Why did you decide to gather a petition?
FOWS Board met with TRPA Executive Director Joanne Marchetta. In our meeting we expressed our concern with the size and scale of Homewood Mountain Resorts Master Plan or future development on the West Shore considering the lack of Community Plans. We simply asked what sort of ‘will from the people’ would make an impact to the Governing Board if the residents wanted the West Shore to remain rural and preserve the natural resources. Joanne Marchetta stated that if we wanted to impress the Governing Board we would need at least 200 signatures on a petition, this would be enough to illustrate the residents’ concerns to the Governing Board.
What did the endorsement petition say?
FOWS ’ Petition Campaign is an endorsement of the following: “We promote sustainable communities and policies that enhance our natural resources without paving over our watersheds and wetlands. We can grow wisely by reinvesting in our existing communities and infill developments that closely mirrors the scale and character of our historical West Shore. We the undersigned want to balance the protection of our rural communities while preserving our natural resources on the West Shore.” We finished the summer with over 280 signatures from residents of the West Shore. These petitions were presented in support of our Community Vision.
How many petitions were gathered and from where?
Most of the petitions were signed at our community meetings starting in June and at the Homeowner Association Meetings we were invited to speak over the summer. Only FOWS board members went door to door to their neighbor’s. We were able to increase the signatures in such a short time to 281 residents only, much more than what we needed.
What will you do with these petitions?
We will be giving all the signatures to El Dorado County and Placer County also including TRPA Governing Board. We have already given them the final sum, but we don’t want to let go of our signatures to just one agency. This data is very credible to direct future Community Plans.