El Dorado County supervisors are looking at a big-box fix for a big-budget problem, voting Tuesday to have staff study whether sales tax and other revenue from a proposed Costco in El Dorado Hills could be steered into county road repairs. Board members pitched the idea as a possible short-term patch for years of deferred maintenance on local streets.
The board’s directive asks staff to examine whether any new income from the project, including sales-tax receipts, could be dedicated to transportation work rather than folded into general operations, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. The proposal is currently in environmental review, and the county’s Draft Environmental Impact Report places the warehouse and associated fueling facility near the Silva Valley Parkway/Tong Road interchange.
How Local Governments Chase New Retail Money
To turn Costco cash into asphalt, staff are expected to look at tools such as development agreements, impact fees or budget-policy tweaks that could send new revenue toward infrastructure. Other counties have turned to voter-approved ballot measures and targeted sales-tax plans to fund transportation projects, a playbook El Dorado County leaders may study, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Those strategies can take years to roll out and often do not fully cover long-term maintenance costs.
Neighbors Push Back Over Traffic, Health And Costs
Local advisory groups and nearby residents are not sold on the pitch, arguing that new tax revenue will not fully offset the infrastructure burden the development is expected to create. In a technical comment letter, the El Dorado Hills Area Planning Advisory Committee said the Draft EIR and its transportation analysis reveal “fundamental conflicts” with county policy and called for a site-specific fiscal impact study; the letter is posted on the committee’s site (EDH APAC comment letter).
The Draft EIR’s Transportation Impact Analysis projects thousands of new vehicle miles traveled and several intersections slipping to failing levels of service under near-term conditions. Opponents say those added trips will accelerate wear on county streets while also clogging already stressed roads.
What Happens Next
County staff must now dig into the legal and fiscal mechanics and return with specific options for the board to consider, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. The Draft EIR was released earlier this year and the public comment period has closed. County planning documents say a Final EIR and follow-up planning hearings are expected later this year.
The county’s FY 2025–26 budget materials flag a shortfall in discretionary road funding. The recommended budget came in about $100,000 below a $5 million policy target for road maintenance, a gap detailed in an El Dorado County press release.
The Costco project is still under review, and any plan to earmark its revenue for roads would need more analysis, public hearings and likely negotiated agreements before a single dollar is committed. Residents following the debate will want to keep an eye on upcoming Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission agendas for the staff report and future hearings.
