Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "alley development"

City Council tells builder to redesign alley house

2011-02-02T23:47:21Z

Seven months of review and countless hours of debate and negotiation came down to a 20-second vote Tuesday night as Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 in support of redesigning a single-family home proposed for an alley site in Boulevard Park.

The action prevents the infill project from moving forward without changes to either the height or design style. The builders of the proposed home, Nathan and Erica Cunningham, said they are done and cannot take on redesigning the home.

The council listened to two hours of discussion about the project, including testimony from neighbors, city Design Director William Crouch, the builder and the architect.

More than 20 area residents showed up to oppose the scale and design of the proposed home, which they said does not fit into their historic neighborhood and its turn-of-the-century homes.

Crouch outlined why staff and the city Design Commission approved the project and said the city supported the design as high quality and appropriate for its context facing an industrial alley. Some neighbors also spoke in favor of the proposed design and said it would bring positive change to a neglected alley.

The lot for the proposed 2,400 square-foot home is on the alley behind C Street between 22nd and 23rd Streets. The 33x80 site is 80 feet from the street front and is surrounded by residential homes on three sides and faces an industrial area and the railroad tracks to the north.

The resolution forwarded by Council member Steve Cohn and approved by the City Council calls for the proposed home to “limit the design as proposed to two-story, not to exceed 24-feet in height to the highest point or keep a three-story structure if it is redesigned in traditional vernacular style appropriate to this Boulevard Park neighborhood.”

The proposal also requires the applicant to submit new plans for review and approval by the Design Director, and that the director consult with neighbors in reviewing final plans.

There was considerable discussion of the Central City Neighborhood Design Guidelines during the meeting, and both advocates and opponents cited references from the guidelines in support of their positions.

The proposal forwarded by Cohn directed city staff to “undergo a process, as staffing and resources permit, to supplement the Central City Neighborhood Guidelines with more specific guidelines dealing with single family/multifamily residential alley development in traditional single-family neighborhoods, including consideration of visual impact of new alley development as seen from traditional neighborhood streets.”

Disclosure statement: Writer Debra Belt is married to Stephen Henry of Henry + Associates, the architect of the proposed alley project. She has no financial investment in the project, and has followed the discussion out of interest in the design approval process in Sacramento.

Proposed alley project leads to clash of old and new in Midtown

2011-01-29T22:23:44Z

By Debra Belt

It is a small, unkempt patch of land on a dirt alley in Sacramento’s Boulevard Park neighborhood. Yet, the modest site at 2207 C St. is the subject of an intense debate that is expected to heat up as a proposed residential project for the alley lot heads to City Council Feb. 1.

At issue is a single-family home, a modern infill project that has neighbors, preservationists, politicians, architects, the city and the builders deadlocked over the design of the residence and its alley location in one of Sacramento’s oldest neighborhoods. As Midtown’s alley development movement advances, interest in the project is high, and followers say it could set a precedent in residential neighborhoods, for better or for worse, depending upon who is voicing their opinion.

The Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association and some area residents oppose the project because they think it’s too tall, too modern and does not complement surrounding turn-of-the-century homes in the historic neighborhood. They want to the design to be changed or built somewhere else.

The city of Sacramento Planning Division, Design Commission, AIA Central Valley Urban Design Committee and other neighbors support the project, saying the scale of the three-story residence meets city guidelines and that it is a quality design making good use of available space within the Central City. Advocates note that the alley site is 80 feet from the street front, removing it from the immediate context of the neighborhood.

Seeking to balance the strong and numerous views weighing in on the project, City Council member Steve Cohn in December “called up” the project for council review. Cohn said he did so at the request of the neighborhood association and neighbors who live near the proposed project.

“There is concern that the project is too large for the scale of the block, and neighbors are also concerned about the modern design in a neighborhood of traditional older homes,” Cohn said in a telephone interview. “The main issue is that the proposed building is three stories and faces immediate neighbors.”

Before the call-up, the project circulated through the city’s design review process and was approved by city Design Director William Crouch. The Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association and 21 area residents appealed the director’s decision. In response, the city Planning Division generated a 71-page report addressing neighborhood concerns and citing design considerations to “promote creative architectural solutions that acknowledge contextual design issues, yet allow for flexibility and variety of design.”

The project then went to the city Design Commission. After listening to three hours of testimony from both sides, the commission unanimously approved the project.

The call-up is the final step in this lengthy process. Luis Sanchez, senior architect for the city, said in an e-mail that “the City Code is written to allow a call-up by a City Council member whose district the project is in, if it is felt that additional discussion on the project design, and decision by the commission is warranted.”

Sanchez also said City Council has the final say, and the review of the situation starts anew.

“The role of the City Council is to make a determination on the final project design,” he said. “It is reviewed de novo by the City Council.”

Nathan and Erica Cunningham, the couple trying to build the proposed home for themselves and their two daughters, said this approval process has delayed their project for seven months and cost them almost $2,000 in additional fees. They refer to the project as a "modern and progressive” design.

“We are of the school of thought that with new construction on an infill site, let’s not copy or imitate the original surrounding architecture,” said Nathan Cunningham in an e-mail. “Instead, let’s respect this original architecture for what it is, and move forward by designing and building something that reflects how we live in the current century.”

Sanchez said a difference of opinion on what is the most appropriate design for a neighborhood is not unusual.

