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The Chronicles of Narnia. Lord of the Rings. Clue. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Books and movies are filled with secret passages. In this episode of Bee My Guest, our video series which spotlights our favorite home features, we found a hidden staircase in a $2.465 million house in Loomis, California.

“We don’t see a bunch of secret rooms, if you will,” said Madison Fairchild of Madison Chase Real Estate, who represented the buyer of the Loomis residence (it was purchased in 2021). “But we do see them occasionally. And I will say there’s something that it gets buyers going when they see something like this. They are extremely memorable. There’s a little bit of that inner child that comes down and it’s always a fan favorite.”

The four-bedroom, five-bath Loomis home, which sits on 2.3 acres off Horseshoe Bar Lane in Placer County and spans 7,220 square feet, contains a large bookshelf in a front hallway that rolls open to reveal a secret staircase.

It’s up for debate whether a hidden door adds value to or helps sell a house, Fairchild said.

“That’s a tough one,” she said. “I can’t say that it’s adding a bunch of value, but it’s something that buyers get excited about They do remember it and I think it’s something that entices them.”

This particular hidden passageway leads to a large game room and home theater.

“I think everybody has a unique perspective as to the why (build a secret passage), but this one is great. You open this thing up and it’s kids’ zone in there. You can lock them in there, disappear and it becomes adult land downstairs,” she half-joked. “But we see them often where people put valuables, use it almost as a secondary safe or even have their safes behind them.”

Take a look at the video above to see how the hidden door works and where it leads.

For past “Bee My Guest” shows, go to this page.

And please share with us your favorite home feature, whether it’s a kitchen, living room, yard, pool or other amenity in the form below.

This story was originally published June 18, 2022, 5:00 AM.

Some approved changes earlier this week to environmental review language for a proposed Costco Wholesale Corp. store in Loomis addressed neighboring Rocklin's legal challenge, town officials believe.

Safe to say, though, that Rocklin doesn't agree the project met California Environmental Quality Act standards. The neighboring city has appealed a Placer County Superior Court decision that mostly upheld Loomis' approvals, and sent the town a letter opposing the fixes the court's ruling suggested.

According to Rocklin's April 8 civil appeal mediation statement, filed with the Third Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal, the issues to be considered under the appeal include "whether the Town failed to disclose essential information that is required under CEQA for decision-makers and the public to understand and meaningfully comment on the severity of Costco's impacts on the Sierra College Boulevard Corridor."

A city spokesman for Rocklin said the city wouldn't comment beyond the statement and letter.

The letter, submitted April 12 by law firm Abbott & Kindermann Inc., on behalf of Rocklin, both criticized the specific language the Loomis Town Council was considering and what city officials consider other outstanding issues.

By adopting an environmental impact report addendum for the Costco project, the town was violating the Placer County court judgment, according to the letter.

Also, the proposed general plan and zoning amendments violate both government code and the Housing Crisis Act, the letter states.

Loomis Town Manager Sean Rabé said he believes the adopted changes address the issues found in the original ruling.

"Rocklin did appeal the judge's decision, and we're still working through those issues," he said, adding the town's attorneys were still reviewing the appeal because it was only filed recently.

Costco (Nasdaq: COST) has approvals for a 155,000-square-foot store and 24-pump gas station for the southeast corner of Brace Road and Sierra College Boulevard. Rocklin's eastern city limit is Sierra College Boulevard.

The Issaquah, Washington-based warehouse retail giant has not confirmed plans for the store. A spokesman sent an email Thursday noting a company policy not to announce new locations until two to three months before opening.

Rabé said he believes Costco would like to start construction as soon as it possibly can.

"We're just looking forward to wrapping this up as quickly as possible so we can get the store opened," he said of the legal challenges from Rocklin.

After a Placer County Superior Court judge ruled partly in Rocklin's favor in its initial lawsuit opposing a new Costco store in neighboring Loomis, the city has filed a new legal challenge.

The new suit, filed in June in Placer County Superior Court, contends a language fix Loomis officials adopted to address environmental impact report issues raised by the ruling for the previous suit has its own issues.

"On April 12, 2022, Rocklin submitted a written comment letter to the Loomis Council, again pointing out that the EIR addendum was inadequate and could not support the approval of the revised project," the new suit states.

