The El Dorado Hills Costco Is Moving Forward. Here’s What You Need to Know. August 2026

If it feels like we’ve been talking about a Costco coming to El Dorado Hills for years, that’s because we have.

But the project has changed significantly along the way, and in 2026 it reached one of the most important stages yet: environmental review.

So, is Costco officially coming? Where exactly would it go? What would be built? And when could we realistically expect it to open?

Here’s where the proposed El Dorado Hills Costco stands today.

Proposed El Dorado Hills Costco near Silva Valley Parkway and Highway 50 with planned fuel station.

Where would the El Dorado Hills Costco be located?

The proposed Costco would be built immediately north of Highway 50 at the Silva Valley Parkway interchange.

The project spans both sides of Silva Valley Parkway. The main Costco warehouse and customer parking would be located on the south side, closer to Highway 50, while the proposed fuel facility and employee parking would be located on the north side of Silva Valley Parkway.

This location is an important part of the ongoing community discussion because Silva Valley Parkway already serves as a major connection between Highway 50 and several parts of El Dorado Hills.

What exactly is being proposed?

The current proposal is no longer the larger mixed-use development many longtime residents may remember from earlier versions of the project.

Today, Costco is proposing its warehouse, fuel facility and related improvements.

The plans include an approximately 165,000-square-foot Costco warehouse, customer parking, tire center and other typical Costco services. Across Silva Valley Parkway, the proposal calls for a members-only fuel facility with 32 fueling positions, along with employee parking. A portion of the property north of Silva Valley Parkway would remain undeveloped for now.

The project would require several County approvals, including a Development Plan Permit and Conditional Use Permit, along with a variance related to signage.

Why has the project generated so much discussion?

Interestingly, much of the debate in El Dorado Hills isn't simply about whether residents want a Costco.

It's about where this Costco is proposed and what a development of this scale could mean for the surrounding area.

Traffic remains one of the biggest issues being studied. Silva Valley Parkway connects the site directly with Highway 50, but Costco traffic would interact with a broader network of roads used by EDH residents, including connections toward Serrano Parkway, El Dorado Hills Boulevard, Green Valley Road and Bass Lake Road.

The County's transportation analysis examines the additional vehicle activity associated with the warehouse and fuel facility, and the Draft EIR identifies traffic impacts that are part of the project's environmental review.

For anyone who has driven Silva Valley Parkway during school pickup, this is understandably one of the most closely watched pieces of the proposal.

And then there’s the fuel station

The proposed fuel facility has become another major point of discussion.

It would be located on the north side of Silva Valley Parkway, in the vicinity of Oak Meadow Elementary School. The County's project materials specifically identify Oak Meadow Elementary among the schools surrounding the project, and the County has also published a separate school-operations analysis dated June 30, 2026.

Questions raised during the review process have included traffic, fuel deliveries, air quality and pedestrian safety around the school area.

That doesn't mean those concerns determine whether the project will ultimately be approved. It means they are among the issues being considered as the County completes its review.

Where is the Costco approval process right now?

This is probably the biggest misconception I hear:

The Costco has not received its final land-use approval yet.

El Dorado County released the project's Draft Environmental Impact Report, or Draft EIR, on January 21, 2026. The formal public and agency comment period ended March 23.

The County is now working toward the Final EIR, which will include responses to substantive comments received on the Draft EIR.

Only after that environmental process is completed can the project move to the El Dorado County Planning Commission for consideration of the land-use approvals.

The County currently estimates the Final EIR will be completed later in 2026, with a Planning Commission public hearing anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027.

So as of August 2026, there is no final approval and no confirmed opening date.

What happens next?

The next major milestone to watch is the release of the Final EIR.

After that, the project can go before the Planning Commission. The County must certify the Final EIR before approving the project.

If Costco ultimately receives its necessary approvals, construction itself is estimated by the County's project FAQ to take approximately 10 months, including grading, construction and site improvements.

That means you're not going to be filling up at an EDH Costco next month- or even particularly soon.

Until the project clears environmental review and the entitlement process, any specific opening year should be viewed as an estimate rather than a firm date.

There’s another piece of the debate: Money

The Costco discussion isn't only about traffic and development impacts.

There is also a significant economic component.

In June 2026, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors approved a direction to County Counsel and the Chief Administrative Officer to identify ways that, if Costco is approved and begins operating, a portion of the revenue could be placed into a special account dedicated to road improvements and maintenance within the 95762 ZIP code.

That distinction matters because El Dorado Hills is not an incorporated city. It is part of El Dorado County.

So the question isn't simply how much economic activity Costco could generate. It's also how the County manages revenue and infrastructure costs associated with a major development whose most immediate effects would be felt here in El Dorado Hills.

The Board's June action is particularly noteworthy because it explicitly acknowledged that Costco could create county-wide economic benefits while many of the infrastructure impacts would be concentrated locally.

So, is Costco coming to El Dorado Hills?

The most accurate answer today is:

It is proposed, it is moving through the approval process, but it isn't finally approved yet.

There are strong opinions on both sides of this project. Some residents are excited about having Costco closer to home and keeping more shopping activity within El Dorado County. Others are concerned about traffic, infrastructure and the proposed fuel facility's proximity to a school.

But regardless of which side you're on, a project of this size could have a meaningful impact on this part of El Dorado Hills.

That's why I'll continue following it as it moves through the County process.

Last updated: August 26, 2026

For the primary documents, you can follow the El Dorado County EDH Costco Draft EIR page and the County's EDH Costco project FAQ.