Our resident land use advocate Don Amador was working during the Labor Day long weekend.
On August 28, representatives from OHV and conservation organizations gathered at the Wilton Community Center to voice strong concerns regarding the siting of a 2,704 acre solar project directly adjacent to the California State Parks Prairie City Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Area (SVRA) near Folsom, CA. With new energy projects being proposed adjacent to other State Park units such as Ocotillo Wells and Heber Dunes SVRAs, a question was raised about an apparent policy change by State Parks to shift away from its historic strategy of protecting SVRAs and other parks units with open-space buffers.
The former Chair of the CA State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Commission states, “I think Sacramento County Planning made a huge mistake by failing to notify the OHMVR Commission about this solar project sited next to Prairie City SVRA per Public Resources Code Section 5090.24 that requires the commission to (a) Be fully informed regarding all governmental activities affecting the program.”
Amador continues, “In addition, the project proponents committed a major planning error by not reaching out to the OHV community and competition organizations in 2021 pre-scoping efforts and during the 30-day public scoping comment period that started on January 19, 2022. That omission of outreach continued until late April of this year when OHV organizations got an alert by a 3rd party about this project just a few days before the DEIR May 5 public comment deadline.”
The next step in this process is for OHV groups, local businesses, conservation, and competition organizations to attend in-person or virtually the September 4, 2025 OHMVR Commission meeting in Redding, CA where this issue is on the agenda as an ACTION ITEM. “It is important for the OHMVR Commissioners to hear from the greater OHV stakeholder community about their concerns regarding the project’s short and long-term impacts to public access, park operations, and even questions about the SVRA’s future,” Amador concludes.
DEIR COMMENTS FROM OHV, CONSERVATION, AND AGENCIES
https://planning.saccounty.gov/Documents/Coyote%20Creek%20Agrivoltaic%20Ranch/DEIR/Updated%20All%20Comments%20Received%20on%20the%20Draft%20EIR.pdf
SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 OHMVR COMMISSION MEETING
https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27160
