With a cost of nearly half a billion, Folsom Ranch is marketed as a dream town — a place where people can come together and live in luxury. Family and friends can gather in the communal town center or take hikes through the countless trails planned to be installed. A total of five elementary schools, a middle school, and a public high school are scheduled to be built which will host thousands of students.
Folsom Ranch also boasts more than 1,000 acres of preserved land which will be home to countless trails and preserve land for species such as bald eagles.
“This project is great. We really need it, especially the White Rock Road improvements,” said Madeleine Moseley who served as a city sentinel.
“They are putting a good amount of effort into it. The elementary school looks like an actual college,” said Folsom Ranch resident, CJ Limpag. “It looks a lot better than Folsom Middle School,” he added.
While the project has received good reactions from residents, concerns have also been raised as to whether it will be the perfect town it is planned to be.
“I am hoping that the city has taken care of traffic issues, police and fire expansion, building new schools, and providing water for all,” said Emily Fife, a long-time Folsom resident.
Her concerns are shared by many Folsom residents, and the city is responding to it.
“We are in the process of adding a third left turn lane from westbound Iron Point onto southbound East Bidwell,” said Folsom Mayor, Michael Kozlowski. “The bigger solution…is that we have been for many years [planning] to build a new freeway on/off ramp and overpass at Empire Ranch Road…it’s top of mind in our planning.”
Another concern brought up by residents was whether the new community will put more strain on the water supply during drought years. Kozlowski explains that it’s not a worry for Folsom residents as “the amount of water that we can pull from Folsom Lake is adequate for everybody in Folsom at their current usage and everybody that will live in South 50.”
“Whether or not we do sort of drought controls and conservation when there’s a drought, that’s us being a good neighbor to everyone else in California.” Kozlowski says.
The project is planned to be in the works for the next 25-30 years and countless companies and hundreds of workers are involved.
For more information regarding the project you can visit the official Folsom Ranch website:https://folsomranch.com
