The El Dorado Hills Community Services District board adopted an environmental study clearing the way for a comprehensive fiscal analysis of cityhood.

The board approved the environmental document and a negative declaration finding that incorporating El Dorado Hills would not significantly affect the environment, Village Life reported Friday, Sept. 11. The action followed a public comment period and review by local agencies.

"There was no change in the conclusion that there would be no significant environmental impacts," Jon Teofilo, program manager with consultant Environmental Science Associates, told the board.

The adoption satisfies a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirement that El Dorado LAFCO, the county's boundary commission, needed before launching a comprehensive fiscal analysis (CFA). That analysis will determine whether a new city of El Dorado Hills could sustain itself financially. LAFCO's contract with fiscal consultant RSG runs through Sept. 24, 2027, according to a December 2025 LAFCO letter. No start date for the fiscal study has been announced.

The proposed city would cover roughly 18,200 acres of unincorporated land, home to about 51,000 residents and 36,000 registered voters, according to the Mountain Democrat and the district's LAFCO application. If the fiscal analysis supports incorporation, voters within those boundaries would decide the question at a future election.

El Dorado Hills tried once before. A 2005 incorporation vote fell short with 43.6% in favor, according to a preliminary fiscal analysis prepared for LAFCO.

The environmental study, prepared by ESA under a contract capped at $67,000, covered 20 focus areas including biological resources, wildfire and recreation, Village Life reported in July. Half the cost was funded by the district and half by El Dorado Hills Citizens for Cityhood. Tribal consultation concluded with no outstanding issues.

Not everyone agreed the study was worth the effort. El Dorado Hills resident Ben Glickman told the board at a July meeting that the CEQA process was "a profoundly silly exercise," calling the time and money spent "unconscionable."

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors weighed in Aug. 18, voting 5-0 to submit comments raising concerns that the study should not dismiss future city actions as speculative without substantial evidence.

Board Chair Brooke Laine said she thought good points were raised about things that had been overlooked and hoped they could be addressed, the Mountain Democrat reported.

Board President Steve Ferry said in a May 2025 press release that cityhood was "a big part of my campaign" and that the board saw value in pursuing information to "confirm the feasibility of becoming a city."

El Dorado County has only two incorporated cities, Placerville and South Lake Tahoe, with a combined population of about 31,000. El Dorado Hills would be the county's largest city by population if voters approve. LAFCO has not scheduled a date for the fiscal analysis to begin.