(November 2006)

On Tuesday, October 24, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 to allow the Old Sugar Mill development project in Clarksburg. Supervisor Mariko Yamada was the lone “no” vote, citing serious concerns regarding the potential for flooding. The Old Sugar Mill project would be built on 105 acres offering residential, commercial and industrial uses, including 162 housing units, nearly doubling the size of Clarksburg.

The Corps of Engineers recently released new maps of locations where levees are in the greatest need of repair. According to these maps, there are three “Order 1” (the most serious) sites identified for the west levee of the Sacramento River right next to the proposed Sugar Mill project site. Disregarding the potential for a levee break and serious flooding in the Clarksburg area, 4 of the 5 supervisors approved the development anyway.

A further concern is the fact that Clarksburg lies in the Primary Zone of the delta. The Delta Protection Act of 1992 prohibits residential development in the Primary Zone. Approval of the Old Sugar Mill Project is a violation of the Delta Protection Act. The Delta is an important ecosystem. It contains some of the state's best farmland. Delta water sustains more than 500,000 people living in the Delta region and more than 300,000 acres of Delta farmland, as well as more than 23 million people and 7 million acres of irrigated agricultural land state-wide. Ignoring the Delta Protection Act and allowing further residential development Clarksburg sets a precedent for residential development elsewhere in the Delta. Continued development in the Delta will push this fragile ecosystem over the edge, resulting in the collapse of the entire system and thus compromising much of the state's drinking water.

The Delta Protection Commission, the State's Attorney General, former senator Patrick Johnston, author of the Delta Protection Act, former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earth Justice on behalf of NRDC, the Sierra Club, the Natural Heritage Institute, the California Planning and Conservation League, and the Yolo County Farm Bureau wrote letters to Yolo County to voice their concerns about the development. The Concerned Citizens of Clarksburg (a local group) plans to file an appeal to the Delta Protection Commission over the Board of Supervisors approval of the Old Sugar Mill housing development proposal. It has been joined by other supporting organizations and individuals.

Peggy Bohl, an organizer of Concerned Citizens of Clarksburg, says “By approving this project, Yolo County is challenging the Delta Protection Act. So we are now forced to appeal this decision to a higher body, the Delta Protection Commission.”

For more information, to join the challenge or to help Concerned Citizens of Clarksburg, contact John and Peggy Bohl at 1-916-744-1555.