In the popular movie, "The Perfect Storm," actor George Clooney plays a kind-hearted, well-meaning but tragically unwise troller captain. Based on a true story, he dooms his loyal, hard-working crew to a watery grave by not heeding perilous signs as three massive storms are about to collide on their position far out to sea.

A perfect storm may be hitting your quiet neighborhood soon if Amador County adopts the new California Health and Safety Code 17021.6 for worker housing on any agricultural land without making exceptions for smaller R1-A single-family residential-agricultural properties, which range in size from 2.5 to 40-plus acres. That code allows up to 12 family units or 36 beds in group housing on any agricultural land whether or not the residents work on the property.

To expedite building projects, Code 17021.6 stipulates no conditional use permit is required that is not required of any other agricultural activity. If a county does not require a conditional use permit for most agricultural activities, they cannot stipulate one for worker housing. Without a conditional use permit, there is no neighbor notification or opportunity to officially object to a high density development, making a mockery of existing neighborhood density limits.

One does not need to be a realtor to know potential buyers, seeking a high quality rural lifestyle, usually do not wish to purchase homes next to a high density development. If a worker housing project is approved on R1-A parcels with less than 20 acres, local property owners can watch their property values plummet far faster than the currently depressed real estate market. It is grossly unfair to force the neighbors to essentially subsidize our local agribusiness through such enormous personal sacrifices.

Ironically, this code could pose serious health and safety risks to the workers and the entire neighborhood if implemented indiscriminately on parcels without regard to size, topography or local fire hazards. Multiple water wells in the area could be contaminated if too many septic systems are hastily approved on one parcel. Ill-designed dirt roads, overwhelmed with evacuees during a raging forest fire, would fatally hamper access by emergency services.

Ken Deaver, a well-known and respected ex-county supervisor and agricultural leader in Shenandoah Valley, has been trying for months to expand farm labor housing on his 43-acre property. He should be commended for situating the housing in a perfect location and for his commitment in pursuing the arduous permit process. It is essential the county reduce the costs, time and effort involved in establishing appropriately-situated worker housing. However, the conditional use permit process should not be casually abandoned by the county, as Mr. Deaver argues, so as to preserve transparency and neighbor notification given the high stakes involved.

So the perfect storm may rapidly sweep in to your warm, comfy little R1-A neighborhood. In a worst case scenario, the new state code would be adopted unmodified for all agricultural land regardless of parcel size or fire hazard risk, using the ministerial permit process. The first storm is discovering your neighbor building a large worker housing development, issued automatically without neighbor notification. If you have an unscrupulous neighbor, the second storm is watching him cram as many working renters into his new housing as he can possibly get away with. And the third storm - actually a huge vacuum - is how county code enforcement would likely serve as a handy accomplice by failing to protect neighborhoods from dangerously overcrowded properties.

Theoretically, the synergistic impact of these three storms could potentially transform your neighbor's single-family residential property into a veritable township of 150 or more residents, dwarfing the Deaver project in density per acre. Can't happen here? Think again: a perfect storm is starting to brew 3 miles east of Fiddletown in a once-tranquil 5-acre R1-A neighborhood.

It's imperative the crew take charge when the captain is not in his right mind, no matter how well intentioned he may be. Call your county supervisor today and get involved in upcoming general plan update meetings to voice your concerns - before it's too late.