Vote 'NO' on Gold Rush - Get Involved

The Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort consists of 1,334 residential homes, 300 vacation homes, a 60-room hotel, golf course, and 60 second-unit cottages on approximately 945 acres (which is comprised of the Noble Ranch and portions of the Allen Ranch) situated at the North West corner of Hwy 88 and Lower Ridge Road. It runs from just west of the bowling alley all the way to Hwy 88. The project site is approximately 2 ½ miles from downtown Sutter Creek. Access to the project will be through the Gold Rush Ranch Parkway that will enter the site from SR 104 directly across Ampine Road, a two-lane collector road connecting the Gold Rush Ranch Parkway to SR 104 directly across from Business Drive, and from an extension of Valley View Way. For more details on the project, see our Project Page.

2. Who are the developers of Gold Rush?

The two principal developers are from El Dorado and Marin Counties. These out-of-town developers have no historical ties to our community. Read more about the developers.

3. Does Sutter Creek need a new wastewater treatment plant? Why should we care since the developer is building the plant -- isn’t that a good deal?

No. There are other options for Sutter Creek’s wastewater disposal that have not been fully investigated. George Christner, 36-year Sutter Creek employee and retired Public Works Superintendent states "The Sutter Creek Sewer Treatment Plant is not held together with duct tape and baling wire as some have suggested. The only reason to upgrade and/or expand the plant is to accommodate major housing developments such as Gold Rush. Without massive growth, the plant has a useful lifespan of another 15 to 20 years."

Sewer plants are expensive to operate and maintain, in part because they use a lot of power. Gold Rush isn’t taking on the cost of operating and maintaining the plant. Those costs will be passed on to you, the ratepayers. A tertiary plant will be more expensive to operate than the secondary plant we have now.

4. What about the traffic? Won’t the developer pay for the road improvements? I’ve heard that there will be new signals and roads built by the developer.

Gold Rush will pay for some, but not all, of the its traffic impacts. From the July 2009 Gold Rush Traffic Analysis, the estimated costs for the feasible road improvements that the Gold Rush project will impact come to approximately $45 million. However, Gold Rush, if paying “Fair Share”, will only contribute just a little over $2.8 million. This means that the roads won’t be improved, despite the increased numbers of cars on the roads.

5. Is CalTrans opposed to Gold Rush?

Yes, CalTrans found the traffic analysis in the Environmental Impact Report to be flawed. They requested the traffic analysis be redone to include corrected information; this was not done. CalTrans is on record stating that they will deny certain easements requested by Gold Rush.

6. I’ve heard that Gold Rush will help Sutter Creek’s downtown businesses.

Gold Rush will not benefit Sutter Creek’s downtown businesses any more than Greenhorn Creek has helped Angels Camp or Castle Oaks has helped Ione. Look at Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Angels Camp and Elk Grove as examples -- the downtowns of these towns are suffering the same as ours, the same as most towns and cities across the United States. Most of Gold Rush's residents will commute to work out of the county and spend their money elsewhere.

Read a cautionary tale from Elk Grove resident Sarah Johnson

7. I’ve heard that Gold Rush will be an economic benefit. Is this true?

Absolutely not. Housing developments historically do not generate enough tax revenue to pay for the needed government-supplied support services. Gold Rush will be an economic drain to Sutter Creek’s budget and every resident of Sutter Creek will feel it. Without a substantial Mello Roos tax placed on each new home, Gold Rush will lead to a 1.4 million dollar annual expense against the City's general fund (which is funded by Sutter Creek's taxpayers). Remember also that Mello Roos taxes are subject to Prop 218 and can be protested by homeowners.

Also, Amador has a glut of houses that haven’t been selling or are at much reduced value. The addition of 1,334 houses will reduce the value of our existing housing. It's a simple case of supply and demand.

8. Won’t the golf course bring in revenue to the City of Sutter Creek?

Golf courses all over the country are going bankrupt and closing down. Amador County already has two struggling golf courses. We don't need a third!

9. I’ve heard that Gold Rush is going to provide so much for the community, including a new school and a paid Fire Department.

Gold Rush will donate the land needed for a school, however, they will not be providing any extra money to help pay for construction of a new school. The school required to house the extra students will have to be paid for by Amador’s current residents.

The Gold Rush developers have promised a site for the fire station, but no funds to actually build the facility or to pay fire staff. The future residents of Gold Rush will pay their state and county mandated impact fees, just like any other development in Amador County has to. Gold Rush's claim that they will bring a new paid Fire Department to Sutter Creek is FALSE; Measure M funds will allow Sutter Creek to start hiring firefighters.

10. This project is not near historic Sutter Creek and so won’t impact the main part of town. I’ll never hear it or see it.

