FOLSOM, Calif. — Angelo K. Tsakopoulos (AKT) Investments, in partnership with UC Davis Health, brought to Folsom and El Dorado County last month its pitch for a 2,800-acre and 8,000-housing unit all-ages community emphasizing service to elderly adults and people with disabilities, earning support and concern from local government.
Tsakopoulos, a Sacramento-based real estate developer and California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’ father, helped present the “Community for Health and Independence” to begin what developers hope is a multi-year process of study, public hearings and community workshops.
ABC10 previously conducted a full report on the project’s placement and features, which can be found HERE.
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), the region’s six-county metropolitan planning organization, sent a letter on April 23 to both the Folsom City Council and El Dorado County Board of Supervisors outlining its questions and concerns about the proposed development project.
SACOG said its primary responsibility is to establish spending priorities for the region with regard to land use, air quality and transportation needs and keep them in a central master document.
“The (document) must be based on an estimated land use pattern to be built over the 20+ year planning period, conform with federal air quality regulations, and is subject to California’s climate change law and greenhouse gas reduction requirements,” SACOG wrote in the letter.
Service to elderly adults, people with disabilities
Project developers made a compelling case about creating an elderly community, which is something the SACOG region needs based on demographic trends, the council said.
“The current proposal appears to only target less than (20%) of the total proposed housing units for seniors and aging populations,” SACOG said. “It is unclear from the information provided how this master-planned community will develop and build out to meet the guiding principles of the proposal.”
Chad Roberts, who presented a portion of the project on April 23 to Folsom and El Dorado County, said 20% of units are currently dedicated to the elderly, but there aren’t any units allotted for individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities at this point in the planning process.
Growth in project area is unaccounted for
SACOG’s master document was updated in 2012, 2016 and 2020 to better reflect the slowing growth rate in the Sacramento region. The SACOG region is one of the fastest growing in the state, but it has slowed since the rapid growth it experienced in the late 1900s and early 2000s, according to the council.
None of the three document updates included growth in Tsakopoulos’ proposed plan area.
“The SACOG region already has significant planned capacity in developing communities, without yet accounting for this proposed development,” the council said. “In fact, the sum of all locally planned housing growth in developing communities greatly outnumbers SACOG's entire regional housing demand projection for 2050.”
There are over 400,000 housing units currently planned at the local level compared to 278,000 housing units projected within the SACOG region between 2020 and 2050, the council said.
Greenhouse gas emission concerns
Per state law, any master plan SACOG develops must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing the miles traveled by passenger vehicles, according to the council.
Miles traveled can be reduced by building housing within or adjacent to existing job centers and essential destinations, the council said. They can also be reduced by keeping these locations within a few short blocks.
“...Based on the location of this project relative to the existing urban footprint, its proximity to existing job and destination centers, and our analysis of travel patterns for existing development to its east and north, we believe that this project would likely produce higher than regional average (vehicle miles traveled) and (greenhouse gas emissions),” SACOG said.
SACOG said it has not analyzed the project as part of the master document and does not have definitive results on estimated miles traveled or greenhouse gas emissions within its proposed area.
The regional council also expressed concern about UC Davis Health’s involvement in the project.
“...There have been several developing communities in the SACOG region that were approved with a university component but have struggled to attract commitments from a university partner and, as a result, have stalled,” SACOG said.
The loss of university features would likely increase patron and resident commutes, the council said.
What developers say
Bill Romanelli is a spokesman for the Community for Health and Independence project. He said Tuesday the questions and concerns SACOG brought forth are necessary at this stage in the process.
“The kinds of questions that have been raised are exactly the kinds of questions that need to be explored in a study process that is likely to go on for several years,” Romanelli told ABC10. “At this stage it's more about understanding what the questions are so they can be considered as studies are designed.”
For more California coverage, stream ABC10+ on your TV for free:
► Roku - click here
► Amazon Fire - click here
► Apple TV - click here
WATCH MORE: California immigrant advocacy groups are speaking out against proposed budget cuts to services
