Planning Commission Feels Heat Over Muslim Cemetery

Furor over an application for a muslim cemetery in the Carbondale area of Ione drew a crowd for Tuesday’s Amador Planning Commission meeting. Despite the item not being on the agenda, several residents aired their concerns about the project and the impact it would bring to the community. Commissioner Jerry Poore was quick to address posts on social media which misinformed the public that the item would be coming before the commission while also reminding those in attendance of the requirements for meeting notifications which are made public in the newspaper at least 20-days ahead of the meeting and calendarized on the county’s website. The application had previously been discussed at the Amador Technical Advisory Committee where it was noted some issues with the application must be addressed before coming to the Commission, which further delayed it be agendized for this month’s meeting. 

In regular business the Commission approved recommending to the Board of Supervisors to accept the final environmental impact report for what is known as “The Wicklow Way Project” surrounding the property at Wal-Mart in Jackson. With a significant size reduction by 50%, the project would look at adding 377 residential units on 34 acres of the 201-acre site. The remainder of the parcel would call for 37 acres of commercial and public uses such as parks, and the remaining 130 acres for open space. A caveat of the approval was both the allowance of fireplaces and removing the requirement for electric vehicle charging stations in the proposed residences.