back to 5,000 B.C.

With that agreement, the number of homes that will be built in Clover Valley will be reduced to 404 with more open space, Elmets said.

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Clover Valley suit moving forward;
Loomis, Sierra Club case against development to be heard in Sacramento court

By Joyia Emard, Loomis News Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 18, 2007

http://www.theloomisnews.com/articles/2007/12/20/news/top_stories/03clover_valley.txt?pg=1

A Loomis lawsuit against the proposed Clover Valley development has been consolidated with the Sierra Club/Clover Valley lawsuit and will be heard in a Sacramento court.

The Town of Loomis filed a lawsuit in September against the City of Rocklin and Clover Valley developers citing traffic mitigation, according to Don Mooney, outside counsel for the Town of Loomis.

In November, the parties met for a mandatory settlement conference and agreed to stipulate that the venue be changed from Placer County to Sacramento County.

According to Loomis Town Manager Perry Beck, the lawsuit asks that all approvals and the environmental impact report be set aside and that a new, adequate EIR be considered. The suit also requests all attorney fees and costs to Loomis be reimbursed.

"What we are saying in the lawsuit is that the analysis of the roads was deficient and should be reviewed and redone to account for the impacts on Sierra College Boulevard and also the roads to schools," Beck said.

Beck said people living in Clover Valley would attend Loomis schools and use three main roads to get the children to school: King Road, Humphrey Road and Taylor Road, as well as Sierra College Boulevard.

"That's how people would get to schools and we're concerned that those weren't looked at for mitigation measures and improvements to ensure traffic safety," he said.

The Clover Valley Foundation and Sierra Club jointly filed a separate suit against Rocklin over their Sept. 11 approval of the 558-home Clover Valley residential and commercial development.

Their lawsuit contends the Rock-lin city council failed to properly consider serious adverse environmental impacts from the project on existing oak wildland and the effect of locomotive diesel smoke on residents who would move to the new development.

The Rocklin council decision led to a lawsuit and also a petition drive that put the issue on a referendum ballot in February 2008. The lawsuit is asking the court to set aside the council actions, effectively delaying the project and forcing the developer to expand on its initial environmental studies. Doug Brewer, Clover Valley Foundation director, said air quality and traffic are two major concerns for the area.

"The cross-valley highway, with its huge 60-feet cut and fills, is projected to bring 14,000 additional cars to Park Drive in Rocklin," Brewer said.

The increase in traffic and congestion will contribute incrementally to the region's overall decline in air quality "and brings environmental degradation directly into our residential communities," Brewer said.

Mooney, who acted as outside counsel for Loomis on the Bickford Ranch lawsuit and the West Roseville lawsuit, explained that when two jurisdictions within a county are involved in litigation then typically a request for a venue change is made.

According to Mooney, preliminary work is being done on the case and the earliest it could be heard would be summer 2008. None of the parties are sure how the Rocklin referendum on the February ballot will affect the lawsuits.

Rick Massie, of developer Clover Valley Partners, said the lawsuits would not stop the development of Clover Valley.

"If there are some errors in (the development plan), you just have to repair the errors and take care of the mitigation and (the plan) goes forward even as the lawsuit is pending," Massie said. "It doesn't stop it."

Clover Valley is 622-acres of undeveloped land in the northwest corner of Rocklin bordering Loomis near Sierra College Boulevard.

The valley has been the subject of many debates since 1997 when the Rocklin City Council approved zoning for the development of 950 homes with 60 acres of open space.

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Casino Tribe Auburn Indians to purchase sacred sites in Clover Valley

Toby Lewis, The Placer Herald
Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The United Auburn Indian Community announced Thursday plans to purchase about 65 acres of Clover Valley.

The agreement was made with owner Clover Valley Partners to purchase 154 lots on the valley floor if voters pass Measure H on Feb. 5, said Doug Elmets, a spokesperson for UAIC.

"The land is essentially the valley floor of Clover Valley and it encompasses 33 Native American sites that are culturally connected to members of the United Auburn Indian Community," Elmets said.

Measure H is a development agreement between Clover Valley Partners and the city of Rocklin to build 558 homes in the undisturbed 622-acre valley in Rocklin's northeast corner.

