Supervisors will address resort appeal, death of longtime public servant,
A special meeting will be held on Tuesday for the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors to hold an appeal hearing for the recent approval of the Terra Vi Lodge project on Highway 120 outside of Groveland, as well as honor a longtime public servant who recently died from COVID-19.
Whatever happens could be the final action taken by County Supervisors Sherri Brennan, John Gray and Karl Rodefer during their time in office as there are no additional meetings currently scheduled before their elected successors are sworn-in at noon on Jan. 4.
The meeting was scheduled after multiple appeals were filed against the county Planning Commission’s approval of the Terra Vi Lodge project on Dec. 1, though an item was added to the agenda
Thursday morning for the board to first consider recognizing Mike Ayala in the wake of his death at 66 on Nov. 28.
Ayala worked as a lawman with the California Highway Patrol from 1979 to 2009 and spent the final 10 years of his career as commander of the agency’s Sonora-area office in Jamestown.
He later served as executive director of the Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce and as the longtime chairman of the Tuolumne County Transportation Council, among many other postretirement activities in community service and local politics.
The agenda item on Tuesday is for the board to consider passing a proposed resolution recognizing Ayala’s commitment and dedication to the citizens of the county.
After considering Ayala’s resolution, the board will then begin a public hearing for the three appeals of the Terra Vi Lodge that would be located at Sawmill Mountain Road and Highway 120 roughly 20 miles east of Groveland and five miles west of the Big Oak Flat entrance to Yosemite National Park.
County planners have spent two years processing the application for the project that was submitted by the Anaheim-based Hansji Corp., whose website boasts of developing more than 2 million square feet of office, retail and hotel space over the past 40-plus years in business.
The project proposes to construct a lodge with 100 guest rooms, seven cabins with a total of 26 additional guest rooms, five apartment buildings with four units each for employees, and a public market, which cover about 18% of a 64-acre property inherited by the wife of the late Tim Manly.
Dozens of neighboring property owners, Groveland-area residents, and conservationists have decried the environmental impact report for the project that they argue does not adequately address concerns related to increased fire risk, traffic, groundwater contamination, and putting a further strain on already limited public and emergency services in the area.
Many of the same opponents also have spoken against a separate project about a quartermile away at Hardin Flat Road and Highway 120 to develop a 99-tent luxury “glamping” campground resort on land also inherited by Manly’s wife following his death at 59 from cancer in 2004.
Joel Manly, son of Tim Manly and resident of Goodyear, Arizona, said his father always envisioned developing the land for hotels or some other lodging accommodations when he purchased the property in the late 1980s and later got the zoning changed from timberland to commercial.
Opponents of both projects have accused the county of rushing through
the final stages of the process and scheduling the hearings around the holidays to limit participation and get them approved before Brennan, Gray, and Rodefer leave office and county supervisor-elects David Goldemberg, Kathleen Haff and Jaron Brandon join the board next month.
County planners have disputed the allegations and said that the twoplus-year processes for both projects have met all of the minimum legal requirements.
The current board also unanimously found no justification for denying or delaying the “glamping” development known as Yosemite Under Canvas at an appeal hearing on Dec. 17, despite pleas from the opposition to send the project back to planners for further review.
An appeal hearing for the Terra Vi Lodge was originally scheduled for Dec. 18 after an appeal was filed by a woman named Clare Cosovich two days after the commission approved the project stating she was a lifelong Tuolumne County resident who didn’t believe there was sufficient water in the area for the development, which would be served by wells and onsite septic system due to the lack of public water and sewer.
The hearing was pushed back by the county after two separate appeals were later filed by neighboring property owner Matthew Chapman and an attorney for a group known as Save Sawmill Mountain.
A separate letter to the board sent by Save Sawmill Mountain’s attorney also accused Cosovich’s
appeal of being disingenuous because information on her Facebook profile allegedly stated she is engaged to a relative of the property owner and that I was only filed to speed up the process, which requires at least 10 days notice from the filing of an appeal before a public hearing can be held.
Two previous requests by The Union Democrat for comment from Cosovich about the accusations have gone unanswered. On Thursday, a man answered the phone number included in her appeal email and said that she wasn’t available and likely would not have any comment.
Joel Manly also did not respond to a previous request for comment and could not be reached on Thursday.
Public documents provided for the public hearing include responses from county staff disputing all of the claims in the three appeals, but do not address the accusations regarding Cosovich. Deputy County Counsel Cody Nesper previously said the county was not aware of any purported connection to the Manly family.
A smaller number of people have voiced support for both the Terra Vi Lodge and Yosemite Under Canvas projects, which they say have been thoroughly reviewed to adequately address any significant negative impacts and would be a boon to the local economy that largely relies on tourism, in addition to providing much needed tax revenue for public services in the county.