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Friends of Placer County Communities, Inc., the grass roots organization that was a major force in stopping Wal-Mart from building a megastore in North Auburn and had a hand in halting or modifying several other projects, is ceasing operation. Dale Smith, FPCC’s vice president and leading spokesman since 1992, said the closing papers were filed with the state after the executive board voted to disband the organization on December 14. Smith declared: “I believe the FPCC was the right instrument at the right time to help preserve some of the wonderful environment in Placer County and our rural way of life. ‘Some’ is surely the operative word because the urban growth machine (UGM) has already destroyed much of the county.” Smith’s lengthy statement included a gloomy prediction: "For most of the years of the FPCC, Placer has been one of the fastest growing counties in California and the results are seen when driving up I-80 from Sacramento through Roseville and Rocklin. The UGM will march that pernicious development up the hill and kill our beloved Auburn....There are those who believe that sprawl is inevitable, that it is the price of progress. It is not inevitable. It is what greedy developers want as they destroy the land to build and then move on to greener pastures to repeat the rape of the environment.” In his statement Smith paid special tribute to three women who led the No Wal-Mart Committee: the late Esther Stanton, Gloria Cavanee and Janeene Coleman, a former member of the Auburn City Council. He also singled out Ralph Roper for his work as the FPCC’s chairman. Smith also sent a letter to the county supervisors re-emphasizing FPCC’s concerns over the fire flow water situation in North Auburn and especially at the Home Depot megastore the county is allowing to be erected on county-owned property at DeWitt Center. Smith stated, in part: “Recently, the FPCC has learned that the combined resources of the Placer County Water Agency and Nevada Irrigation District cannot meet in any way the fire flow water demands of the Home Depot at DeWitt...We know for a fact that there is not sufficient fire flow water for the Plaza project on Highway 49 and Luther Road.”
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