The development plan also includes 366 acres of open space, a two-lane road connecting Park Drive to Sierra College Boulevard, construction of new hiking trails, a bike path and a new fire station.

Opponents of the development began a campaign to defeat Measure H after the Rocklin City Council unanimously approved the project in August 2007.

The Save Clover Valley Coalition drafted a referendum to challenge the agreement and collected nearly 5,000 signatures to have the issue placed on the Feb. 5 ballot.

"This deal does nothing to stop 14,000 cars per day on Rocklin streets," said Elaine O'Deegan of the Save Clover Valley Coalition. "A 'No' vote on Measure H forces the developer to sell the entire valley to a group that wants to preserve it and stops the destruction of more than 7,000 oak trees and saves Clover Valley." Elmets said if Measure H does not pass, the Tribe will not follow through with the purchase agreement and the developer will have the right to revert back to the original zoning which includes approval for more than 900 homes in the valley.

"The Tribe is absolutely intent on saving the valley and the agreement has been achieved whereby the Tribe, the developer and the city of Rocklin will all be able to achieve some element of success," Elmets said to The Placer Herald in an interview last year.

The 33 sites deemed sacred by the Tribe include village dwellings, rock art panels, ceremonial sites and four burial grounds dating back as far as 5,000 B.C. All 33 sites qualify for the National Registry of Historical Places.

There are also preliminary plans to build a cultural center that will help educate the public about Clover Valley's rich Native American legacy, Elmets said.

"So what was previously closed to the residents of Rocklin will now be open to not only appreciate the beauty but also understand the cultural significance that exists there," Elmets said. As part of the agreement, the Tribe will also contribute to the construction of two miles of bike trails in Clover Valley, Elmets said.

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Indian group may oppose Feb. 5th, 2008 Clover Valley referendum
Tribal Group is Seeking to Buy Some of Clover Valley from the Developer

By: Toby Lewis, The Placer Herald
October 31, 2007

http://www.placerherald.com/articles/2007/10/31/news/top_stories/02clover.txt?pg=1

The United Auburn Indian Community is considering weighing in on the campaign to defeat the referendum against the Clover Valley development, the group announced this week. "What I would want the public to know is the referendum is short sighted," said Tribe spokesperson Doug Elmets. "That referendum will do more harm than good." The referendum that challenges the development agreement between developer Clover Valley Partners and the city of Rocklin for the construction of 558 homes in Clover Valley will be placed on the Feb. 5 ballot next year. Although plans are not yet finalized, Elmets said the group is currently working with Clover Valley Partners to foster an agreement which would allow the Tribe to purchase the valley floor and convert it into open space with a cultural center.


"The Tribe is absolutely intent on saving the valley and the agreement has been achieved whereby the Tribe, the developer and the city of Rocklin will all be able to achieve some element of success," Elmets said. United Auburn Indian Community, a group that once made a sizeable donation to the Save Clover Valley Coalition back in 2004, is now considering working with the developer to help defeat the referendum drafted by the Coalition. "What we are talking about right now is the Tribe is negotiating with us to purchase 151 of the bottom lots," said Rick Massie of Clover Valley Partners. Those 151 lots equate to the whole of the valley floor, Massie said, which would essentially save the valley floor along with Native American sacred sites.


Proponents of the referendum say it should be left up to the voters of Rocklin to decide the fate of Clover Valley, one of the last remaining open spaces in Rocklin located between Park Drive and Sierra College Boulevard. Elaine O'Deegan, a spokesperson for the Save Clover Valley Coalition, said the proposal for Auburn Indians to purchase the valley floor is nothing new. "They indicated that they had intentions to buy the entire valley floor, but it has all been rumors for the last few years," O'Deegan said. "Until there's a deed of trust or memorandum of understanding between the Tribe and Massie, there's nothing there as far as we're concerned." O'Deegan said there are 249 lots on the valley floor, not 151, and the Native American sacred sites are dispersed throughout Clover Valley's entire 622-acres.


