El Dorado Hills
The El Dorado Hills Town Center is a driving force of growth and development in the region .
PHOTO BY HECTOR AMUZCUA concentration of law enforcement actors in problem areas and in the response times ,” says Schorle . “ It ’ s just a whole different operation between a city police department and a county sheriff ’ s department .”
There are plenty of other benefits as well . Doug Wiele , president of the development company Foothill Partners , points to neighboring Folsom , which has been a city for nearly 75 years .
“ As Folsom is incorporated , it has local governance , it has local planning , it has local culture , and I ’ m somewhat jealous of that ,” says Wiele . “ I think El Dorado Hills would be a better place if it had its own local governance .”
And to Wiele , El Dorado Hills would have a stronger identity as a city . “ It ’ s a localized sense of place that comes with local governance ,” he says .
Retired Beverly Hills city manager and El Dorado Hills resident Rod Wood believes in local governance too . “ I strongly believe that when a community reaches a certain size , they should have the ability to control their destiny ,” says Wood .
But there ’ s a lot of work that will need to occur over the next few years for cityhood to happen .
The road ahead
Ferry would like to put a measure on the November 2022 ballot . To do this , the El Dorado Hills Citizens for Cityhood must first clear a series of hurdles , he says .
First , the El Dorado Hills Community Services District will order an initial feasibility analysis , which will cost the CSD $ 40,000 and could take about 90 days to complete . Any group of citizens willing to pay the $ 40,000 can order the initial feasibility study , says Ferry . The CSD decided to lead that charge after an impressive presentation from Ferry ’ s group at the beginning of 2020 that showed the benefits for El Dorado Hills residents , including members of the CSD .
82 comstocksmag . com | November 2020