REALITY CHECK IN THE MOUNTAINS:

Bay Area Developers Hit an Icy Wall on Donner Summit

By Joseph Gray

Soda Springs, CA, June 9, 2007

Whether or not one thinks large developments in the Sierra are environmental disasters, the reality is that Mother Nature may have the last word. Geography, snow, water, sewage, roads and safety concerns can make developments along the Sierra Nevada ridge almost impossible. In the foothills, Mother Nature merely presents obstacles that can be overcome with money. But not even money talks when one seeks to build above 7,000 feet on the western slope of Donner Summit, as a pair of San Francisco Bay area developers are just finding out.

Donner Summit has the honor of being one of the snowiest places in the country, with an average annual snowfall of 34.6 feet and average snowpack topping 8 feet. However, these average numbers do little justice to the extremes nature throws at the area. Twice in the past 50 years the snow depth has exceeded 20 feet. In 1999, 14 feet of snow fell in only 4 days. The Summit’s snow season is also lengthy; Donner Summit holds the US record for snowfall in the month of April: 24.8 feet.

This magnitude of snow is difficult to imagine in the summer when the land is green, and the vistas breathtaking. When I first visited Serene Lakes, a small community of cabins nestled around two small lakes, I fell in love with the alpine beauty of the area. When I asked a local builder how deep the snow could be, he laughed, pointed to a telephone pole, and told me that its top was buried last winter.

The snow on the Summit is ideal for ski resorts; downhill resorts such as Sugar Bowl and Boreal, as well as cross country ski resorts like Royal Gorge, considered by many to be the premier nordic ski resort in the world. Its groomed trails weave throughout the summit area offering skiers panoramas from the Royal Gorge of the North Fork of the American River to the canyons of the South Yuba River.

It is was this Royal Gorge resort that lured the bay area developers, Todd Foster of Foster Enterprises (grandson of the Foster City developer) and Kirk Syme of Woodstock Development. With the purchase of Royal Gorge in the summer of 2005, they acquired over 3,000 acres of forested land. They plan to turn these undeveloped acres to into the next Squaw Village or Village at Northstar. Their development company, Royal Gorge LLC, announced plans in March to build a theme park around four "camps", one on each side of Serene Lakes. The camps will contain over 1,000 dwellings (mostly condominiums), three hotels, a day lodge, restaurants, retail shops, a beginner downhill ski area, observation towers and two artificial lakes. At more than 1,000 units, their plan is over twice as big as the developments at Northstar and Squaw Valley combined. Two of the four camps, "ski camp" to the east, and "lake camp" to the west, will actually be small towns with four story condominium buildings, lodges, restaurants, employee housing, roads and parking lots. The south camp, "wilderness camp", will overlook the North Fork of the American River and have a 10,000 sq. ft. lodge, 50 cabins, a restaurant and a viewing tower. The North camp, "Summit camp" in Van Norden Meadow, will be where the remnants of the Royal Gorge ski resort relocate, with a day lodge, parking lot, nature center, and a few cross country ski trails.

The developers do not have permission to turn a cross country ski resort into a condominium village, so they are asking Placer County to change the general plan and zoning to allow development. Homeowner groups, environmental groups and other concerned parties have joined together to preserve the land as is; zoned for cross country skiing. But, what the developers didn’t realize is, their biggest and most powerful opponent is Mother Nature, and she gets to call the shots. Snow, flooding, lack of water, sewage disposal and fire are in her playbook. Here is how the game between Mother Nature and the developers plays out.

SNOW:

Snow management is complex on Donner Summit. Randall Osterhuber of the Central Sierra Snow Lab (CSSL) calls snow management one of the most important, but most neglected topics in mountain development. In low density areas the snow is either pushed aside by tractors, or blown aside by snow blowing machines. In high density areas, such as in the condominium villages proposed by the Royal Gorge developers, the snow must be hauled away. On Donner Summit that translates to a lot of snow. How much? Well, the developer's plans show around 30 acres of high density development in the "ski camp" area alone. A reasonable  estimate is that a fifth of that area would need to be cleared for roads, parking lots, driveways and footpaths. That translates to 6 acres of snow. At 20 feet deep, that is 120 acre-feet, or almost 200,000 cubic yards, of snow. Moving that much snow would require 10,000 truck loads. A lot of truck loads, but more importantly, where will 10,000 loads of snow be dumped? The score starts: MOTHER NATURE 1, DEVELOPERS zero.

