Carl Seymour heads the Casa Loma Terrace Neighborhood Association, one of two neighborhood groups opposing the project.
“It’s a colossal error,” Seymour said. “ It’s a permanent bad mistake of large scale with major negative impact on the city’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, on safety for pedestrians, on traffic safety and on the neighborhood.”
Citizens for Positive Growth & Preservation, the other challenger, echoed similar statements. They requested the project go through an environmental review process, known as a California Environmental Quality Act evaluation and said the proposed height of the building violates neighborhood standards.
Applicants HRGA Architecture Firm are behind the project. They did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
The Sacramento Planning and Design Commission unanimously approved the development on Feb. 12, determining it did not need a CEQA evaluation. Many residents spoke for and against the project at the commission meeting.
The proposed redevelopment project will take up a whole city block, and is surrounded by Alhambra Boulevard, C Street, and 30 Street. The Sacramento City Planning Commission unanimously approved the project Feb. 12.Courtesy of The City of Sacramento
Supporters, including advocacy group House Sacramento, see the project as a way to reduce air pollution because it would lessen commute times for those who work in Sacramento’s downtown region.
Michael Turgeon, president of House Sacramento, told CapRadio his group sees it as a way to attract younger families and professionals, which would have positive impacts on the local economy.
“It’s an awesome site. It’s obviously a site where a lot of people today really wanna live judging by the home values and the rents,” Turgeon said. “It would be great if more people had the opportunity to live there.”
The neighborhood is largely made up of single family homes, and is walking distance from McKinley Park, one of Sacramento’s biggest and most popular parks.
The lone tenant on the block is Morgan Burgess. He works on old cars in one of the brick buildings that now has boarded up windows and graffiti.
He said he knew the project was coming prior to renting out the space.
“These are cool buildings, I wish they’d be restored,” Burgess said. “But Sacramento needs housing.”
State law could limit council authority
The city council will be responsible for approving or denying the apartments, but state legislation passed last year limits the authority local governments have to deny projects based on environmental concerns.
SB131 reformed the CEQA process in an effort to streamline housing development. CEQA is often weaponized by NIMBY groups to slow down or stop them completely.
The project is in City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum’s district. He said this law makes it challenging to oppose projects.
“The state legislature has tied our hands a little bit,” Pluckebaum said. “If someone brings a project forward that is consistent with our land use and the zoning and code, we would have to make public health and safety findings to say no.”
The neighborhood opposition groups frame their arguments through a public health and safety lens, but Pluckebaum said those arguments must have a direct correlation to health.
“It would have to create an unsafe condition,” he said. “If the project would cause cancer, vehicular deaths or something like that.”
Pluckebaum said he expects the project to come to city council within the next month.
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