The county doesn't care

To the Editor:

The Tuolumne County Planning Commission, with the exception of Larry Beil, should be ashamed. Despite over three hours of public testimony in opposition to the Under Canvas project off Highway 120 in Hardin Flat, the commission approved the deeply flawed EIR and gave the development the green light last week.

More than 35 people spoke against, only one person spoke in favor, but it didn't matter. The commission simply didn't listen and voted 5-1 to approve. During deliberations, the commission ignored the majority of community concerns and, instead, worried more about making the project too expensive or onerous for “the applicant” to build, so issues were skirted to make it easier. They don't care. And neither does the county: Two days after that meeting, the county released the EIR for another development across the road, the hideously huge Terra Vi Lodge, submitted by a Southern California development firm specializing in Doubletree and Marriott Hotels.

The Terra Vi hearing is Dec. 1. Yes, that's right … The county dropped another 1,000-plus pages of information for the community to digest in regards to a second major development in an area of less that 4 square miles, during a holiday week when county offices are closed.

Given the short amount of time to review these documents, it's clear the county is not interested in our opinion. It does seem bent, however, on destroying the gateway to Yosemite and the surrounding rural communities with big-pocketed, out-of-town money. It's as irresponsible as it is greedy. Mary Beth Campbell

Groveland