A big thank you goes to the Calaveras Enterprise and Nick Baptista, its General Manager, for allowing us to post the following articles about the Copper area. The phone number of the Enterprise is 754-3861. -Al
Who's in charge here?
Overseeing development in the Copperopolis-Lake Tulloch area
By John Hall
Two counties and other public agencies oversee various aspects of land and water use in the Copperopolis-Lake Tulloch area.
Calaveras and Tuolumne counties have jurisdiction over land development issues, such as zoning, streets and building construction, around the lake.
The Tri-Dam Authority, a joint-powers agency of the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts, has jurisdiction over the lake itself. It also controls, by easements over private property along the shoreline, all land below the 515-foot elevation contour surrounding the reservoir.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, by federal law, must be contacted regarding any fill material placed in wetlands or bodies of water. This is its only interest in the Lake Tulloch area.
Calaveras County Water District controls water and sewer service on the north side of the lake.
CCWD has said it currently does not have enough water rights in the area to supply complete build-out of all projects. However, it is trying to get approval to move the diversion point of some of its water rights to the Tulloch area to meet future needs.
There is no agency supplying these services along the Tuolumne County shoreline.Copperopolis grows outwardly
Development steady during the past 40 yearsBy John Hall
Until the creation of Lake Tulloch in the late 1950s, ranching was the most common use of the land in the Copperopolis area.
The end of copper mining in the region coincided with the end of World War II. Asbestos mining would continue for only a few more years before the mineral's ties to lung diseases and cancer phased out its use as a fire-retardant and insulating material. Gold mining would not see a major resurgence until the 1980s.
The first major subdivision of land in the area began with the development of Diamond XX by Pacific Cascade Land Co. of San Leandro in 1968. The project straddled Highway 4 west of Copperopolis. It divided 3,962 acres into 190 lots.
Major development near Lake Tulloch started with Copper Cove in 1969. Units 1 through 4 of the subdivision by I.C. Deal Developments of Hayward called for 1,103 lots on about 2,049 acres. Later phases of development resulted in a total of 2,110 lots.
In 1971, Avalon Village Gardens, Inc. of Pacific Palisades, created the small-lot subdivision of Poker Flat Resort (also known as Lake Tulloch Shores), dividing 38 acres into 120 lots.
Poker Flat Development Corporation, owner of a little less than 1.25 acres in Poker Flat Resort, put 12 townhouses on its "Lake Tulloch Shores-Hilltop Estates" property in 1987.
When first begun in 1990, Conner Estates proposed 296 lots on about 127 acres. Subsequent purchases of portions of Conner Estates by other developers have resulted in Peninsula Estates and Calypso Beach Villas. The three developments total 289 lots.
Saddle Creek, a 1994 development of Cloudburst Partners, LLP, was the first project to include a golf course as an amenity to its 1,900 dwelling units on 1,034 acres.
Projects in various stages of startup include Bridlewood and Copper Meadows units 2, 3 and 4 (all of which were originally parts of Copper Cove), Black Creek Ranch, and the recently approved Calypso Beach Villas units 3, 4 and 5 (originally part of Conner Estates). Another, Oak Canyon Ranch, proposes development around two 18-hole golf courses.
If approved, a 1,113-acre project by Bay Area developer Red Mountain Ranch Resorts, LLC, would bring a "championship" golf course to the Copperopolis area to complement its 335 residential lots ranging from about one-sixth of an acre to 40 acres. It also would include a marina with public access.
On the Tuolumne County side of Lake Tulloch, Blackjack Bluffs and Lakeshore Estates provide housing for 50 to 200 full- and part-time residents on a total of 64 lots, according to Tuolumne County officials.
Lot-line adjustments of ranch property adjacent to the lake have resulted in two newly proposed developments, Lake Tulloch Estates and Greensprings Run, according to Tuolumne County Planner Mike Laird.
At this time, the former proposes one parcel of 30 acres and seven parcels of about 37 acres each. The Greensprings Run proposal is for one 20-acre parcel and eight parcels of about 37 acres.
Numerous large parcels of vacant land remain in the area. They range from 20 acres to nearly 2,000 acres.
Thirty parcels of about 20 acres each have frontage on the lake. There are six additional 20-acre parcels in the immediate vicinity that do not touch the lake.
