A plan to build condos on some of Midtown's alleys may push ahead this week with the sale of a back lot on L Street. Homeowner Deanna Marquart is close to an agreement to sell 60 feet of her lot to Jeremy Drucker and other developers of an alley housing model called Stitch, the parties announced Monday. Selling the land for $100,000 will allow her to pay off the mortgage on her house at 2216 L St. Marquart, vice president of the Urban Design Alliance, said she also supports the concept. "I ... Suzanne midtownchair comment-36170 2010-09-04T03:00:44Z 2010-09-04T03:00:44Z Take a look at this project now...it is almost completed and looks pretty good from one neighbor's point of view(me). Thanks, Jeremy, for what appears to be a job well done. Thanks also for your leadership in working with others to make that alley a model for the rest of midtown. midtownchair 2010-09-04T03:00:44Z Marion Millin comment-17335 2009-11-05T22:42:22Z 2009-11-05T22:42:22Z So, Zen, you are saying that 3 parking spaces per Stitch project is now the standard and it doesn't matter how that happened. As William points out, "the standard" is still four spaces -- the perception here is that three is the standard and the "flexibility" starts from there. Wrong. My concerns are for the block/area where the Stitch model will be built and for other neighborhoods that may be future sites, as well as Midtown as a whole. That is why the process matters. That is why this sets a misleading precedent -- the fact that you now consider it "the standard" proves the point. That is why the neighborhood association requested -- and Jeremy agreed -- that he include the complete parking information in his marketing of Stitch. If you read the comments -- at least once, "over and over again" isn't necessary unless you still don't understand -- you'll see why the process -- and the precedent -- matter. What IS repetitive is your petty, personal, invasive badgering at me, while hiding behind your screen name. It suggests you have another agenda. Marion Millin 2009-11-05T22:42:22Z William Burg comment-17326 2009-11-05T21:22:45Z 2009-11-05T21:22:45Z zen: One thing to keep in mind is that "one space per unit" should also include the house in front. The three units in back each have a parking space, but in the case of the 17th & Capitol project, the house in front has no parking space in the front--one of the garages in back becomes a parking space for the house in front, and one of the back units has a parking space on an adjacent lot. The 22nd & L project will have no parking space for the front unit--the owner of the house does not mind, because she does not drive. William Burg 2009-11-05T21:22:45Z Marion Millin comment-17309 2009-11-05T07:49:06Z 2009-11-05T07:49:06Z "The result was a compromise, three usable parking spaces plus a lease for one off-site space adjacent to the project. Because of that compromise, and his willingness to meet and discuss the issue, MNA actively supported the project." The compromise included: making it clear that the model was not the standard, promoting it with the information that it required a parking waiver; that the Stitch model unit legally ought to have had three units with four parking spaces (including one dedicated to the front property owner, who happens to be responsible for much of the traffic impaction on the block, from his nearby business) OR have two units with three parking spaces. At this point in the mitigation discussion, the aspect of the third unit being ADA compliant came up. The neighborhood association was very supportive -- and swayed -- by the importance of the Stitch model including an ADA compliant studio apartment. There was not more pressure from the neighborhood assocation for Stitch to have two units with the three (four being too crowded) parking spaces, because that third unit was considered such a beneficial and important feature of the project. That studio has reportedly been sold ''to a local lawyer who is no hurry to move in." The report did not state whether the studio in the model would be built as ADA compliant, now that it has been presold. " Second is that while Stitch units will add density, they won't add undue levels of density." The Stitch ,model unit at 1717 Capitol Ave. will add undue levels of density of parking/traffic issues at the middle of the most overimpacted and underparked neighborhood block in Midtown. That is why the neighborhood association was so alarmed to find out about the switch in the plans (that had been presented in all prior meetings), at the last minute. The concerns were that the model would serve as a model, a norm, a template, for other neighborhoods and (physically) misrepresent the facts and requirements of the model's very existence. This is turn would downplay the seriousness of the parking/traffic realities in the neighborhood the model was subsequently approved for (and potentially others). It was approved based on the support of the neighborhood association, which was based on the mitigation discussions that amounted to much more than simply leasing a nearby parking space. Marion Millin 2009-11-05T07:49:06Z Zen comment-17263 2009-11-05T01:17:37Z 2009-11-05T01:17:37Z Bill again great points. Jumping off on some of them. I would like to point out that many of the percieved parking problems in Midtown are not only related to new commercial development but of some of the residential projects over the past 30 to 40 years that you mentioned. Many residential projects throughout Midtown were