Van Norden EIR

Royal Gorge expansion plans for Van Norden Meadow

What do they say they want to do?

If you are interested in seeing the application Royal Gorge made to the county, check out http://docs.co.nevada.ca.us/dscgi/ds.py/View/Collection-3260 and click on the Royal Gorge Draft EIR, which is a series of largish file with the various chapters of the EIR.

For a map of the project click here.  

What comments did SLPOA submit in response?

The SLPOA response (May 2004) to the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Royal Gorge Lodge and Homesites Project is available for download as an Adobe PDF document.  Click here to download it.  (You will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader - available for free from here if you don't have it. )

That's a big response...what's the short response?

It concerns issues RG failed to properly consider in its Draft EIR.  In sum, they have failed to properly analyze or propose mitigation for the environmental impacts that would be caused by the project, including traffic, noise, damage to wetlands and wildlife, damage to and loss of historical and scenic values, etc.  They have not addressed the availability of sewer capacity at the Donner Summit PUD, an issue that also impact Serene Lakes.  They also have propose re-zoning of the entire Nevada County side of the property and have requested additional "recreation zones" that could serve as locations for future development.  Similarly, they have failed to consider the cumulative effects of further development this might spawn, especially on the Placer side of Van Norden meadow.

SLPOA's involvement is necessary to assure that the County requires RG to comply with CEQA (the laws for environmental protection) by properly studying and proposing mitigation for these environmental impacts.  We are not presently aware of any other environmental group that will bring the required judicial action, if necessary, to make this happen.  Thus, the Board saw these steps as necessary to assure that RG is required to comply with the environmental laws, and to reduce to the greatest extent possible the impacts of this project on Serene lakes property owners.

What's this about a lawyer?

The letter below was sent to current SLPOA members in January 2005.

            The Board of Directors of the Serene Lakes Property Association is providing this update regarding Royal Gorge’s proposed development of a day lodge, ice skating rink and 19 homesites at Van Norden Meadow.   Previous updates have been provided at Serene Lakes Board of Directors meetings, and at our annual property owners meeting held last September.   In addition, the SLPOA newsletter has contained periodic updates regarding this project and efforts by people in our community to become involved in the public review and participation process that is now underway.

            Last March, Nevada County requested public comment on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared by Royal Gorge’s environmental consultant.   In May, with the assistance of many people in our community, SLPOA submitted detailed written comments to the County pointing out numerous negative environmental impacts that had not been addressed adequately in the EIS.   According to the County, responses to those and other written comments will be published with the Final EIS sometime in January 2005.

            Once the final EIS is made available to the public, there will be further opportunities for members to attend meetings and present their views.   If, however, the project is approved by the County without the required consideration and mitigation of environmental issues and impacts, the only recourse to preventing the project from going forward will be to seek independent judicial review of the EIS.   While your Board would prefer to see these issues resolved amicably with our neighbor, efforts to date to reach a mutually acceptable accommodation with Royal Gorge have been largely unsuccessful.

            On January 15, 2005, the SLPOA Board authorized the expenditure of funds necessary to retain legal counsel to represent SLPOA during the upcoming public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors of Nevada County and, if necessary, to file and prosecute a legal action to obtain an independent judicial review of the County’s approval of the project.   SLPOA presently has sufficient funds to undertake these actions without impacting our annual budget or depleting our cash reserves.

            The Board is interested in hearing the views of our members regarding the proposed development at Van Norden Meadow and the action taken by the Board to assure that all applicable environmental laws are being followed.   If you wish to comment, please send an email to SLPOA at slpoaaa@earthlink.net, or a letter to SLPOA, PO Box 669, Soda Springs, CA 95728.

Board of Directors
Serene Lakes Property Owners Association