Opponents of the referendum say that if it passes, the current development plan of 558 homes, 366 acres of preserved open space and a two-lane connector road will become null and void, thereby leaving the door open for the original zoning of the valley. The original zoning allows for more than 950 homes with 60 acres of open space and a four-lane connector road, Massie said. Elmets said it would become "incredibly difficult" for the Tribe to purchase the valley floor should the referendum pass. O'Deegan said the claim that the referendum would do more harm than good is merely a scare tactic by Clover Valley Partners and that if Massie was going to build more than 900 homes if it passes, he should be trying to support the referendum. "The truth is you can't stop the project," Massie said. "If you're going to stop it and you do it via the referendum, get ready. The city attorney and the city council are most aware of the alternative and the alternative is not good for the city." The Rocklin City Council unanimously approved the 558-home development plan in August. Since then, the Save Clover Valley Coalition drafted the resolution and collected nearly 5,000 signatures to have the issue placed on the Feb. 5 ballot.

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Argument against referendum does not add up to 900
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Letter to the Editor: At the recent City Council meeting several council members stated that if the proposed referendum regarding Clover Valley passes, the previous plan would be in effect, giving the developer the right to build more than 900 houses on the property.
This may be true, and will no doubt be used as an argument for why people should vote against the referendum. However, I would like to point out that at the same meeting the developer spoke quite vehemently in opposition to the referendum. If the referendum passing means that he is entitled to build nearly twice as many houses, and therefore make more profit, why is he so strongly against it?
Douglas Frink, Rocklin

Clover Valley Oak-Destruction Project Brings Out Thousands of Opponents to Sign Petitions Putting Development Plan on the Ballot

Developer's campaign to get citizens to rescind their signatures fails.

9/28/2007 ROCKLIN, CA. -- It's official. Earlier this week, the Rocklin City Clerk and the Placer County Elections Division certified that the Save Clover Valley Coalition submitted enough valid signatures to qualify a referendum to overturn a recent decision by the Rocklin City Council to amend the city's general plan and move forward with the controversial Clover Valley development project.

(Editor's note: The Clover Valley development would construct 558 homes in a 622 acre canyon that lies between the gated housing tracts of Rocklin and the rural community of Loomis. The developer promises to leave about half of the site as open space but will have to remove over 7000 oak trees and construct roads dividing the remaining open space into islands in order to get cars to the home sites. To see the developer's misleading aerial photo of the completed project, in which the entire site appears to be preserved, go to http://www.clovervalleypartners.com/open_space.php.

Note that the aerial photo caption says "after replanted trees are grown". Below is the actual map of "open space", with homes and roads in red shading, showing how the preserved land would be islands in a a sea of concrete. Click on it to enlarge.)

Rocklin City Clerk Barbara Ivanovich will submit the certification to the City Council for review at its regular meeting Oct. 9. At that time, the Council can either rescind its earlier decision, or it can put the referendum to the Rocklin voters to decide.

“We certainly hope that the City Council finally sees that the voters of Rocklin want Clover Valley protected and chooses to rescind their decision rather than force this on the ballot,” said Elaine O’Deagan a spokesperson for the Save Clover Valley Coalition.

To qualify the referendum, the Save Clover Valley Coalition needed 2,706 signatures of registered Rocklin Voters (10 percent of the registered voters), and easily surpassed that figure, turning in nearly 5,000 signatures. The signatures were turned in some 10 days prior to the 30-day deadline, despite a heavily financed blocking campaign on the part of the developers, Clover Valley Partners. A recent poll taken by the Clover Valley Foundation showed that voters almost 3 to 1 would vote in favor of a referendum to Save Clover Valley and overturn the General Plan Amendment allowing its development.

“No one can question now that the citizens of Rocklin have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that saving Clover Valley is important to them,” said Save Clover Valley committee officer Linda Hall, who submitted the 4,843 signatures last week. “People clearly want this amazing valley saved. They don't want more traffic on our streets. They don't want thousands of Oak trees cut down and they don't want to see homes built on and around ancient Native American burial grounds and other historically significant sites.”

Hall called on the City Council to support Rocklin voters on this issue. “As elected officials -- put in office to represent the will of the people -- I think the City Council members have a duty to take another look at this issue and do the right thing by the people of Rocklin and rescind their decision and save this valley,” she said.

Clover Valley Photo Gallery

The Referendum Will Give the Voters of Rocklin a Say About the Fate of Clover Valley - Learn More

For more information about the Save Clover Valley Coalition, visit http://saveclovervalley.org or http://savingclovervalley.org.

