The Gold Rush Development raises many questions. Why would a group of people purchase land covered with an oak forest and then choose to cut it down? Is there enough money to justify killing 13,000 trees, then scraping and covering meadows and creeks? We're concerned about global warming and teach our children how the destruction of the world's vegetation warms our atmosphere and lessens the supply of oxygen in the air we breathe. How can we do the same in our own community? The replacement of this forest would be a thousand-plus homes and residences, the base for a daily increase of a thousand-plus cars on our roads. How do we absorb the traffic? How do we not significantly add to our already polluted air? We're in the midst of a multi-year drought. How do we assure our water supply as the population of Sutter Creek doubles?

If we stop and view this property, we see one of our many unique gems in the county. It's a habitat to many varieties of our wildlife. All this extreme beauty and its important functions ask is to continue to exist. It is the true definition of a gift to us. If this development is built, it sets a precedent for the large housing projects on the county's drawing board. How do we answer the above questions when those projects then increase the population of our other towns?

If we follow the population logic that more is better, can we say our neighbors in the Central Valley are better off? Is California better off since the population has doubled over the previous years? The magnitude of this project affects our entire country. Our elected officials have run on platforms of environmental protections, smart growth and protecting our rural heritage. Will they follow it through?

The Gold Rush project is too large, proposed for the wrong location and at the wrong time. It goes far beyond Sutter Creek officials determining if permits and regulations are followed. It goes to the final question: Will our quality of life be maintained and protected?