Dear Editor,
For years the Rocklin City Council has been asked to do the right thing with Clover Valley. We kept hearing proclamations that they hadn’t made up their minds, or, when pressed, that they are locked into that darned Developer Agreement (DA). To add a touch of melodrama and fear to their dilemma, they claim the city will be sued if they violate the DA. With Academy award-worthy performances, they solemnly regret that they have to abide by its terms.
Now, with the DA about to expire (January), giving the city new
bargaining powers as well as a way out of the dilemma they claimed to
be stuck in, unbelievably we notice that an “Amendment to the Developer
Agreement” is being recommended for approval. City officials will
extend the shackles of the very dastardly DA they have lamented has
tied their hands for so long. They plan to sign on to 10 more years of,
“Oh, so sorry, there’s nothing we can do.”
We are going to hear council members pontificate that the amendment to
extend the DA is a good deal, that the city will get an extra million
dollars (a measly one percent on a project claiming to be worth $100
million dollars in profits – even broker fees beat that!) and that the
Auburn tribe will be given just some of the prehistoric sites (which
will destroy the very integrity and connectivity that makes them
eligible for National Registry as an Archaeological District and thus
so valuable to our community’s history). It’s a bad DA being made even
worse!
On one hand the community is being threatened by the developer with a
bogus takings lawsuit if a referendum stops the project. On the other
hand, the developer is saying, “Hey, if you don’t like this, we’ll
abide by the DA and stuff a real nasty development down your throats.”
It’s obvious that letting the DA expire liberates and releases the city
from these threats; to extend the DA shows the Council’s true colors.
The Clover Valley project epitomizes why citizens must resort to the
courts and the ballot box. If the city council refuses to listen to the
will of its citizens and do the right thing, in addition to referendum
and initiative, a recall needs to be put on the table.
Randall Cleveland, Rocklin
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