Allen Warren of New Faze Development asked the city of Jackson to rescind their votes of approval given to the Jackson Hills project on Monday. This request required that Measures A and B regarding Jackson Hills would be removed from the June ballot, which the city council approved. The result of these actions will be to take the project back to the city council and the public for further review and consideration.

The reasons for this change of direction are many and varied. New Faze feels that Jackson Hills is a very good project with long-term benefits to the city. By its previous approvals, the city council agreed and voted to move the project forward. However, many concerned citizens were critical of certain aspects of the approval process and the project itself, which led to the referendums to place Measures A and B on the ballot. This has, in turn, caused a lot of divisions within the citizenry of Jackson. This is the last thing that either the city or the Jackson Hills developers want. Jackson Hills has the potential to be a very positive asset to the city, but it needs to be embraced by its citizens. If taking this project back to the drawing board is what it takes to get there, then New Faze is willing to do so.

The reality of the marketplace is that a delay in building this project makes economic sense. This delay will provide the city the necessary time to negotiate the development agreement with New Faze before bringing it back for public review and comment. This was a consistent complaint by many project opponents. Another criticism of the process was the fact that the city had not completed its updated general plan before taking action on Jackson Hills. The city will now be able to do so before the project comes back for a vote.

Jackson is facing many challenges at this time. The loss of major sales tax generating businesses such as Prospect Motors, Safeway and others are being felt by the city. Others are leaving and all you have to do is look at the vacancies along the highway and downtown to know that there are problems. Traffic is increasing due to the ongoing commercial development in Martell and the opening of the new entrance to Jackson Rancheria casino on Highway 88. Without new development within the city, there are no funds to improve that flow or to complete the badly needed Mission Boulevard bypass.

Water storage is another shortfall for Jackson. Currently there is storage for one day of usage including fire protection. Jackson Hills plans include an additional water storage tank connected directly to the entire Jackson water system, at no cost to ratepayers.

While the state may have given the city a five-year extension of their sewer discharge permit, which allows the release of treated effluent into Jackson Creek, they did so with the requirement that there must be a plan in place by the end of that time period to meet Title 22 or equivalent conditions. No longer will it allow the current system to continue. There are alternatives being discussed, including the irrigation of nearby ranch lands, but the city has been reluctant in giving either side information. We need an honest cost evaluation of both alternatives including immediate and long term effects. Can the current ratepayers afford to pay for the solution on their own or do they need a project associated with the upgrades that will afford a long term solution and give the city other benefits? All of these situations exist now and will continue to be a problem without Jackson Hills.

Jackson is at a major crossroad for its future. Most people have agreed that the city will grow and they want to make sure it is done in a smart and well-planned way. New Faze and the supporters of Jackson Hills feel that this project meets the test of smart growth. Now there will be additional time for both the supporters and critics of the project to make their voices heard. Let's be sure we have the facts on the table when the final decision is made. Every citizen of Jackson deserves this.