With Wiener\u2019s latest effort to transform residential neighborhoods into big, dense cities, the caveat justifying building apartment housing on single-family streets is if a bus stop is within half a mile of the proposed apartment building.<\/p>\n
It is a death knell for conventional family-oriented residential living.<\/p>\n
\u201cCPGP and the Casa Loma Terrace Neighborhood Association appealed this project because of the project\u2019s significant health and safety risks, its egregious size and scale, as well as the impact to the historic Casa Loma Terrace district,\u201d Citizens for Positive Growth & Preservation said in a press statement. \u201cLast night\u2019s decision by the City Council to deny both appeals is deeply disappointing. The Council has given a green light to this project despite clear conflicts with adopted zoning laws, unresolved public safety and infrastructure concerns, and extensive community opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCitizens for Positive Growth & Preservation is not opposed to responsible development. In fact, our appeal would not have halted development at the site. Our effort has always been about accountability \u2014 holding the City accountable to the laws it adopted to protect public health, neighborhood livability, and long-term infrastructure capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Globe reported on the project in February. It is in the City of Sacramento\u2019s records, and will occupy the former Maryann\u2019s Bakery site, which has been abandoned and left decrepit for years, and required major remediation for soil contamination caused by leaking underground tanks,\u00a0Sacramento resident Carl Seymour told the Globe in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are all apartments, market rate, with nothing for seniors, or affordable housing. And this requires the use of cars,\u201d Seymour said describing the redevelopment project, as it isn\u2019t near a light rail station.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Alhambra Corridor Special Planning District exists for a reason: to ensure that new development transitions appropriately near established residential neighborhoods and does not overwhelm historic single-story homes. When those protections are set aside, and major impacts are deferred or dismissed rather than fully evaluated, it undermines public trust, neglects community input, and sets a precedent that planning rules are optional rather than enforceable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is what the Casa Loma Terrace neighborhood in East Sacramento looks like:<\/p>\n
Casa Loma Terrace, East Sacramento. (Photo: Carl Seymour for California Globe) <\/p>\n
The Casa Loma Terrace neighborhood is set in an historic post WWI bungalow homes, primarily one- and two-story residential neighborhood, where average density is probably 50 people per square block, Mr. Seymour said. Covered by the Alhambra Corridor Special Planning District which was created following the destruction of the historic landmark The Alhambra Theater in 1973, the area is zoned for a maximum height of 35 feet, and zoning specifies that any construction should echo architectural styles of the surrounding neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The project applicant, the Demas family, has been seeking exceptions to be able to build a 68 foot tall, six story, high-rise, high-density apartment building, with ground floor retail space.<\/p>\n
Proposed apartment complex, Casa Loma Terrace, East Sacramento. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe City Planning Department\u2019s initial study states that the building will house up to 870 residents in one square block, and that the project will generate over 19,000 vehicle trips per week into this otherwise reasonably quiet East Sacramento neighborhood,\u201d Seymour said. \u201cThe Planning Department has issued a Mitigated Negative Declaration, and tentatively recommended approval, though their final study is yet to be released. The initial study contained numerous errors and flaws, and generated significant controversy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cResidents repeatedly asked for a lawful, community\u2011benefiting process \u2014 one which evaluates the project\u2019s impacts upon the city\u2019s failing combined sewer system, addresses the freeway-volume traffic on narrow residential streets, and consults the surrounding neighborhood before approvals are granted. The City ignored our requests,\u201d Citizens for Positive Growth & Preservation said.<\/p>\n
The 6-story Alhambra Redevelopment Project. (Photo: SaveEastSac!) <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the Council\u2019s vote closes this chapter of the appeal, it does not resolve the broader concerns raised by this project or the growing pattern of approving developments that circumvent the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and existing local protections.<\/p>\n
\u201cCPGP will continue to advocate for responsible, lawful growth and development which benefits the entire community, respects historic neighborhoods, and is guided by transparency, accountability, and good governance. Sacramento can and should grow, but it must do so by following the law and working with, not around, the people who call these long-established neighborhoods home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Seymour noted that with 870 people projected to live in the apartment building with only 302 parking spaces, they are short 500+ spaces.<\/p>\n
This is forced density, not smart growth, and turns the very idea of property rights upside down.<\/p>\n