Shasta County rejects Beverly Hills developer’s 166-home Tierra Robles project near Redding

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected the Tierra Robles planned development, a 166-lot subdivision east of Redding.

The decision at a special meeting Thursday evening came after more than five hours of testimony from the developer, his team of consultants, and opponents of the project.

No one who lives in the area of the proposed project came forward to endorse it.

Thursday's decision also bucked the recommendation of the county Planning Commission, which in April unanimously voted for the development.

In the end, though, the water situation, fire risk, and traffic concerns, especially in the event of an evacuation due to wildfire, that residents voiced and that has made the project a controversial one, convinced supervisors to vote no.

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“It makes it difficult to approve a project like this due to the current water crisis we are in and the uncertainty of what’s going to happen,” Supervisor Patrick Jones said.

“As a representative of the people we need to listen to the people, and to me it’s pretty clear this project is not wanted in this area,” he added.

Developer Shasta Red LLC of Beverly Hills wanted to build the homes on rolling hills west of Deschutes Road, south and east of Old Alturas Road and north of Boyle Road in the Palo Cedro area.

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Supervisor Mary Rickert, whose district encompasses the property where the project was planned, said the subdivision was not compatible with the Palo Cedro area.

“This is a district I represent. … I support their opposition to this project,” Rickert said.

Opponents urged supervisors to reject the project, saying they believe it will cause urban sprawl, stress an already over-taxed water supply in the area and in the event of wildfire, put neighbors' lives in danger due to poorly planned fire evacuation routes.

"If local governments make the right choices, land use planning programs, communities will be less likely to suffer severe losses (from wildfires), said Bob Grosch, of the opposition group Boyle Uniting Responsible Neighbors, or BURN.

"Tierra Robles has design flaws that that will kill. They have poor street design, poor traffic design. They isolate themselves from the surrounding area and they lack fire breaks and defensible space," Grosch added.

In his presentation, county Resource Management Director Paul Hellman talked about the contention the project would create urban sprawl and also concerns about the drought.

"Categorizing a development with a density of one acre per 4.3 acres as urban sprawl is not accurate in my view," Hellman said.

Hellman said many of the public concerns his department received revolved around the drought and that the project should not be approved at this time.

"I do not believe that denying planning entitlements such as this is the appropriate response in a drought. The cities and water agencies throughout Shasta County, including Bella Vista Water District, continue to approve new water connections in spite of the drought, which in turn allows cities and the county to issue building permits," he said. "There is currently no moratorium against developing in any portion of Shasta County as the result of the drought."

Robert Geringer of Shasta Red told supervisors that his project will take 10 to 15 years to build out. Geringer has owned the property since 2005.

“We are concerned about sustainability, to enhance the community around us. … We view nature as a positive. Our goal is to create a rural development that enhances the local beauty,” Geringer said.

Geringer attempted to address what he called misconceptions about this project, including that his subdivision would present a fire hazard. Instead, he said, Tierra Robles would turn what it is now unmanaged acreage into a planned development with homes built of fire-resistant materials.

“We have a strict maintenance provision that requires grass to be cut, the trees to be limbed,” Geringer said.

One issue opponents hammered was the assertion in the EIR that the Clear Creek Community Service District could supply water via a deal to Bella Vista Water District during drought years. Bella Vista would serve Tierra Robles.

If approved, the project could not have move forward without a water agreement with Bella Vista, which Shasta Red had yet to sign.

Irwin Fust, who sits on the Clear Creek board, threw cold water on that idea that his district would work out a transfer deal with Bella Vista.

“The inference about Clear Creek Community Service District providing 100-acre feet of water is incorrect. It will not happen,” Fust said.

While Bella Vista Water District General Manager David Coxey wasn’t supporting or opposing the project, he questioned the environmental impact report.

“The EIR does not identify likely sources for a water supply that is needed for the project on a multi-year basis and does not identify the environmental impacts associated with obtaining or developing water supplies,” were among the comments Coxey displayed on a screen during his presentation.

Redding attorney Jeff Swanson, who was representing Shasta Red and spoke on the  topic of water, told the board that they have been transparent.

"There hasn’t been any deception here. I certainly haven’t been deceiving you. Your own consultant Mr. (Craig) Young hasn't been deceiving you when we both tell you that there is water out there for transfers. It happens up and down California, and it’s either a surface water transfer from a senior water right’s holder, it’s groundwater pumping or it’s groundwater substitution,” Swanson said.

Swanson said he understands that this year is a bad one for water allocations and next year could be more of the same.

“We’re not trying to build houses this year, we’re not trying to build houses next year, we’re not trying houses until we can find that water that I’m telling you and that your consultant has told you can be brought to the table,” he said.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County supervisors reject 166-home project east of Redding