Despite that, according to the suit, Loomis adopted the environmental impact report addendum the following month without vacating and rescinding its previous environmental impact report, as the judge hearing the first suit ordered so the town's approvals would comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.

"As a result of the foregoing defects, respondents prejudicially abused their discretion by certifying the EIR addendum and taking related actions that do not comply with the requirements of CEQA," the suit states. "As such, Loomis’ certification of the EIR addendum and approval of the revised project must be set aside."

Costco Wholesale Corp. (Nasdaq: COST) is planning a 155,000-square-foot store on the southeast corner of Brace Road and Sierra College Boulevard, the latter the jurisdictional limit between Loomis and Rocklin. Rocklin city officials in their initial suit contended the store would have negative environmental effects, particularly in terms of traffic, on Rocklin.

Though the ruling in the initial suit upheld some of Rocklin's contentions, it didn't vacate Loomis' approvals of the project or uphold all the claims. Both the city of Rocklin and Costco itself, which has not directly confirmed plans for the Loomis store, have appealed the rulings in that case. The initial suit was filed in 2020.

In the new case, Rocklin asks for a temporary stay and injunction against any work on the project proceeding.

Michael Young, a spokesman for the city of Rocklin, said the city had no comment beyond the new suit.

Sean Rabé, Loomis' town manager, said he was aware of the new suit. "At this point, we're not going to comment until we can review it a little bit more," he said.

With all the necessary approvals in hand, Rabé said, Costco is just waiting on the resolution of litigation to start building its project, which will also include a gas station.

"As soon as the litigation is wrapped up, they're ready to move dirt," he said.

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

LOOMIS, Calif. (KTXL) — Since 2018, the city of Rocklin and the town of Loomis have worked toward an agreement on a new Costco on the border of the two communities, on Thursday a deal was reached.

The location of the 155,000 square-foot Costco will be at Sierra College Boulevard and Brace Road.

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With anticipated increased traffic levels along Sierra College Boulevard, Costco has agreed to pay the city of Rocklin $3.75 million to mitigate impacts along the roadway.

The tire center and 24-pump gas station planned to accompany the store have also been cut from the project.

A revised site plan will extend the northbound right-turn entry lane from Sierra College Boulevard.

“This collaborative agreement protects the interests of Rocklin businesses in the area while clearing obstacles for Costco, which will bring significant sales tax revenue to Loomis,” Rocklin Mayor Bill Halldin said. “Rocklin’s goal was always to ensure the Loomis Costco was designed properly and that the project paid its fair share to reduce traffic impacts along the Sierra College Blvd. corridor.”

Loomis is expected to collect $1 million in annual sales tax revenue from the new store, making Costco one of the largest sales tax revenue sources in the town’s history.

“The Town is gratified that this settlement will put the litigation over Costco to rest,” Loomis Town Manager Sean Rabé said. “It’s worth noting that the Town prevailed in the original lawsuit regarding the environmental impacts of the project. It’s unfortunate that, despite the judge’s original ruling in favor of the Town, the project has been tied up for nearly two years due to the use of the California Environmental Quality Act as a cudgel, instead of as a way to ensure proper mitigation. “Further,” Rabé continued, “Loomis proposed in 2019 the same payments to the Sierra College interchange as the settlement provides for. Nevertheless, this settlement paves the way for Costco to open in Loomis — and we are overwhelmingly excited to see the store open.”

Through much of the planning and approval steps of this project, Rocklin’s leadership voiced strong concerns and negative viewpoints on the store’s impact on their community.

“From a lay-person perspective, I think this store is going to make an absolute mess of the traffic along Sierra College Boulevard corridor,” former Rocklin City Manager Steven Rudolph said in October 2019.

During an October 2019 meeting amongst the leadership of both communities, the Rocklin City Council echoed the concerns of Rudolph in how this would impact one of the city’s major traffic corridors.

Council members Ken Broadway and Jill Gayaldo both voiced that while they support the economic boost for their neighboring community, the planning of this project must be done right before any ground was broken.

Gayaldo, whose husband was the former principal of Del Oro High School in Loomis, said that the smaller communities’ roadways will also be greatly impacted if drivers do not want to travel along Sierra College Boulevard, due to the traffic caused by Costco.