built with little or no off street parking. When the historic structures, that you mention, are subdivided into more units they are done mostly with no off street parking. Jeremy...keep up the good work. Most people don't understand the risk involved in making development projects happen and make vast generalizations about developers. As you can tell I am with Bill on this...some developers are better than others at engaging the community to work things out. Zen 2009-11-05T01:17:37Z Zen comment-17262 2009-11-05T01:06:58Z 2009-11-05T01:06:58Z Marion, I understand you are a resident that lives at the 18th and L location but do you really need that much disclosure for an article about the concept and first projects? Does in matter? I don't see that it does. As long as the project can find at least 1 space per unit that is what matters at the end of the day. If that remains the standard then why pound the point of how it got there over and over and over again? Zen 2009-11-05T01:06:58Z Zen comment-17261 2009-11-05T01:02:34Z 2009-11-05T01:02:34Z Bill great response. Comps in the Midtown area for residential are about $30 to $40 a SF. So Jim you are way off. In reference to Ron V's architecture, I really disagree with you Jim. The one thing that Ron has show over the years is his ability of his firm to design a number of architectural styles including a number smaller projects in Midtown that you most likely do not know. I like this concept overall. Its an great alternative way to get the density up in the Central City without needing large lots and large developments. Zen 2009-11-05T01:02:34Z William Burg comment-17228 2009-11-04T19:27:01Z 2009-11-04T19:27:01Z Jeremy: Being called a "scumbag" by Jim Knapp is something I'd consider a compliment. One thing about the article photo, and the metal siding idea: I think that was one of the early concept sketches, it is not much like the most recent drawings that will be used for the prototype Stitch project at 17th & Capitol. I do not think there is any metal siding on that one. I maintain that it isn't inappropriate for alley-facing projects, used in moderation, but it is just one of a variety of approaches Drucker showed us. And he did show us (Midtown Neighborhood Association, as well as SOCA) a lot of sketches and little models over the past two years. The one bump in the road was the switch from 4 to 3 parking spaces, which for various reasons we didn't hear about until a meeting with the Zoning Administrator. Rather than dig his feet in or stop talking to us when met with opposition, Drucker made an effort to meet with the neighborhood. The result was a compromise, three usable parking spaces plus a lease for one off-site space adjacent to the project. Because of that compromise, and his willingness to meet and discuss the issue, MNA actively supported the project. I'm a skeptic when it comes to most things, especially when it comes to developers. But even I refuse to paint them all with the same brush. Some really are trying to produce a good product, and build something that will work with the existing neighborhood. I consider the Stitch product to be a good example of that sort of developer. A man reason why is that this sort of development is nothing new--as I have mentioned, there are already hundreds of alley units throughout Midtown. Second is that while Stitch units will add density, they won't add undue levels of density. Currently, a single-family home ona 40x160 home is about 7 units per acre. Adding a tri-plex to the back increases this number to about 28 units per acre, which is within the range planned for most of the central city. It is also well below the existing density in many parts of Midtown. Witness the many four-plex apartments on 40x80 lots, ranging from 100 year old historic buildings (some built as single-family homes and subdivided, some built as apartments) to the Mansard-roofed 1960s/70s fourplexes. 4 units on a 40x80 lot is a density of about 52 units an acre--nearly twice that of Drucker's project. Some of Midtown's existing apartment buildings (again, ranging from century-old buildings to the latest infill projects) have densities approaching 100 units per acre. The best part (in my opinion) is that building alley units increases density in the central city without requiring the demolition of historic homes on the street facing--and provides a mechanism to make those buildings more financially viable. William Burg 2009-11-04T19:27:01Z iadam comment-17212 2009-11-04T11:47:27Z 2009-11-04T11:47:27Z i dont think your a scumbag. iadam 2009-11-04T11:47:27Z Stitch comment-17201 2009-11-04T04:26:15Z 2009-11-04T04:26:15Z Jeremy Drucker here - developer "scumbag" for Stitch. it's been a very long day and my apologies for not weighing into this discussion earlier...i'm just now reading the thread. If any of you want to meet in-person to discuss your concerns, I'm available and can be reached through the Stitch website: www(dot)stitch-space(dot)com Marion's absolutely right regarding her (and other's) concerns about parking in heavily-impacted blocks of the central city. The only garage that we could get to fit onto a 40' wide lot while providing "front doors / eyes on the alley" is a 3-car garage; necessitating a parking waiver/variance when there is an existing single-family home. I agree that in certain parts of town, this places an undue burden on street parking and in those instances we will do our best to mitigate the parking situation...as we have done at 1717 