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Coldstream looks to the Future

Greyson Howard
Sierra Sun
Submitted IllustrationThis artists rendering shows the commerical core of the Coldstream planned community planned for between Deerfield Drive and Donner Lake.
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Set to the east of Donner Lake at the mouth of Coldstream Canyon, Planned Community One could re-invent one of Truckee’s old mining sites.

Once an aggregate mine used to help build Interstate 80, the 178-acre project could include 345 residential units, including 45 affordable, and up to 70,000 square feet of commercial space.

Truckee Town Council sent the project out to bid for environmental review, which will kick off the next phase of public input.



Part of the environmental review process, which could take seven months to a year, will be to look at connecting Deerfield Drive, said Dale Creighton with SCO Planning and Engineering.

“Our plan calls for what we believe is consistent with the town’s general plan,” Creighton said. “It would design Deerfield as a local road but gated for emergency access only in the near-term until demand dictates it should be open.”



Public opinions range from Deerfield residents concerned about additional traffic to others who feel it would provide necessary relief to Donner Pass Road, said Jenna Endres, associate planner for the town.

“The [environmental review] will look at the project with Deerfield Drive connected, with a gate for emergency access, creating a road connection back to the main road [Coldstream Road], or reducing project density so there aren’t as many car trips,” Endres said.

Once a contract is set for the environmental review, Endres said a public scoping period, where residents can suggest what the review should study, could begin sometime in December.

Creighton said if everything goes smoothly, the project could break group in 2010, but stressed that this is a long-term plan to be built over many years.

Along with the residential and commercial components, Creighton said the project would include 110 acres of open space and a trail network.

The Mountain Area Preservation Foundation has suggested a transfer fee, where a portion of the sales revenue within the project go back to restoration work in Coldstream Canyon, said the foundation’s John Eaton.

“They are at severe risk of getting washed out, and they are taking sensible steps within the project but if they get a deluge from above (up Coldstream Canyon) they can’t do anything,” Eaton said.

The 1 percent fee would be split up with half going to stream restoration, a quarter to trail building in the canyon, and a quarter to land acquisition, Eaton said.

Similar transfer fees have been set up in Gray’s Crossing, Old Greenwood, and the Martis Valley, where a 1 percent fee is divided between land acquisition, habitat restoration, and community services like affordable housing, Eaton said.


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