This new development that might save a dying town, stirs resistance and possible court case.
An excerpt.
Yolo OKs housing on Delta
Clarksburg project could be a test case for protection law.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Working under an intense spotlight of scrutiny by Delta protection advocates, Yolo County supervisors Tuesday approved a development of 162 houses that will more than double the population of Clarksburg.
The Old Sugar Mill project, while relatively small, has attracted statewide attention because of its sensitive location in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
According to the state's Delta Protection Commission, Clarksburg sits squarely inside the primary zone, the heart of the Delta that was made off limits to significant new development by the 1992 Delta Protection Act.
Tucked next to a bend in the Sacramento River, the Sugar Mill development also relies for flood protection on a levee that state officials have identified as vulnerable to failure.
Yolo County supervisors nonetheless voted 4-1 to approve the project, setting up a potential test case before the Delta Protection Commission, should opponents follow through on threats to appeal. Ultimately, the question of whether the development violates the state's management plan for the Delta could be decided in court.
Linda Fiack, executive director of the Delta Protection Commission, said the Sugar Mill project represents the first sizeable incursion of new houses into the primary zone.
"It certainly will raise questions," she said Tuesday.
Lawyers working for the county maintain the project isn't within the primary zone because the Delta Protection Act intended to exempt existing urban areas from its restrictions.
Trent Orr, a lawyer for the National Resources Defense Council, on Tuesday called the county's position "a major misinterpretation" of state law.
"This project is clearly in the primary zone of the Delta," he said.
Yolo County supervisors found themselves in the uncomfortable position Tuesday of voting against the environmental advocates with whom they have often sided. They said their decision to do so was based on the support for the project among the old-time families of Clarksburg, who worry their tiny town is dying.
