Placer County tentatively approves 240-unit Hope Way apartments after heated Penryn hearing; final action set for Jan. 26

Placer County supervisors on Tuesday took tentative action to approve entitlements for the Hope Way Apartments, a proposed 240-unit, 100% affordable housing development in Penryn, and continued final consideration to a special meeting on Jan. 26, 2026.

The decision came after an all-day appeal hearing that included staff presentations, legal arguments from both opponents and the project applicant, technical testimony on traffic and fire response, and more than 200 public comments. Planning staff told the board the site is an 11.43‑acre parcel already rezoned for multifamily use and that the project seeks nine concessions and waivers under California’s density bonus law to allow the proposed design.

Why it mattered: the project sits immediately adjacent to Interstate 80 and proposes a single‑lane roundabout at Hope Way and Penryn Road as its primary egress. Opponents, including a community group called Placer Citizens for Neighborhood Rights, argued the geometry and expected vehicle queuing would create an unmitigable public‑safety risk in wildfire or other mass‑evacuation scenarios and…