Why is this influential Sacramento developer pushing for sprawl south of Highway 50? | Opinion

At public meetings on Tuesday, the Sacramento region’s most influential developer will try to persuade elected officials to support a dramatic southern expansion of El Dorado Hills and the city of Folsom that poses far more questions than answers.

Angelo Tsakopoulos already has an ownership interest in thousands of acres of adjacent ranch land. The 87-year-old father of California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis is pushing for a 2,800-acre, 8,000-home complex that is not in any existing government-approved growth plan and is beyond Sacramento County’s urban services boundary.

Projects like this — far from established job centers — can lead to more driving, causing traffic congestion. The result could be increased air pollution that could threaten regional climate change goals.

Saying yes to Tsakopoulos could upend years of planning in Sacramento County. It could also create a future Folsom south of Highway 50 many times larger than what is currently under development in the 3,500-acre Folsom Ranch.

How? According to the Sacramento Valley Conservancy, which is seeking to preserve open space in the east county, Tsakopoulos and his family have an ownership interest in 9,500 acres in the area.

Tsakopoulos told a member of The Bee Editorial Board he was against formally preserving any of his land in the area as open space.

Where would the growth that Tsakopoulos envisions eventually lead?

“I see this as a march toward Rancho Murieta and Elk Grove,” said Sierra Club activist and Folsom resident Barbara Leary.

This land is not within Folsom city limits. It isn’t even within the city’s “sphere of influence.”

Instead, this land is currently under the jurisdiction of Sacramento County. It is a series of zigs and zags on a map that follows parcel ownership, not sound planning. This proposal would create a jagged finger of land for urbanization south of today’s Folsom, making it challenging to provide municipal services.

Sacramento County has a glut of developments already approved or in planning that could take half a century for the real estate market to absorb. According to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, an estimated 400,000 housing units in the six-county region have yet to be built. SACOG plans for only one in eight to be built between now and 2035.

These are key questions for the Folsom City Council and the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. Both bodies have scheduled briefings on the proposal on Tuesday, with Tsakopoulos and his AKT Development Co. hoping that Folsom, in particular, shows interest in launching a lengthy process to annex his land. It will take an engaged public to ensure that both governing bodies put the brakes on an incomplete proposal that has dangerous sprawl-inducing potential.

The UC Davis role

Tsakopoulos and his associates want to focus public attention on an intriguing part of the proposal, a community created with the help of UC Davis with in-home technologies and neighborhood designs suited to keep aging residents healthy and happy in their homes.

As for the university’s investment? “As of today, no university resources are committed to this,” said Steve Telliano, the UC Davis Health System associate vice chancellor for strategic communications. If Folsom and El Dorado County officials reject the proposal, “that’s certainly the choice of the jurisdiction, and we respect that,” he said.

The University of California’s unusual role in this project merits further exploration. Tsakopoulos proposes to provide 200 acres of the development to UC Davis. He essentially would have no sales pitch without the university.

The type of aging community that backers have in mind is novel. However, the land set aside for this senior residency comprises only about 11% of the project’s land, according to a Folsom staff report. And location matters — a lot. Why has the university chosen to associate its name with a growth project that’s blatantly inconsistent with existing local plans?

Telliano said the health system and the developer are in a contract to pay UC Davis up to $285,000 for preliminary consultations. UC Davis could get additional revenue under a future contract to advance designs for aging-in-home neighborhoods.

Water

On paper, there appear to be sufficient water rights in El Dorado County (its El Dorado Irrigation District would need to approve expansion). Water is a big question mark in Sacramento County, where the project has no identified water supply.

According to the conceptual proposal on the city of Folsom’s website, “the project proponent will work closely with the City to provide water for its portion of the Plan Area.” Water demands “will have no adverse impact on the city’s existing surface water rights.”

It is not Folsom’s job to find Tsakopoulos water. And he must find a new supply from somewhere.

The public’s reaction

If Folsom ever wanted to expand southward, “it should not be developer-led,” said Robert Burness, a retired Sacramento County planner and project opponent. “This kind of thing demands a relook at the city’s general plan.”

There is no discernible clamor in Folsom to grow and grow and grow. If anything, it’s precisely the opposite. Folsom took it to the voters to create Folsom Ranch south of Highway 50. Any further expansion should be a public decision as well.

At this point, there is nothing for El Dorado County Supervisors or Folsom City Council members to do. This project first needs a commitment from the UC system detailing how it would fund and occupy its 200 acres. The Folsom portion needs a water supply.

Reacting prematurely to one developer’s conceptual proposal, even one as influential as Tsakopoulos, is not the way for a city like Folsom or a county like El Dorado to plan for its future when the stakes are so high.

This story was originally published April 22, 2024 at 5:00 AM.