A commercial development including a Home Depot store could provide El Dorado County with an estimated $745,000 a year in sales and property tax revenue. But Cameron Park residents say it would destroy the character of adjoining residential neighborhoods and do little to meet the community's shopping needs.
Representatives of the Cambridge Pavilion project updated the county's Economic Development Advisory Commission on Friday on the proposal for about 33 acres off Country Club Drive.
The meeting also served as a forum for residents who oppose the project.
Kyle Smith, president of Smith & Gabbert Inc., an owner of the property, and Scott Mommer, site development coordinator, said they have filed an application with the county Planning Department but must submit additional studies before the project can proceed through the public review process.
The current proposal calls for 245,786 square feet of commercial space, including a 105,000-square-foot Home Depot store with a 34,000-square-foot garden center.
Mommer said they're in talks with two other major tenants, and the center would include six pads for retail stores or upscale restaurants, fast-food restaurants and a gas station.
The Home Depot design would be similar to the chain's Placerville store, which features heavy truss timber and a gabled roof. "It's pretty much high-end quality materials being utilized," Mommer said.
Area residents said they did not object to a Home Depot but that the site near single-family homes, schools and churches was not appropriate.
Steve Anderly, who said his house would be directly across the street, represented nearby homeowners. He said residents bought their homes in the belief that professional offices would be built on the site.
The commercial project would create traffic, noise and lighting problems, he said. While it might boost county tax revenues, "It will ruin property values and the livability of the neighborhood," Anderly said.
Other residents said the project would do little to improve the county's jobs-housing balance, arguing that retail stores and restaurants would offer mostly low-paying jobs. "They will not provide a living wage in our county," Tracey Fremd said.
She also said, the "big-box" Home Depot store likely would drive small retail operations, such as hardware and appliance stores, out of business.
Residents also cited a Shingle Springs-Cameron Park Chamber of Commerce survey that indicated the community wants department stores and upscale restaurants, not gas stations and fast-food eateries.
Barbara Smiley, a candidate for county supervisor, suggested developers look at Quarry Ponds, a center in Granite Bay featuring upscale retail stores and restaurants. "This would be an ideal place to put something we don't already have," she said of the Cambridge Pavilion site.
Chamber President Judy Mathat said the commercial potential for property along the Highway 50 corridor from Bass Lake Road to the interchange for Red Hawk Casino should be examined to determine the cumulative effects of development, particularly on area roads.
Economic Development Advisory Commission members said they would await updates before deciding whether to endorse the project.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 608-7451.
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