Traffic bringing children from Gold Rush to the schools on Spanish Street will certainly be seen and heard in historic Sutter Creek. Also, if Gold Rush is built, the property between Gold Rush and downtown Sutter Creek will be filled in and fully developed. That is what has happened in other communities and Sutter Creek will follow the same pattern.

Read a cautionary tale from Sheldon resident Bill Myers about the devastating impacts of Elk Grove's sprawl on his rural, small-town community.

11. Doesn’t this project preserve oak trees?

The Sutter Creek Planning Commission did a very good job of rejecting the Gold Rush proposal to perform mass grading and tree removal. However, thousands of oaks will still be removed to build this project.

12. How will Gold Rush impact my quality of life?

Gold Rush will cause congested roadways, crowded schools, additional water conservation, more noise and light in the night sky, and a loss of our rural small-town quaintness. This will diminish the quality of life for every Sutter Creek resident and residents of Amador County. Do we want to be the next Elk Grove?

13. Is Gold Rush an example of “smart growth”?

Absolutely not, Gold Rush is an outdated example of urban sprawl. Smart Growth emphasizes infill projects close to transportation routes and employment opportunities.

14. What happens if the developer goes bankrupt?

Local residents will be left with an enormous eyesore and possible financial obligations incurred by the City of Sutter Creek. This is a very big risk in light of the economy. See lessons we can learn from neighboring communities who grew too quickly.

15. Did the developer consider a smaller development?

No, the developer never truly considered a smaller development. Residents of Sutter Creek and members of the City Council made numerous requests to do so. Those requests were refused. June 8th is your chance to vote to make the Council consider a smaller project. Vote NO on Measure N to reject the current project plan and force the City to work on a project that is more in line with our rural community.

16. Where does the water come from to irrigate the golf course?

The Gold Rush developers will tell you the golf course will solve Sutter Creek’s looming wastewater problems. In fact, it worsens them because putting wastewater on a golf course requires a special kind of treatment (Title 22 Tertiary treatment) that Sutter Creek does not currently have. Besides building an expensive new treatment plant (and passing those costs on to the ratepayers), Gold Rush will also have to have increased storage capacity to capture the wastewater in the winter when they don’t need it, and save it for use in the summer. The ARSA Master Plan has identified Henderson Reservoir as the preferred site for creating the additional storage (300 acre feet). To do this, it will have to be rebuilt to provide the additional capacity. Gold Rush will pay for this, however, there has not yet been an environmental impact study on this and so it has not yet been confirmed that this is a feasible plan and what mitigations will be required.

Even with a storage pond, the golf course will require additional water in the hot summer months. Gold Rush will construct a storage system on their property to hold golf course irrigation water. The EIR states that Gold Rush will require raw water (that can be treated to be potable) from the Amador Water Agency to irrigate the golf course. The Amador Water Agency has said that they will not allow this raw water to be used on a golf course. So, as with many other aspects of this project, the details have not been worked out, and the City Council approved the project before having a clear picture of the sewer plans.

17. Won’t this project provide hundreds of jobs?

The construction jobs are temporary and unsustainable. The developers of Gold Rush will be selling parts, if not all, of this project to large mass home builders such as Kaufman and Broad, who will bring in their own workers.

The jobs associated with the golf course, such as pro shop, golf pros, and golf club, are tenuous since the golf course may not be able to sustain itself. After construction, most jobs created will be low paying service area jobs. The project requires rezoning of industrial land to residential. Industrial projects create better paying jobs.

18. The proximity of Gold Rush will provide easy access to their job sites to the City Core.

There are few, if any, jobs anywhere in Amador County, let alone downtown Sutter Creek, that pay wages high enough to support a home in Gold Rush. The residents of Gold Rush will most likely be commuters to Stockton and Sacramento. This statement has been made verbally by the Project proponents.

19. Are the "No on Gold Rush" people anti-growth? Why should I believe them?

The "No on Gold Rush" people are for true smart-growth; growth that brings long-term jobs without ruining our quality of life. The historical growth rate of Sutter Creek is less than 2% annually. Gold Rush is projected to build out at greater than 10% annually.

Preserve Historical Sutter Creek is a group of concerned local citizens who are worried about their quality of life. We have no financial interest concerning Gold Rush. The proponents of Gold Rush are predominantly people who believe they would benefit financially if Gold Rush were built.

20. What can I do? How do we stop Gold Rush?

We stop Gold Rush by voting NO on Measure N on Tuesday, June 8th. Because so many Sutter Creek residents signed the referendum petition, the citizens now get to vote directly on the project.

If Gold Rush is voted down by the citizens of Sutter Creek, there will be a one-year timeout phase where Gold Rush cannot approach the city with substantially the same project. They could reduce the size of the project and reapproach the city.

No Gold Rush

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