Rocklin, CA – The City of Rocklin, the United Auburn Indian Community and the Clover Valley Partners announced today that the United Auburn Indian Community has contracted to purchase 154 lots of the valley floor area of Clover Valley. An open space conservation easement will be placed over 142 of the purchased lots and a long term open space management contract has been negotiated with the Wildlife Heritage Foundation. The conservation easement will increase open space in the Clover Valley development to 406 acres and provide further protection from development to Native American sacred sites in Clover Valley.
'The Conservation Easement will ensure that the sites protected by the approved project, and deemed sacred by the United Auburn Indian Community, will be retained forever in their scenic natural valley setting,' said Jessica Tavares, chairwoman of the United Auburn Indian Community. 'In addition, our tribe will also construct a cultural center where people of all ages will be able to gain a greater understanding of the rich cultural history of the area.'
The purchase agreement and open space conservation easement is an outgrowth of the successful February 2008 Measure H election in which voters approved a community plan to:
- Protect Clover Valley against sprawl while protecting private property rights
- Guarantee that 60 percent of Clover Valley will be preserved as permanent open space without new taxes or higher fees – a more than 500 percent increase over earlier proposals
- Construct a new two-lane road connecting Park Drive and Sierra College Boulevard – reducing traffic congestion throughout the City and improving emergency response time
- Create over two miles of hiking and biking trails in Clover Valley with full public access
- Provide a site for the fourth City Of Rocklin fire station
Though the purchase agreement and conservation easement cannot be recorded until resolution of the existing litigation filed by the Clover Valley Foundation and the Town of Loomis, the Clover Valley Partners plan to submit a revised project to the City reducing development from the approved 558 homes down to 404 homes, increasing open space to 406 acres of the 622 acre site, and eliminating the majority of traffic from the Clover Valley floor.
'The City of Rocklin and the community worked very hard over many years and got major concessions from the land owners of Clover Valley which resulted in the approved project endorsed by the voters. This planned purchase of the valley floor by the United Auburn Indian Community is even better for Rocklin. A further reduction in homes equals a further reduction in environmental impacts, such as saving over a thousand oak trees, reduced traffic on Park Drive and Sierra College Boulevard, and additional protection of Clover Valley's Native American sites. ' said Brett Storey, Mayor of Rocklin.