More fees for El Dorado Hills

El Dorado Hills has been getting financially hammered recently from different sources. The new traffic impact mitigation fee affects all new construction in the area. A builder who decides to build a home in the El Dorado Hills will pay $30,000 to the county for traffic impact fees. That is in addition to all normal building and impact fees that could amount to over $70,000.

Last week, the USGS confirmed a earlier report form the federal EPA had issued two years earlier, that El Dorado Hills is built on the state rock, Serpentine, which contains naturally occurring asbestos, a potentially hazardous fiborous mineral that could cause cancer. The state and county now require extensive dust mitigation studies and procedures anytime soil is disturbed in the area.

Now comes a proposal from the El Dorado Hills Community Service District to increase park fees on new single-family homes in order to build more parks. The proposed fee would amount to $15,404 for each new single family home built in the community. Local residents will not have an opportunity to vote on the proposed increase. The new park fee proposal will be decided upon by the Service District, which proposed the increase. I find it humorous that the state and county officials continue to discuss the lack of affordable housing in El Dorado County. They attempt to put the blame on local builders, yet government and not local builders are the most direct cause of the problem.