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Board accepts Penryn Townhome improvements amid resident complaints about pathway and landscaping
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Summary
The board accepted Penryn Townhome subdivision improvements while residents asked for deferral, saying the meandering DG pathway, 30‑foot landscape frontage and other frontage elements had been reduced or moved. Staff said deferred improvements are secured by a Deferred Improvement Agreement and no occupancies will be allowed until frontage landscaping is complete.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors accepted the completed improvements for the Penryn Townhome subdivision April 7 even as nearby residents urged the board to delay acceptance and require the developer to meet previously approved frontage and pathway standards.
Alice Atherton, senior engineer with the county’s engineering and surveying division, read the requested actions into the record: accept the public improvements as complete; authorize faithful‑performance and labor‑and‑materials sureties set at standard percentages (staff read 15% for faithful performance and 50% for labor and materials, or whichever is required under Government Code provisions) with remaining security release conditions and a one‑year warranty period; and determine the actions are consistent with a mitigated negative declaration adopted by the board on 02/05/2008. Atherton also said a Deferred Improvement Agreement (DIA) is in place for certain landscaping and pathway items and that $724,281 security (125% of engineer’s estimate for deferred items) has been collected.
Residents who spoke said elements shown in earlier project presentations — including a 30‑foot Penryn Parkway landscaping area, a meandering decomposed‑granite (DG) path and certain retaining‑wall and setback features — have been reduced or relocated during construction. Patty Neifer told the board the development had been “going on for about 20 years” and that community members had expected the full corridor treatments. Muriel Davis, calling in by phone, urged the board not to approve acceptance because “things haven't been properly done,” citing electrical boxes, poles and signs placed where a path was shown on the original map.
Planning Director Chris Pahule and Deputy Director Michelle Lewis responded that the project entitlements were amended by the Planning Commission in 2023 and that the project currently under construction reflects those later approvals. Lewis said the county has inspections in place and that the DIA and associated security are intended to ensure deferred landscaping is completed; she added that no occupancies will be allowed for homes until the frontage landscaping required for the first phase is complete and the one‑year warranty period begins.
Supervisor commentary acknowledged the residents’ concerns but noted the narrow scope of the acceptance item: the board must determine whether the constructed improvements conform to the project entitlements on file, not re‑litigate the merits of those entitlements. After brief board discussion, a motion to approve the acceptance passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition.
The board’s action authorizes release conditions for sureties and confirms the county’s administrative process for deferred improvements; staff said they will continue to work with the owner to resolve the placement of an unexpected utility box and to finalize the landscaping and path alignment under the DIA.