FLOODS:

After snow comes the spring thaw.  During a sudden thaw, the snow turns to water and runs off in torrents. Twice in the last decade there have been floods in Serene Lakes; once when the flood level reached 10 feet above the lake, and once 4 feet above. Much of this water came down through the "ski camp" area of the proposed development. Ski Camp is located at the bottom of a 400 acre bowl with a single outlet on the side facing Serene Lakes. The buildings, roofs, roads, treeless ski runs and other exposed surfaces in Ski Camp will act as catalysts to speed up a sudden snow melt. How much water could the melt unleash upon the condominiums of Ski Camp? With a snow depth of 20 feet, and assuming one foot of water for every 10 feet of snow, there is 800 acre-feet of water, or 260 million gallons, poised to flood through the development. Chalk another one up for Mother Nature: MOTHER NATURE 2, DEVELOPERS zero.

WATER:

Surprisingly, this over abundance of water is followed by a dearth of water. The Royal Gorge terrain is a mix of polished granite, glacial moraine, and granite valleys filled in by silt and layers of decomposed plant life. The underlying granite does not hold water. Once the snow has melted, the only water left behind is the water captured by lakes. If the developers had done their homework, they would have found that water is actually a scarce and coveted resource in the high Sierra. On Donner Summit, Sugar Bowl ski resort uses Lake Mary for water, Soda Springs and residents in the Van Norden meadow use Lake Angela, and the community of Serene Lakes uses, well, Serene Lakes. After looking unsuccessfully for well water on their lands, the developers asked for water from Lake Mary and Lake Angela, only to be turned down. Their last chance for water is Serene Lakes. They have come to the Sierra Lakes County Water District (SLCWD), the district that includes the Royal Gorge lands and controls the water in Serene Lakes, to ask for 235 acre-feet of water per year (AFY), plus more for snow making operations. A problem with this request is that SLCWD must satisfy the future demands of current residents and lot owners, before it can entertain supplying water for the Royal Gorge development. The developers’ 235 AFY request is based upon 46% occupancy, but water officials say the request should be 510 AFY of water, the amount needed for 100% occupancy. But whether it is 235 AFY, or 510 AFY, the water is not there. With a capacity of only 650 acre-feet, the lakes are either drained of a third of their water, or two-thirds. Add the existing customers’ needs to the developers' request, and the lakes are dry. Because the lakes are also for recreational use, the water district may rightly object to any lowering of the lakes' water level. As Wade Freedle, the president of the water district, notes on the SLCWD website:

"Our lakes, Serena and Dulzura, are the most important part of our natural infrastructure. They provide water for domestic consumption (and fire fighting from time to time) boating, swimming and fishing; and are the focal point of all of our community activities. Obviously, without them Serene Lakes would not be Serene Lakes. Their importance cannot be overemphasized."

Without water from SLCWD, the Royal Gorge development will go thirsty. A hat trick for Mother Nature. Score:  MOTHER NATURE 3, DEVELOPERS zero.

SEWAGE:

Sewage disposal is as problematic as lack of water. If the Royal Gorge development needs over 500 AFY of water, then they will need to dispose of over 500 AFY of sewage. The area’s sewage is treated by the Donner Summit Public Utilities District (DSPUD) in a plant near the South Yuba River. Currently the DSPUD plant does not have the capacity to serve undeveloped lots in the area, so where will the proposed development's sewage be treated? The developers propose to double the size of DSPUD's plant, or to build their own plant. But that still dodges the issue of disposing treated effluent. At this time DSPUD discharges effluent into the South Yuba River during winter, and sprays it onto Soda Springs ski hill in summer. It is uncertain whether the capacity of either of these disposal methods can be doubled. DSPUD is already restricted as to when and how much effluent can be dumped into the river,and the ski hill can only absorb so much liquid before it begins to cause erosion and pollution. As an alternative, the developers have proposed to store their effluent in tanks, and then spray it on their property during the summer. That option requires a 500 acre-foot storage tank. Imagine a tank the size of a football field, and 500 feet tall. Will the developers sacrifice a few condominium buildings for an unsightly sewage tank?. The lesson here is that disposing of waste in the mountains is not as easy as hooking into urban sewer systems. The score increases: MOTHER NATURE 4, DEVELOPERS zero.

FIRE:

Many people remember the images of the Oakland hills fire in 1991. Fires raced up hillsides, trapping residents and forcing them down the only road out of the hills. Many died. The same fate could be in store for the Serene Lakes community of 800 homes, which has a single road leading over the ridge to safety. The bottleneck caused by this road is already hazardous, and the developers insist that adding a second road is infeasible. Instead, they propose to compound this problem with hotels and more than a thousand new dwellings. Without a second egress, the development will not meet sensible fire safety standards, and all will be at the mercy of Mother Nature. Tally another one for Mother Nature.

The final score: MOTHER NATURE 5, DEVELOPERS zero. Big developers may come to the mountains to play, but they should know by now that Mother Nature can be a considerable foe.