The Lincoln City Council approved a property purchase on Tuesday that would provide 3.4 million cubic yards of fill dirt for the Highway 65 bypass project, as well as land for a storm water retention facility.

With the decision, the council allows the city to obtain 323 acres of property from development group Sundance-Lakeview Properties LLC, as well as a required 7.12-acre easement.

The city first entered into agreement with Sundance-Lakeview in November 2006, when it agreed to buy 162 acres, known as the Phase I Lakeview Farms Project.

But Caltrans and the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency requested more material for the bypass, leading the city to develop a Phase II purchase – doubling the amount of land in Phase I.

In total, the purchase will cost the city $2.06 million – $1.97 million for the property and an additional $85,440 for the easement.

In addition to the bypass dirt, the Phase II property, also known as the Lakeview Farms Volumetric Mitigation Facility, allows for as much as 2,750 acre-feet of volumetric storage for flood events, said John Pedri, the city’s public works director. The storage is a mitigation measure for Lincoln development.

“To me, it’s almost a final piece of puzzle,” Mayor Primo Santini said of the storm retention facility.

Lincoln has already secured the other utilities necessary for its general plan, including a Joint Powers Authority for garbage, a wastewater treatment facility and access to water through the Placer County Water Agency and, potentially, the Nevada Irrigation District, Santini said.

“The beauty is that we as a city don’t have to worry so much about basic things that many cities can’t solve,” he said. “We can focus on organizing growth in a way best for the city of Lincoln.”

Though a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the bypass already occurred earlier this summer, real work is officially slated to begin Sept. 15, said Councilman Tom Cosgrove.

“I would say this is the most frequently asked question when I’m out, ‘When is the bypass going to start?’ My response to that is the project has started,” he said.

A $137 million project doesn’t start with bulldozers, but rather with agreements and planning, Cosgrove said.

“The project is started – it’s just not highly visible,” he said. “(Eventually) they will move some dirt.”

Two other items on the agenda Tuesday were postponed until the council’s next meeting.

Public hearings on a proposed change of park hours and a resolution to maintain two-hour timed parking between First and Second streets on Highway 65 were continued to Sept. 9.

In other news, council members honored lifetime Lincoln resident Oliver Grey for his 50 years as a volunteer firefighter with the city.

Grey, whose father and grandfathers also were volunteer firefighters in Lincoln, received a proclamation, a speaking trumpet trophy and an official new lieutenant badge from the Lincoln Fire Department.