Capitol. Sure, there's plenty of healthy skepticism regarding "developers" but not all are alike and I, for one, firmly believe that there are many benefits for the long-term livability of the central city with the Stitch development strategy - and I welcome the opportunity to meet with any of you to clarify what we are proposing and why so many groups have supported our efforts. JD Stitch 2009-11-04T04:26:15Z William Burg comment-17200 2009-11-04T04:14:39Z 2009-11-04T04:14:39Z It's pretty much up to the property owner--nobody is twisting these folks' arms to sell their backyards. If you're into growing fruit trees, then you can grow them--and plenty of Midtown backyards already have them. But take a look at Midtown alleys RIGHT NOW and you will see that there are a lot of garages (many of which are actually used to store cars) and a lot of alley-oriented residences. Some of the existing alley residences are single-unit cottages or "mother in law" quarters, some are triplexes or fourplexes. Metal siding is just one of several possible treatments for these buildings--not the only option. William Burg 2009-11-04T04:14:39Z Marion Millin comment-17199 2009-11-04T03:42:47Z 2009-11-04T03:42:47Z "One parking space per unit is a good compromise for the present day," which is why this article and the illustration do not accurately convey the standards and regulations, the alteration of plans which necessitated a special permit for a parking waiver and an emergency meeting with the neighborhood association, where a neighbor and at least one board member advocated for (as part of mitigation) the marketing and materials (which this article may be an example of) to effectively communicate that there was a PARKING VARIANCE agreed upon for the initial model. As it stands -- this article proving the concerns -- the picture of the alley unit model with three garages will portray "normal" and the flexibility of plans working off that base, rather than what the truth is. The most impacted block of midtown at 18th and Capitol, already filled with a 24/7/365 business placed in the alley in the middle of the block, overimpacting further the neighborhood and absurd parking situation and now Stitch with a parking waiver and no disclosure. Marion Millin 2009-11-04T03:42:47Z advocate comment-17193 2009-11-04T00:38:54Z 2009-11-04T00:38:54Z When you look at metal siding it is ugly and cheap looking and does not weather well.. That was why it was used years ago for granaries, warehouses, quonset huts, and other cheap buildings, often along railroads which were not intended to be decades permanent. Metal causes a building to be super hot outside and inside and cold in winter. It would be better to use those back lots for fruit trees and garden plots. Knapp is right. advocate 2009-11-04T00:38:54Z William Burg comment-17177 2009-11-03T22:21:05Z 2009-11-03T22:21:05Z That's the idea behind having three parking spaces in the back--the folks who live in back would park back there. We would have preferred four, but four spaces wouldn't fit. In this case, the owner of the house in front doesn't own a car. The three parking spaces are intended for the three condo units in back. If the residents of those units own more than one car, they will have to park it on the street, but it's not that simple--downtown residents have to get residential parking permits, move their cars on street sweeping/trash days, and deal with commuters hunting for the same parking spaces on weekdays and nightclubbers hunting for the same parking spaces at night. But generally, folks in the central city don't need more than one car per household. It's pretty easy to walk or bike to the supermarket, the drug store, a bite to eat, the gym, etcetera. If you work downtown, it's easier to walk, bike or take public transit--and cheaper, because you don't have to pay for parking at work. The garage becomes "car storage." In fact, that's part of how I use my own garage--often I won't get in my car for a week, and it is easier to park it in my garage (even though it is small, only 8 feet wide) and leave it there than have to move it on street cleaning day. And if I come home late on a Saturday night, the street is parked up. So I can either park it in my own house, or park it a block away from home. Keep in mind that the folks in the alley units won't necessarily have access to the building from the street side! If they park in front, along L Street (assuming they can find parking) they would have to walk all the way around the block to enter via the alley. Or they can pull into the parking garage and be at home. William Burg 2009-11-03T22:21:05Z William Burg comment-17175 2009-11-03T20:01:10Z 2009-11-03T20:01:10Z In neighborhoods where there is effectively no street parking, one garage provides a place to put a car for the handful of places where a Midtown resident can't easily reach by foot, bike or transit. And if we get to a place where Sacramento's transit is so good that cars are not as necessary, garages make excellent storage spaces and workshops for us wacky creative types. One parking space per unit is a good compromise for the present day. We aren't quite to a place where we can do without parking spaces, but we certainly don't need multi-unit parking and driveways for central city housing. William Burg 2009-11-03T20:01:10Z The Parrhesiac comment-17174 2009-11-03T20:00:54Z 2009-11-03T20:00:54Z So William, are you saying that these units wont impact on street parking? The Parrhesiac 2009-11-03T20:00:54Z William Burg