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The Sierra Club Reports:

http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/placer/index.html

Because the owners/partnership/developers have indicated a willingness to sell, we have been working with state agencies, land trusts, conservancies, and any other entities that may be able to help purchase the valley. As environmentalists, the negotiations and talks are way beyond our areas of expertise, but we believe the preliminary meetings with professionals are proceeding cautiously, but positively.

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Thousands of Years of Archeological Resources Will Be Wiped Out...

State Historic Preservation Officer, Appointed by the Governor of California Tells City of Rocklin the Environmental Impact Report Does NOT Comply with CEQA. Here are some Quotes from the SHPO, the Authority for the Historical and Cultural Resources for the State of California - The Authority as it pertains to the Historical and Cultural Resources for the State of California:

"The FEIR does not meet CEQA’s fundamental basic disclosure requirement, the law’s intent to provide information for meaningful public comment."

"The RDEIR and the FEIR have not complied with the requirement of CEQA to provide the information required by the public including this office under CEQA to offer meaningful comment."

"The withholding of salient information renders the CEQA process inadequate."

"OHP has had an opportunity to visit Clover Valley it has become very apparent that the Determination of Eligibility and Effect on Cultural Resources within the Clover Valley Lakes Project Area, Peak (2002) is less than adequate because of the resources that were discovered during the site visit. Therefore, the basis of discussion, the resource identification pursuant to the section 106 process, requires reevaluation; there is a need for a new survey."

"My office has the following serious concerns: project mitigation is a non-existent Historic Properties Management Plan (HPMP); the Cultural Resources survey is inadequate; and implementing any action prior to conclusion of Section 106 may threaten a 404 permit."

View Comment Letter for FEIR sent by State Historic Preservation Officer, Milford Donaldson, Appointed by the Governor of the State of California, to the City of Rocklin Concerning the FEIR.

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From : http://saveclovervalley.org/

Clover Valley has remained an undiscovered place.

Beaver dams create a succession of waterfalls along the length of Clover Valley Creek. Deer and newborn fawn graze undisturbed on the tall grasses. Birds are thick in the trees. The steep hillsides are blanketed with ancient oaks. Most importantly, from the valley floor the eye finds no reference to the present day. Enter Clover Valley and you enter a time machine.

It was recently discovered that a 1998 archaeological study of the valley found some 34 Native American cultural sites dating back to 5000 B.C. Clover Valley was a hub of regional Native American activity. Individual home sites, village lodge sites, cooking areas, ceremonial art and even a "ballfield" are there as they were left. The complete historic record is intact, wholly undisturbed in the top meter of earth, as it was created during 7,000 years of continuous Native American occupation.

So significant is the site that it qualifies as a historic district and for registry with the National Registry of Historic Places. However, at this time no trespassing is permitted and it's strictly enforced.

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Poll Shows Public Loves Oak-Covered Clover Valley

7-07 www.californiaoaks.org

Rocklin Poll: No To Clover Valley Project

The City of Rocklin, Placer County has released the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Clover Valley project, setting the stage for the most rancorous Sierra foothills oak woodlands confrontation since Bickford Ranch in 2001.

Clover Valley is a steep-sloped, two-mile long valley located in Rocklin. For a decade developers have proposed a new urban vision for the 622 acres of oak-covered hillsides, with the latest subdivision incarnation proposing the removal of at least 7,400 old growth blue, black, interior live and valley oaks.

Local and regional organizations like Save Clover Valley, Clover Valley Foundation, United Auburn Indian Community, Sierra Club Motherlode Chapter, Placer Land Trust and others, have an alternative vision: Protecting and preserving in perpetuity one of the last spectacular landscapes in western Placer County by conserving scenic values and wildlife habitat in the area between the cities of Loomis, Rocklin, Lincoln and the rest of Placer County.

A recent survey conducted by Sacramento based polling service Capitol Campaigns and partners Viewpoint USA of Madison, Connecticut found that Rocklin voters would support a referendum to stop development of Clover Valley.

About 400 registered Rocklin voters were asked in May if they would support stopping development of the 622 acre project site. Sixty four percent of those polled said they would definitely or probably support the referendum, while 14 percent were undecided.

Capitol Campaigns owner and chief consultant Bryan DeBlonk said those most likely to support a referendum to block development were long time residents of Rocklin, those 65 years of age or older and frequent voters.