The availability of open spaces within Rancho Murieta is an important element that makes it truly a "special place". Our open space provides opportunity for children and teens to experience the outdoors and still be safe within the gates. During the recent pandemic, times when travel was restricted, the open space allowed people a safe place to experience the outdoors. It continues to provide residents with open space for a multitude of activities. Many residents have indicated that they moved to Rancho Murieta because of the open space but later learned that much of the surrounding land is privately owned and possibly setup for future development. In a survey of Rancho Murieta residents in 2019, the second most important reason for moving to Rancho Murieta was "Nature". If these open spaces disappear, residents will need to travel outside the community to engage in certain types of outdoor activities. Deer Creek Hills is a 4,400-acre nature preserve adjacent to Rancho Murieta but is only accessible to the public on specific days of the year. Without responsible development, trails for hikers and bicyclist could be eliminated, and new trails may not be available or could end up paved. [Add link to survey results]

Responsible development means that the impacts of development will not impact the existing community and environment negatively. Probable impacts of future development in Rancho Murieta will likely increase our traffic and security issues, and decrease our wildlife habitats, precious oak trees, and open spaces. In addition, there are serious concerns of a significant reduction in our water supply, faulty drainage issues, water purity, and proximity of housing. Therefore, more recently it has become apparent that more development in really not "responsible". To guarantee an adequate and safe water supply, keep our community and open spaces beautiful, serene, and safe, and hold traffic at a manageable level, the responsible thing to do is stop building.

The Rancho North Properties has an application filed at the Sacramento County Planning Dept. to convert 777 acres, currently zoned as Agriculture, to Housing. The housing would be located in what is called the Villages A- H containing approx. 697 lots. Over half of these lots would be in the open space areas around our reservoirs, the river, and hiking trails. This application has been inactive since 2017 and remains incomplete. However, spokes persons for Rancho North often make claims that the project will get active soon. To advance the application, a number of studies need to be completed, fees would need to be paid, and then the County Planning Dept. would start the review process. The review would involve issuing a Notice of Preparation (NOP) and then completing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). This process could take 2 years. Should this application become active, SOLOS plans to contest its approval and will activate its full membership to work towards our preservation goals. ​

There are very important considerations regarding the potential impacts to property values. Some of these are: Loss of open space for biking, hiking, walking, nature, dog walking, etc. Potential overshooting of the available water resources may occur as in the past Residential Landscape due to potential water conservation measures that could be necessary as temperatures have been increasing and resultant droughts Additional traffic, noise, ...

Development can be good for our community. It can add much needed revenue and help all of us control our costs. It must not, however, put our present residents at risk of running low or running out of water. A shortage of water would cause a major blow to the value of our homes and would completely change the lifestyle of this community. As residents, it is our job to prevent this from happening. We must stay involved in the water planning process and be prepared to challenge a water plan we feel has put all of us in jeopardy of a water crisis.