Penryn residents tell Loomis council they fear large Hope Way development will strain evacuation routes and services

Multiple residents from nearby Penryn used the Loomis Town Council’s public-comment period to urge the council and town residents to oppose the proposed Hope Way development, which they said would add a large high-density complex at the town border and create traffic and evacuation problems.

Donna Delano said the project, which the Placer County Planning Commission declined in October and the county board tentatively approved in December, faces a final Board of Supervisors vote on Jan. 26. She said Penryn Road is an identified evacuation route and that a proposed plan to change a four-lane section to a single-lane roundabout could create gridlock during an evacuation.

"You put this 12 three-story buildings there and 1,344 people, it's gonna be a gridlock," Delano said. "...If there is a fire or we have a flash flood ... it's gonna choke it down from 4 lanes to a single lane roundabout. So that is a big safety issue."

Patty Neifer, another Penryn resident, credited the town’s community development director for a letter outlining Loomis’s concerns and said residents have commissioned their own limited traffic and evacuation studies that identified safety gaps the developer has not addressed.

Speakers said the community formed Placer Citizens for Neighborhood Rights, has raised funds for legal review and is prepared to pursue litigation, including a writ of mandate, if the county approves the project without adequate mitigation.

Council members acknowledged the comments and the approaching county decision but did not make a formal motion during the meeting to direct the council to act on the county item. Residents urged Loomis residents to contact the Placer County Board of Supervisors and provided a website and local social media forums to distribute updates.

Next step: final Placer County Board of Supervisors action on the project is scheduled for Jan. 26, according to speakers.