This communication of the date change follows an email I sent to the USACE over the weekend.  For interested parties, the email follows: 

To whom it may concern,

Please read the following URL, http://www.ranchomurieta.com/node/4570, whereby a Rancho Murieta activist that has been opposing development is stating that there is a Public Meeting scheduled to be facilitated by your office on Tuesday April 8th.  I would like a copy of the Public Notice for this meeting. I can't find it anywhere.

I have visited your website and spoken to personnel in your operations and public affairs divisions.  No one appears to know about this meeting, nor can they provide me with the notice.  It is not posted in your listings of Public Notices.  

Please help me understand if you are conducting this meeting under the Pre-Application Consultation or the Project Manager System?  Since the Corps strongly supports "joint permit processing procedures (e.g. joint public notices and hearings)", why wasn't the Corps involved with the Sacramento County Public Hearings that occurred throughout most of 2007?

There are many residents in Rancho Murieta that would like to move forward and complete the "planned" development of the Rancho Murieta Planned Unit Development (RMPUD).  We are all concerned about holding the developer(s) accountable to comply with Federal, State and County laws, rules and regulations.   However, we have had numerous public hearings on these latest two proposed developments and need to move on.  This is a very divisive issue in our community.  We are facing huge increases in our sewer and water fees thru stranded costs the Community Services District has incurred.  Our property values are negatively affected by this ongoing battle and debate.  This is a planned Unit Development that was approved long ago, with several reviews and approvals over the last 30+ years. 

I honestly can not understand your concern.  One Project is a considerable distance from the Consumnes River and any potential silt or run off has to cross existing developed properties before it can reach the river.  The other development is closer, but is buffered by the Rancho Murieta Country Club.  The RMCC has had several meetings with the developer to mitigate drainage issues.  The Community endured many meetings with the Sacramento County officials, who reviewed these two projects to the teeth.  The developers have made concessions and in my opinion "bent over backwards" to meet the concerned citizens and Sacramento County government requirements.  Lastly, we just completed building a bridge that directly impacted the Consumnes River, which I believe your agency wisely permitted.  Now, after all we have been thru, your agency is going to hold a public hearing/meeting????? 

Your response with a copy of the notice is appreciated.

Michael F. Burnett

Public Hearing Date:
I just received an email from the regulatory branch of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Due to scheduling difficulties between developers, citizens and other interested environmental participants, the date for the US Corps public meeting has switched three times. Originally scheduled for April 8th, tentatively rescheduled for April 17th , it has, finally, been re-approved for Tuesday, April 22nd at 7 PM.

Again, thank you to the country club for graciously accommodating this fluctuating schedule. The official announcement should be posted, by the Corps, on their website and in appropriate public buildings within 2 to 3 business days.

The topic of the Public Meeting is impacts of cumulative development to Waters of the United States and the Cosumnes River Watershed.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to call me at 0832, or on my cell at 955 2027. You may also email me at PatCan85@aol.com Thank you
Candy Chand

If this tactic doesnt work is the USAECOE to blame as well as the developers and the county? 

Michael, I just have to laugh at your comment:

"Our property values are negatively affected by this ongoing battle and debate. "

Our housing prices have nothing to do with the hold on the planned development. If you haven't noticed, the whole country is in a slump!

Beth,

You need to get out of the compound once in a while.  RM housing prices track below Elk Grove housing prices. 

PBS Channel 6 airs a repeat special documentary on the Cosumnes River ecosystem Tuesday March 18 at 2 p.m, titled "Cosumnes: a river's song". This hour-long presentation reviews the history of the entire Cosumnes watershed from the Sierra foothills to the Delta, and how early mining, then logging, and now urban development along the river are devastating  the ground water table and the entire ecosystem as well as availability of future water. It identifies urban development as the greatest threat to that system, and what needs to be done to reverse that destruction. The Cosumnes as a key U.S waterway, arguably into the world's most productive agricultural region as stated in the broadcast, gives the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers responsibility for the Cosumnes River's protection. And the upcoming meeting/hearing holds considerable value input to their decisions on how to protect that waterway. Certainly developer aficionados will downplay USACE significance on Murieta development, as expected. RMDCCC all along has simply asked for responsible, controlled development, and comprehensive, cumulative review. To date, Murieta developers have demonstrated no responsibility in their plans, and Sacramento County has demonstrated no control in their approval of such plans in land-use decisions. Unlike the County, USACE will not be influenced by special interests. The PBS Broadcast is a good primer to USACE considerations.

T. Hanson 

Very interesting story.  Does anyone really believe that the Corps is immune from being influenced behind the scenes by someone not even on the radar screen.  I hear the train coming, can you?

In the Bee this morning in the Biz section Home Front:

http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/784578.html

Neighborhood watchHomeowners associations get a lot of grief for board squabbles and telling people what color they can paint their front doors. But there's one huge advantage in times when foreclosures bring empty houses and brown lawns to many neighborhoods.

A homeowners association can make foreclosures almost invisible. Consider the 3,400- home Serrano neighborhood of El Dorado Hills. With 45 vacant properties, it has its share of people losing homes. But the Serrano El Dorado Owners' Association has a special program for what happens after the bank takes possession.

"We make sure those homes are watched over and maintained so they don't become a problem," said John Bowman, general manager of the HOA. "If you drive through Serrano, you shouldn't know if there is a house that is unoccupied at the time."Association crews keep up lawns and landscaping, and use water trucks if the bank shuts down the plumbing. Security workers have lists of vacant homes and routinely check on them. Newspapers and mailers aren't allowed to pile up as they often do at empty houses in other neighborhoods.

Apparently, that's not all the association does well with its $8 million annual budget and 70 employees. Recently, Serrano El Dorado was named 2007 association of the year for Northern California. That territory includes 200 planned communities between Sacramento and Oregon. Serrano sold its first homes in 1995.

Here’s a question for you old timers. “What was the name of the General Manager we ran off in the early 90’s?”