Officials recommend thumbs-down on Genoa project

MINDEN -- Opponents of a proposed 156-unit timeshare development at Genoa Lakes have won the support of the Douglas County Planning Commission, which unanimously recommended denial of the project.

The advisory panel concurred Tuesday with project critics who argued it was incompatible with an existing, upscale subdivision and the surrounding area. The units, in 39 fourplexes, would be adjacent to the historic foothill community of Genoa.

The recommendation, made after a six-hour hearing before a standing-room only audience, goes to county commissioners May 1.

Applicant Mario Antoci, owner of The Golf Course at Genoa Lakes, wants to build the timeshare units and an 18,800-square-foot fitness center at the south end of the golf course.

But the Genoa Lakes, Pioneer Trails and Sierra Shadows homeowners associations, along with the town of Genoa, opposed the development.

"There have been some outrageous comments made about the project, some from people whom I considered friends. But logic is a concept most of our opponents don't possess," Antoci said.

Opposition to the project has focused on concerns about increased traffic, the project's location in an area that floods, additional demand on services and secondary access.

Some Genoa Lakes residents said they were told by county officials and others the subdivision would be permanently limited to 220 homes, which prompted their decision to invest.

"We believed we could rely on the development plans. We wouldn't have bought if we had any notion there would be changes. A development agreement is a contract," said Genoa Lakes resident and retired judge Steve McMorris.

Residents in the adjacent Pioneer Trails subdivision said they don't want a secondary access road from Genoa Lakes hooking up with their Meadowlark Lane. As part of conditions of approval, the county said improving the dirt lane for emergency access would be required.

"We live in a small rural community. We have dirt roads and that's fine with us," said Pioneer Trails resident Vic Belosic.