Sutter Creek has become a model of economic development for another foothill town hoping to revitalize downtown business. Angels Camp in Calaveras County recently hosted a presentation on Retail Economic Development to a packed house on Tuesday afternoon at the Angels Camp Fire House. The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors and local business representatives discussed revitalization and engaged in a lively debate on the direction of retail and commerce in the area. Calaveras Supervisor Steve Wilensky led several minutes of discussion on what the affects of growth in Amador County have been and how to plan for successes and learn from the mistakes. Sutter Creek was used as a model with a good identity strategy and core business group.

This was contrasted with some of the problems downtown Jackson has encountered in dealing with the shift in retail center of gravity to the Martell developments. Sutter Creek has faired much better even though Sutter Creek and Jackson are very similar in distance from the large format retailers. One participant believed that while Sutter Creek was planning, the Jackson retailers were squabbling over parking meters and other issues that in hindsight had no significant impact on the long term future of the shopping core. Most Angels Camp citizens believed they could strike a balance between promoting and protecting historic downtown and allowing traditional businesses growth.