Much of the land in the area of Lake Tulloch was once part of a large Spanish land grant, Rancheria del Rio Estanislao that stretched nearly to Oakdale.Copperopolis-area growth is a flashpoint of controversy
Land and water use issues draw attention to area developmentBy John Hall
Land development issues in the Copperopolis-Lake Tulloch area are likely to result in the county giving more scrutiny to subdivision projects in the future.
Just this week, the county's supervisors rejected a zoning change and property split request for a 20-acre parcel adjacent to Lake Tulloch, suggesting that additional study of the project's environmental impacts was in order.
Monday, the supervisors will meet with Tuolumne County supervisors and representatives of the Tri-Dam Authority to look at what is going on with development around Lake Tulloch. Calaveras and Tuolumne counties and Tri-Dam are the primary administrators of land and water use in the area. (See related story "Who's in charge here?")
The ability of the area to support additional growth and recreational use will be among the items to be discussed.
Management of land development in the Copperopolis area came early to that community.
Shortly after the town's founding in 1860, the influx of prospectors resulted in the formation of a mining district, and adoption of mining laws.
Even though relatively primitive by today's standards, the land development management provided by the mining district, and its laws, was practical and effective. It served the needs of the area's prospectors by specifying the size of mining claims, how and where they could be created, and other conditions affecting their operation, identification and ownership.
Over the intervening years, further development of property in the area had not stirred many concerns.
Today, the Copperopolis-Lake Tulloch area is one of the fastest developing areas in Calaveras County and a lightning rod for land development policy debates.
Spurred in part by the existence of Lake Tulloch, the population in the area has grown to about 2,400, rivaling that of the copper mining era from 1860 to 1867. Tulloch Dam was completed in 1958. (See related story "Copperopolis grows outwardly")
There are concerns that infrastructure -- the systems such as water, sewer and roads that serve all in the area -- may soon be incapable of meeting the needs of future expansion.
This is the first of a two-part series concerning land development in the Copperopolis-Lake Tulloch area.
Lake Tulloch may be over capacity for watercraft
Tri-Dam authority mulls further shoreline developmentBy John Hall
From the creation of Lake Tulloch in the late 1950s until the mid-1990s, recreation in the Copperopolis area was synonymous with water.
During the past few years, golf courses, tennis club, and hiking and riding trails have been proposed as alternatives to the lake-centered offerings.
Most properties near the lake have access to private docks or resident-only private boat launching ramps.
Only two facilities, the South Shore Complex in Tuolumne County and Lake Tulloch Resort in Calaveras County, provide public access to the lake, according to a 1999 report by the Tri-Dam Project. (See chart "Recreational opportunities on Lake Tulloch")
The Tri-Dam Project, a joint-powers agency of the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts, operates Lake Tulloch as a water supply and power-generating facility, and controls the lake's water below the 515-foot elevation contour around the reservoir.
Recently, the amount of recreational activity on the lake has been seen by some as a direct result of land development in the area.
"Why this is before us is not an environmental issue. It is a lake issue. If the lake was not perceived as crowded, most of you would not be here," Supervisor Tom Tryon told the audience at a hearing on David Turner's appeal of the Calaveras Planning Commission's denial of a zoning change and lot-split request.
The lake is capable of accommodating 116 vessels at one, according to formulas used by the U.S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. Studies conducted by the Tri-Dam Authority have reported as many as 176 boats on the lake at one time.
In February, the Tri-Dam Board of Directors, which has never before turned down an application for a dock, authorized only 10 of 82 docks requested by the Calypso Beach Villas development.
The board then placed a 60-day moratorium on approving additional docks on the lake until its staff could take a closer look at the situation.
There are currently 645 docks on Lake Tulloch, most of them holding more than one watercraft, according to Steve Felte, Tri-Dam's general manager.
Recreational opportunities in the future may be tied more to development of the surrounding land than to the lake.
The Saddle Creek subdivision brought with it the area's first golf course and a tennis club.
Oak Canyon Ranch proposes two additional "championship" golf courses and Tuscany Hills, if approved, includes plans for the area's fourth golf course.
Some of the existing subdivisions include easements for horse and pedestrian trails. Few, if any, have been developed at this time.
(This is the second part of a two-part series on growth in the Copperopolis-Lake Tulloch area.)
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