It's been interesting reading the various letters to the editor and guest commentaries regarding the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort, a project in which everyone has an opinion. The project started out as a city idea for solving wastewater treatment problems. The project will fulfill that original goal of providing the necessary funding for an improved wastewater treatment facility that will save each and every taxpayer thousands of dollars.

Perhaps more impressive has been the exhaustive outreach program initiated by the Gold Rush Ranch partners. Based on that feedback the plan preserves over half the site as either public golf course or permanent open space and offers an array of new housing choices that everyone can afford.

The project goes above and beyond what is required of it by donating a new school site, sites for a new fire station and police substation, public tennis courts and five miles of hiking and biking trails, substantial community benefits that speak well of the project sponsors' long-term investment and partnership with Sutter Creek and Amador County.

Many opponents of the project have attempted to downplay these improvements and benefits. We have seen what improvements have been made to the project, which make it a perfect fit for Amador County.

The project is a sizable investment for our community. With a current unemployment rate of 14 percent, Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort will create hundreds of good-paying jobs and invest millions of dollars into the local economy. No other local project, industry or government can make the kind of sizable investment in our economy that Gold Rush Ranch is proposing.

I imagine that these are a few of the reasons why numerous community organizations, including the Sutter Creek Business and Professional Association, the Amador County Chamber of Commerce, the Amador Council of Tourism, the Amador Business Council and the local Carpenters Union have endorsed the project.

The Sutter Creek Planning Commission has made many quality recommendations. They would like to prevent grading or the creation of cookie cutter neighborhoods. A noble concept, but it should not come at the expense of turning the project into a neighborhood that local residents cannot afford and which would prevent the funding for community amenities the project has been designed to produce. That, in my opinion, would be the unfortunate result if the Sutter Creek City Council were to follow their recommendations - resulting in a project that would only fit the pocketbooks of Beverly Hills lawyers and bankers.

The community and local leaders have done their due diligence on this project. The project sponsors have also done a commendable job of not just proposing a quality plan, but listening to the local community and responding. This project has clearly earned the trust, respect and support of the community. It is time for the Sutter Creek City Council to approve Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort.