02/17/2024
Last night I attended the in-person public scoping meeting for the proposed "Cameron Meadows" residential development project which, if approved, will occupy the land surrounding Rasmussen Pond.
All I can say is that it was a tremendous and inspiring show of unity among the Cameron Park community, and the many public comments (at least over 50) were heartfelt, well-thought, and referenced an array of compelling reasons not to proceed with approval of the project, and to let it remain as open space.
From flood risk to traffic impacts, wildlife corridors, recreation, stress relief / mental health, and preservation of wetlands, the community clearly values this space as part of their life and is willing to fight to keep it that way.
Many people called out the fact that there were zero Supervisors present, including the incumbent for District 2, George Turnboo. They asked why the event wasn't being recorded, and why their elected officials apparently did not care enough to participate and hear their pleas.
At the tail end of the public comment period, when it felt like nearly everyone had spoken their piece, I introduced myself and echoed a few of the points made by others. Specifically, that there are 17,000 parcels ready to develop in our county which require no subdivisions, bulldozing of wetlands, nor environmental impact reports. Yet these are not as profitable to large corporate developers and thus they are not where new homes are being built.
We have a broken system in this county, which is geared to favor those developers with deep pockets and political resources to steamroll our project review and approval process. Meanwhile the average single family homebuilder faces tens of thousands of dollars just for traffic impact fees, and an unrelenting nightmare in getting their permit approved. The result is the housing crisis we currently face, and the devouring of our beautiful and sacred open spaces as a desperate attempt to address the housing issue.
Yet this is just the surface problem. The deeper issue is the broken county permitting system, as I have stated in the platform of my campaign. Our aging and reactionary Board does not have the energy, willpower, experience, or intelligence to tackle the underlying issue and strike the root of the housing problem.
In the interest of maintaining neutrality and not being forced to recuse as Supervisor come January 2025, I will not take an official stance on the "Cameron Meadows" development project. However, I will say that I think it is sad we have come to the point where we are considering projects such as this when an eminently better solution is right at our fingertips.
As your representative for District 2 communities, my primary mission will be to fix the root causes of our housing crisis, and make it so simple for individual land and homeowners to build new dwellings on small parcels, that IF we decide to move forward with a large development, it will be on OUR TERMS -- not the developers', and not the State's.
We don't have to keep doing the same things we have done in the past and retain our failed leadership. We can bring energy and vitality to our county government so that IT SERVES US, not the other way around. I am ready to serve you in that capacity, as the only candidate who has managed multimillion-dollar construction projects and understands the nuance of land use, building code, and local ordinance.
If you are ready to chart a new course and protect the beautiful open spaces we hold dear, I ask for your support by voting McCarty for District 2 Supervisor on March 5th, 2024.
Let's go.
www.McCarty4Supervisor.com
🌱🇺🇸🌄