“What our concern is, which should be a mutual concern, is that we do this right,” Gayaldo said. “Because if we muck up Sierra College (Boulevard), don’t think that Horseshoe Bar Road will be a disaster. Because no one in Loomis will try to do Sierra College and they will all go down Horseshoe Bar Road.”

Over the next year, Loomis and Rocklin staff worked to find a way to address Rocklin’s concerns before the project was taken to the Loomis Town Council for final approval.

Tim Onderko, who served as Lommis’ mayor for much of 2019, said that dealing with Rocklin’s city staff was “frustrating” at times as the town worked for “hundreds of hours” to meet the mitigation needs of the city.

In a letter from the city of Rocklin in August 2020, the city said the Final Environmental Impact Report from Loomis seems to “ignore” their concerns.

“The FEIR (Final Environmental Impact Report) mostly ignores concerns formally expressed by Rocklin in July 2020 and after review of two previous versions of the EIR, released in June 2018 and December 2019, respectively,” the letter stated. “Rocklin and Loomis leaders have also met multiple times since 2018 to try to reach a consensus, but to no avail. Rocklin’s concerns focus on the glaring inadequacy of the analysis of traffic impacts of the project, as well as the unreasonableness of recommended mitigation measures to Rocklin streets and intersections.”

Rocklin also raised concerns about:

On Aug. 11, 2020 the Loomis Town Council unanimously approved the Costco project which then included:

The Town Council celebrated the positive impact this store would have on their community but also commented on the years of negotiations with the city of Rocklin.

“I do not believe Rocklin has negotiated in good faith for a lot of years,” Loomis Councilman Brian Baker said. “… They have basically stopped negotiating. They come in and say they are interested in Loomis succeeding, but if they were interested in us and what we have going on, they would have negotiated in good faith. Which they haven’t.”

In April the town underwent rezoning in the area of the project to allow for its construction as well as infrastructure improvements in order to address traffic mitigation needs.

After years of heated debate and a recent settlement, a Costco will be built at the border of Rocklin and the town of Loomis in Placer County.

The new store will be at Sierra College Boulevard and Brace Road, according to the settlement agreement.

Spanning 155,000 square feet, the Costco features more than 800 parking spots, including 50 for electric vehicles, and will not have a fuel station.

In 2018, Loomis proposed construction of a Costco at Sierra College Boulevard and Brace Road, next to the Rocklin city boundary. Soon after, the city of Rocklin issued a response stating that the project would obstruct the city’s streets and negatively affect existing and potential businesses.

The project was put on pause, as Rocklin and Loomis officials tried to address concerns.

In 2020, Rocklin reiterated its worries over the town’s plans.

“Rocklin’s concerns focus on the glaring inadequacy of the analysis of traffic impacts of the project,” the city stated in a news release, “as well as the unreasonableness of recommended mitigation measures to Rocklin streets and intersections.”

Its concerns included the design of the Costco — one main entrance for a large shopping and gas center. With limited access points, the city stated, it would create “frequent gridlock in the Sierra College Blvd. and I-80 area, damage the livelihood of existing and future business in the commercial corridor, severely restrain further development on adjacent Rocklin properties, and curtail prompt access by emergency services.”

The project, now in motion, addresses Rocklin’s concerns by cutting the planned fuel center and adding a northbound entry lane on Sierra College Boulevard.

Under the agreement, Costco must pay Rocklin about $3.7 million to mitigate road impacts on the I-80 and Sierra College Boulevard corridor. It’s also outlined that Costco cannot build a gas facility within 750 feet of the site in the town of Loomis for 50 years.

“This collaborative agreement protects the interests of Rocklin businesses in the area while clearing obstacles for Costco, which will bring significant sales tax revenue to Loomis,” Rocklin Mayor Bill Halldin said in a news release. “Rocklin’s goal was always to ensure the Loomis Costco was designed properly and that the project paid its fair share to reduce traffic impacts along the Sierra College Blvd. corridor.”

The new store is expected to bring in more than $1 million in annual tax revenues to Loomis, potentially making it one of the largest and most profitable developments in the town’s history.

This story was originally published October 7, 2022, 3:15 PM.