El Dorado Hills
FOR CITYHOOD : Comstock ’ s speaks with Steve Ferry
Steve Ferry , once a vocal opponent of unincorporated El Dorado Hills becoming a city , has become a proponent of the movement to incorporate , serving as the leader of El Dorado Hills Citizens for Cityhood .
Is El Dorado Hills big enough for cityhood ? Perhaps one of the most important questions for cityhood is whether a community is large enough to generate a property and sales tax base . For Ferry , the question of whether El Dorado Hills is big enough is an easy yes .
“ We ’ re presently 46,000 people ,” says Ferry . “ The general plan for the county has us going out to 65,000 , and we ’ re plenty big . The city of Placerville is only 12,000 .”
Does El Dorado Hills have the ability to stand on its own as a city ? What would it require ? Ferry isn ’ t too concerned and says it ’ s about cities having enough money to operate .
“ I don ’ t think there ’ s any question about that , that we will have the money ,” says Ferry . “ Because all the taxes that come in through El Dorado Hills will revert to the city of El Dorado Hills , particularly the sales tax , property tax … ( and ) transient occupancy tax .”
How would cityhood impact businesses ? When a business is forming , the initial startup period is vitally important . To Ferry , cityhood could help ensure this process goes more smoothly .
“ When you ’ re dealing with the county as opposed to dealing with your city , your city ’ s interested in getting your business going ,” says Ferry . “ The county ’ s interested in it , but not at the same level .”
Can El Dorado Hills support its own police and fire departments ? In this area , Ferry doesn ’ t see too much change for El Dorado Hills , which already , in effect , has a fire department .
“ We are not going to acquire that fire department ,” says Ferry . “ It ’ s paid for by the county property tax and so they receive , inside of El Dorado Hills , 17.5 cents of every Proposition 13 dollar .”
As for police , Ferry envisions having officers who would wear uniforms that say El Dorado Hills Police Department but contracting with the El Dorado County Sheriff ’ s Office .
How would El Dorado Hills change under cityhood ? Cityhood would offer three primary benefits according to Ferry : El Dorado Hills ’ roads would be serviced quicker and better , parks would be better funded , and cityhood would provide a local identity .
Can El Dorado County afford to have El Dorado Hills become a city ? Ferry concedes El Dorado County might face difficulties if it tries to continue running without all the money it currently gets from El Dorado Hills , though he says it ’ s a workable problem .
“ I think they ’ ll restructure to where they can actually make it work for themselves ,” says Ferry . “ But they ’ re going to have to do that .”
AGAINST CITYHOOD : Comstock ’ s speaks with Bob Dorr
For El Dorado Hills to gain cityhood , it could take winning the hearts and minds of people like Bob Dorr — chairman of the El Dorado Hills Business Park Association and former member of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors — who don ’ t support cityhood .
Is El Dorado Hills big enough for cityhood ? To Dorr , the size of El Dorado Hills doesn ’ t have anything to do with whether it should become a city .
“ I think you have to look at the area , how it ’ s developed , and in the case of El Dorado Hills , there ’ s several different types of sections ,” says Dorr .
For Dorr , the different areas have something in common : They ’ re suburban , not urban .
Does El Dorado Hills have the ability to stand on its own as a city ? What would it require ? In short , Dorr says no .
“ It would require a huge increase in your taxes ,” says Dorr . “ I don ’ t think it has ... the structure to support what a city would require .”
Dorr worries the ability to have a city council and create a city hall would be a huge increase over what ’ s being done now and take away from services El Dorado Hills gets from its fire prevention and community services district .
How would cityhood impact businesses ? While Dorr doesn ’ t know if businesses would face more restrictions , he envisions more taxes . “ It would be a negative impact on ( them ) for sure ,” says Dorr .
Can El Dorado Hills support its own police and fire departments ? Dorr doesn ’ t believe El Dorado Hills could support either service without raising taxes .
How would El Dorado Hills change under cityhood ? Cityhood would mean a more urban El Dorado Hills , says Dorr .
“ Right now , if you look at the structure of El Dorado Hills , there ’ s really no urban center other than ( the El Dorado Hills ) Town Center …” says Dorr .
Dorr also foresees more automobile dealerships coming to town and more commercial development that could increase traffic .
Can El Dorado County afford to have El Dorado Hills become a city ? Dorr concedes El Dorado County might be able to afford letting El Dorado Hills become a city , though he wonders if it ’ s such a good deal for the region to lose county oversight in some areas .
“ All a city ’ s going to be able to do is take care of what ’ s within the city ,” says Dorr .
— Graham Womack
88 comstocksmag . com | November 2020