The Rancho Murieta Association board agrees that establishing a dialogue with developers is "well worth the effort," as President Paul Gumbinger put it at the Jan. 17 RMA meeting.

Director Mike Martel suggested the approach earlier this month, at the board's organizational meeting.

At Tuesday's board meeting, Gumbinger designated Martel to form an ad-hoc committee and chair it after Martel said that was his preference.

Referring to the developers, Martel said, "Have they taken into consideration everybody's point of view? Have they changed their plans? I think it's the time to start talking to everybody and see where everybody's at. And maybe nothing may change. … But I think doing nothing and waiting for the county or the planning commissions and everybody else to make a decision about what's going forward is not the steps that I think (are) appropriate."

Martel said his plan for the committee consisted of "picking some members at large, and they sit down and they rehash some of the concerns of the community and see if we can get some responses to it." He said all the developers' responses should "come back to the board and back to the community."

Last year the board voted not to participate in county-facilitated public meetings with the developers, leaving participation to the Rancho Murieta Development Concerned Citizens Committee, a citizens' group that opposes development plans.

The RMA board met privately with developers Robert J. Cassano and Gerry N. Kamilos from 2000 to 2002 to negotiate, and ultimately sign, a development agreement that sets out terms for the final development of Rancho Murieta North. Over a three-year span, Cassano and Kamilos held about 30 "town hall" meetings with the community to discuss development plans.

Others matters considered by the board at its meeting include: