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Subdivision goes before supervisors Monday

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, February 25, 2010, 1:25 PM)

A special meeting before the Madera County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9 a.m., Monday, March 1, at the county government center in Madera to consider the approval of the 315-lot Sierra Meadows Estates Subdivision.

The Madera County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the project at a Nov. 17 public hearing in Coarsegold.

Roger Hill, president of Sierra Meadows Homes, told the planning commission in November that the developer, Robert Bard, owner of Sierra Meadows Golf Course, has been working on the project for seven years.

Two major concerns that some Ahwahnee citizens have spoken out about are the availability of water and increased traffic that will eventually travel on Road 621.

The developer has water rights and will provide diversions from Miami Creek for water required for the development. Warren Felger, attorney for Bard, told the commission they have a permit for 62-acre-feet, or 20 million gallon, of water per year from Miami Creek and have pending permits for additional water.

At total build-out, it is estimated the subdivision would use about 778,000 gallons of water per day, not including the water used for the 18 hole golf course.

The original Environmental Impact Report projected more than seven vehicle trips per day, per household. At build-out that would be about 2,300 trips per day.

Development of the subdivision could take 13 years. The plan calls for developing 20 5-acre lots in phase one and two.