comment-17173 2009-11-03T19:58:35Z 2009-11-03T19:58:35Z um, this isn't a 4-5K square foot lot...this is the back 60 feet of a 40 foot wide lot, or 2400 square feet. $100,000 divided by 2400 is about $41.60 per square foot. The idea is to allow the owners of historic buildings on downtown's 40x160 lots to sell off the back third of their lot--in other words, it is a sub-division of the lot. 40x160 is actually a big lot for Midtown--most lots are 40x80, but they don't have the long backyards that reach to the alley that make this kind of project possible. There are only 8 40x160 lots per city block, and many of those lots already have alley buildings of one sort or another (ranging from carports to entire houses moved from other parts of the city and apartment buildings.) So even having 4 units per block seems unlikely. Units that are located within preservation districts will require preservation review, although it is uncertain whether or not they would be reviewed by the Preservation Commission. Due to city "streamlining," the Commission only reviews some of the biggest projects. Units not in preservation districts still undergo design review, because the entire central city is a design review area. Units in historic districts are supposed to be architecturally compatible with historic buildings, but they generally do not have to resemble historic buildings. Metal siding is appropriate--for a building on the alley. Take a look down some Midtown alleys, a lot of the buildings already there have corrugated metal siding. William Burg 2009-11-03T19:58:35Z William Burg comment-17172 2009-11-03T19:49:43Z 2009-11-03T19:49:43Z The 3-garage version is parkable--it was the 4-garage version that was too small for cars to park and open their doors. And if there is no room on the street, people will park their cars there. At the spots where these projects are going in (18th & Capitol, 22nd and L) parking is already impacted. You can park there if you drive a reasonably-sized car. A crew-cab dually pickup truck wouldn't fit, but most people living downtown don't drive that sort of car. As Marion mentions, the original plan was for a 3-unit building with 4 parking spaces, but the 4 spaces proved too narrow to practically fit on a 40 foot wide lot. The compromise at the other site is an off-site parking space with a 10 year lease for the fourth unit. William Burg 2009-11-03T19:49:43Z Patrick J. comment-17169 2009-11-03T17:50:13Z 2009-11-03T17:50:13Z I think these alley units are great. I don't see why they always need to have a garage. I don't think we need that much parking. Patrick J. 2009-11-03T17:50:13Z The Parrhesiac comment-17168 2009-11-03T17:47:56Z 2009-11-03T17:47:56Z One parking space is unacceptable...and the parking spaces or garages are so small you cant park a full sized car and open the doors. These are not garages...they are large closets or storage spaces...reality has proven that people will NOT park their cars in these micro garages. The Parrhesiac 2009-11-03T17:47:56Z The Parrhesiac comment-17166 2009-11-03T17:49:01Z 2009-11-03T17:49:01Z "Right now, other than having a garage to park my car in, that property isn't doing anything for me," Say goodbye to parking in midtown...and SAY GOODBYE to the MIDTOWN SO MANY OF YOU LOVE. With the downturn in the economy, these scumbags are going to go on a feeding frenzy now that some midtown property owners are hurting for money. $60-100K for a 4-5K SQFT lot is $15 to $20 DOLLARS to PER SQUARE FOOT! The property is worth two or three times that...at least. The owner might as well just give them the property for free for gods sake, 60-100K will not save their property most likely...try re-financing, or sub-dividing the lot in a joint venture with a contractor. You will come out much better than you will with the predator developers. I support limited development of midtown alleys if: A: If it will have adequate off street parking for BOTH front and back units. (NOT micro garages) B: the density is limited to maybe 4 of these back units per block. C: the design of the units are reviewed by the Design & Review committee, and are architecturally compatible with midtowns historical heritage. METAL SIDING??? Are you friggen kidding me? Ron Vrilakas, is a nice guy and all but he is simply an average architect. If left to his devices, downtown would look like IKEA. He loves modern Euro style of architecture. His style of architecture is simply NOT compatible with mid-town. (At least it will be hidden in an alley) If anything, it would make much more financial sense for the owner to joint venture the project with a CONTRACTOR and NOT a Developer, They should retain ownership of the parcel, build one or two residential units. Sell them as a single family unit, a condo, or as a TIC (Tenancy In Common - popular in City's like San Francisco) and sell it themselves for a profit, or rent the unit/s out. Developers are evil scumbags who will destroy this town....but then again maybe Sacramento gets what it deserves....you elected the morons in the City Council...and you allow developers to control our town. The Parrhesiac 2009-11-03T17:49:01Z Marion Millin comment-17164 2009-11-03T16:58:06Z 2009-11-03T16:58:06Z Jeremy, this would be a good opportunity to clarify the standard parking requirements for the 3 unit project as designed, the special permit parking waiver for the 3 unit model and the switched plans from 4 (including one for the front property owner) garages to 3 (shown). Marion Millin 2009-11-03T16:58:06Z