Board says home plan needs EIR

The question remains whether a 124-home development first envisioned more than 22 years ago for acreage in Wallace will ever be built.

Calaveras County supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday that a full environmental impact report is needed before they can consider giving their approval, in the form of a zoning amendment and tentative subdivision map, to the Wallace Lake Estates Unit 2 project.

Concerns about an ample supply of water for the project and the fact that the land is home to the endangered California tiger salamander were cited as board members Merita Callaway, Steve Wilensky and Tom Tryon turned down the developer’s request to forego the environmental review.

The two opposing votes came from Supervisor Gary Tofanelli, who represents the Wallace area, and board Chairman Russ Thomas, who publicly apologized to the developer’s representatives for the board’s collective stance.

Thomas referred to “lip service” board members have given to helping boost the area’s economy through new development and the fact that the project had been approved by county supervisors in 1987. But the developer then proposing the project suddenly died and the land changed hands.

Thomas further said objections to the project based on concerns about available water were “a smoke screen and I apologize.”

Tofanelli said he toured the project site Saturday and was impressed with the quality of homes in the Wallace Lake Estates Unit 1.

“I think this development is a good development,” he said of the Unit 2 subdivision proposed. “I’m in favor of this project.”

The current property owner and developer, John Reynen, was not at the meeting. But after the board vote, project representative Les Hock said he could not say whether a costly environmental review on the project would be done.

The board two weeks ago postponed voting on the project to give Tofanelli, a newly elected supervisor, time to study the project. At that meeting, Hock told supervisors their vote for a negative declaration — a statement that further environmental review is unnecessary — would allow Reynen to then work with federal wildlife officials on a plan for protecting the salamanders.

In recommending that a negative declaration would be inadequate for the Wallace project, interim Community Development Director John E. Taylor said the development as proposed would have a significant impact on the salamanders.

He also cited two letters from East Bay Municipal Utilities officials expressing concern about the project’s water supply. EBMUD provides water to much of the Bay Area and has water rights to the Mokeulumne River, which feeds into Camanche Reservoir near Wallace.

Both Tryon and Wilensky listed water as the main reason for their vote.

“This is a human issue,” Wilensky said, noting that he hoped any environmental review done would resolve whether there’s enough water for 124 more homes.

While voting to deny the negative declaration, Callaway said she empathizes with the developer.

“This has been going on too long,” she said of the project. Of her vote, though, she added that “I feel like this is in the best interest of the county at the moment.”

Contact Patty Fuller at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 736-0916.