Other members of the committee, including environmentalist member Chris Tooker, see it as a diverse, balanced group. Twice the size of Folsom, it sits between Folsom's border on Highway 50 and Rancho Murieta. The area's oak forests, creeks and rolling grasslands make it one of the prettiest expanses of open space in the county. It is also prime countryside for developers who want to build more offices along Highway 50 and new upscale homes, real estate experts say. When the county set the urban services boundary in 1993, it designated some 70,000 acres inside the boundary for development.
Developers continue to be interested in areas outside the line.
The area has seen a lot of action lately. Myers and Clifford proposed their 3,000-home Deer Creek Hills project inside the area, but they had to seek approval, and voters rejected their plan for a seniors community in November's election. Folsom, short on empty land and wanting to expand, has also sought to extend its influence over 3,584 acres inside the area, to help develop more business parks along Highway 50. During the past decade, land developers have taken control of large chunks of the study area. The families of land developer Angelo Tsakopoulos and his brother George own 8,371 acres there.