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171
C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
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Volume 171 • Issue 50 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Revised Central EDH plan is more of the same ire as it hinges on a county General Plan amendment to allow zoning to be changed from recreational facilitieshigh intensity to medium and high density residential for the now defunct executive golf course at the El Dorado Hills Boulevard and Serrano Parkway intersection. In 2015 more than 91% of El Dorado Hills voters advised against the zoning change. In January 2020 almost 500 residents turned out to protest the project at a public hearing held at District Church. The Planning Commission’s final recommendation was then delayed due to
n Road alignment
only change despite residents’ concerns Sel Richard Staff writer
The El Dorado County Planning Commission on April 28 will hear Parker Development’s proposal for 1,000 homes along El Dorado Hills Boulevard. The Central El Dorado Hills Specific Plan has been in the works for nearly a decade, sparking much community
coronavirus-induced shelterin-place orders as well as consideration of an updated traffic evaluation metric, VMT or Vehicle Miles Traveled. Only Planning Commission Chair Jon Vegna was present for the four previous hearings. As the remaining commissioners are new to the project, the April hearing will be conducted as an informational orientation. The commission currently plans to hold deliberations on May 12 during which a final recommendation is anticipated to be forwarded to the county board of supervisors. The public is
welcome to attend both meetings, in-person or virtually. Parker intends to build over two areas, Pedregal and Serrano Westside, on which lies the old golf course — 237 residential units are specified for the Pedregal area, while Serrano Westside would house 763 units. Density ranges between less than one to more than 20 units per acre, with the highest density slated for the golf course parcel. Eleven acres are set aside for civiclimited commercial use and a 15-acre village park would sit alongside Highway 50. The
plan also calls for a total of 190 acres of open space/parks and 1.5 miles of a Class I bike and pedestrian trail. The latest proposal’s only shift from previous iterations lies in the connection of El Dorado Hills Boulevard to Silva Valley Parkway via Country Club Drive. “We have changed the Country Club Drive alignment to start at Serrano Parkway as opposed to running through the shopping center and connecting that way to El Dorado Hills Boulevard,” revealed Parker n
See EDH plan, page A3
Courtesy photo
Dogs seized on the Goldorado Trail property in El Dorado had their mouths taped shut to keep them from barking.
Mountain Democrat photos by Thomas Frey
Victor Antonio, El Dorado County Child Abuse Prevention Council commissioner and executive director of New Morning Youth and Family Services, talks with attendees of the Children’s Memorial Day ceremony about how everyone can help in the fight to end child abuse.
Message of child abuse prevention flies high
Thomas Frey Staff writer
W
hen El Dorado County Child Abuse Prevention Council coordinator PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
Deanna Santana stepped up to the microphone April 22 at Diamond Springs-El Dorado Fire Protection District Station 49 she was surrounded by more than 70 people who turned out to mark Children’s Memorial Day and spread awareness of child abuse prevention. To her left the station’s lawn was filled with blue pinwheels — the national symbol for child abuse prevention — on which each attendee signed a pledge before sticking them in the ground. “We’re here to honor children in our community, across the state and across the country who have lost their lives to child abuse and neglect,” Santana said
The Child Abuse Prevention Flag joins Old Glory blowing in the wind above blue pinwheels placed at the fire station in Diamond Springs. of Children’s Memorial Day, which takes place the fourth Friday of April — Child Abuse
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Prevention Month. Santana was joined n
2 women plead guilty in animal cruelty case Margaret Williams El Dorado County Health and Human Services Jennifer Cowles, 48, and her mother Adele Painter, 71, both of El Dorado, have pled guilty to animal cruelty charges in a case where multiple animals were exposed to inhumane Jennifer Cowles conditions and severe neglect. The guilty pleas came April 19 in El Dorado County Superior Court. The animals involved in the case — including multiple dogs whose mouths were duct taped shut to keep them quiet, forcing them to go extended periods of time Adele Painter without water, and at least one horse that was severely malnourished — were removed by El Dorado County Animal Services staff and given shelter and needed medical care. “What these animals endured was horrific,” said Henry Brzezinski, chief of El Dorado County Animal Services. “Thankfully we were able to intervene, provide assistance to them and bring resolution to this case.” Cowles pled guilty to one felony count of animal cruelty and Painter to a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, according to Brzezinski.
See Prevention, page A7
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See animal cruelty, page A6
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