The High School Road project started as a proposal to build eight storage buildings in Jamestown. It eventually became one of the most closely examined development projects in recent Tuolumne County history.

In Part 3 of our Civil Grand Jury series, we break down the timeline in plain English. We look at the permitting process, the county’s new conflict of interest policy, Amador County’s involvement, questions surrounding the fire hydrant, and the Grand Jury’s findings.

This article is not about politics. It is about process. It is about understanding how government works, how decisions are made, and why public trust matters.

The Community Development Department touches nearly every resident of Tuolumne County. Whether you’re building a home, opening a business, remodeling a kitchen, or filing a code complaint, chances are you’ll work with CDD. A new Civil Grand Jury report paints a troubling picture of what happened inside the department during 2025, describing staffing losses, declining morale, budget cuts, and a loss of institutional knowledge that continues to affect county government today.

The Tuolumne County Civil Grand Jury didn’t investigate one bad decision. It investigated how our county government operates. Its findings raise serious questions about ethics, transparency, conflicts of interest, public records, and accountability. Here’s what the report says, why it matters, and what every resident should know.