“The voice of the neighborhood is important, and the design discussion between neighborhood groups, design staff and city agencies is a healthy dialogue for any growing city,” he said.

The debate about how much a neighborhood can influence what landowners build on their private property is as old as Boulevard Park itself. It is, however, one that becomes more fierce as viable lots in Sacramento’s city center dwindle and people look to limited available resources such as alley sites, which have become a buzz topic as the city looks to create a more vibrant, diverse and sustainable city center with its 2030 General Plan.

Bruce Monighan, president of AIA Central Valley, said that Sacramento as a community has talked about infill and alley development for nearly a decade. “If not here on the alleys, when and where will this city allow a new chapter of the American dream?”

Monighan added, “The neighbors are effectively saying that in order to live in their neighborhood, you must look like them. What are we trying to legislate here? He asked. “Is it personal taste?”

The Cunninghams, who specialize in building and renovating homes in Sacramento’s core neighborhoods, said there are only a small number of affordable lots suitable for residential development in the Central City. They said they were lucky to find someone who was willing to sell the alley lot for a reasonable price.

Some residents in Boulevard Park, however, think this neighborhood is not the place to build a modern residence.

“This is a historic residential neighborhood surrounding the property, but the design somehow seeks to make an independent, isolated statement that effectively turns its back on the neighborhood,” wrote residents Lyvonne and Robert Sewell in a letter submitted to city associate planner David Hung.

Jon Marshack, former vice chair of Sacramento’s Design Review and Preservation Board, is strongly opposed to the project. “While this design has numerous laudable features, it is totally out of place within this neighborhood’s historic context,” he wrote in a letter to Sacramento’s Design Director. “I urge you to require that the proposed project be redesigned to respect its historic neighborhood context or relocated to a more appropriate site.”

Of additional concern to the neighbors is that the project is adjacent to the Boulevard Park subdivision, which is the subject of a proposed National Register historic district.

Darby Patterson, the owner of the one house in the neighborhood that is already on the National Register, supports the proposed alley residence.

“This is something new, positive and vibrant,” Patterson said in a telephone interview. “I live in a city and expect to make changes as the city grows. If we all stayed in the same place we would all still be living in Victorians.”

Patterson also said she is tired of absentee ownership, vermin, weeds and graffiti on the alley. “Civilizing the alley sounds good to me.”

At the alley site, the only clues to the neighborhood controversy is the public notice posted on the defunct Earle Plumbing Shop currently occupying the property and the mysterious pieces of lumber “ghosting” the shape and height of the proposed structure, which is designed to be three stories and utilize Cor-ten steel siding on the north side facing an industrial area and the railroad tracks.

Cohn said he has met with the builder of the proposed project and the neighbors and is trying to reach some degree of resolution before the City Council meeting.

“The neighbors propose reducing the residence to two stories or going with a more traditional design,” Cohn said. “The applicant (builder) has proposed to shift the third story four feet to the north to minimize the height, revisit window openings on the east and develop landscaping for more privacy. We have one more meeting before this goes to council and are seeking some agreement.”

Cohn acknowledged the difficulty of the situation.

“You have a young couple with a very clear idea about what they want and it’s at odds with what the neighbors expect,” he said. “We are trying to treat each issue on its own merits and bring the two factions together through dialogue.”

Disclosure statement: Writer Debra Belt is married to Stephen Henry of Henry + Associates, the architect of the proposed alley project.

You can lead a horse to water...

2009-11-13T05:46:47Z

Developers looking for ways to reduce crime in Sacramento's alleys have grabbed onto an idea that will draw mounted police.

That idea is to provide places where horses can get water and hitch up securely for short periods. While that conjures up Old West visions of water troughs and hitching posts for many, — including developers who described them as such — the reality may be much more 21st century.

An ideal way to provide water would be a small fountain or water feature such as the small Native American drum fountain at City Hall, said Sacramento police Sgt. Chris Taylor.

The idea is to make alleys more charming and useful, he said.

"Right now, our alleys — they're kind of no-man's land," Taylor said. "It's almost like we've made a social decision that we're willing to give them over to the miscreants and the bad guys.

"As a community, we don't strive to make them beautiful spaces where people want to be," he said. "If you change that and make them spaces where people want to socialize and do things that contribute to the community, then it will be a safer place because the bad guys will feel uncomfortable in the alley."

Taylor, who heads the Police Department's Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program, made a list of suggestions to make developed alleys safer.

Horse-friendly facilities are just one recommendation. The right lighting and more windows are two more.

Rather than flood alleys with a lot of overhead lights, Taylor suggests installing vandal-proof, heavy-duty footlights in pavement to create pedestrian-level light and eliminate hiding spaces.

"Some people think the more light you put in a space, the safer it is," he said. "What I'm talking about is a nice, even light that doesn't create harsh shadows. People can drop back into those shadows and think about committing a crime."

He also suggests that builders add windows that face alleys.

"If you look at our downtown, buildings are appropriately built to face the street," he said. "The back of the building was the alley. The front was much more heavily windowed.

"Buildings were built without a lot of opportunities for people inside to look out at the alleys," Taylor said. "I've encouraged them to consider adding widows to the alley side, so people in structures have more opportunity to look into the alleys. If (criminals) see a lot of windows, they're going to be less likely to commit a crime because they don't know who's watching."

For horses, Taylor recommends water features without high walls so horses can reach the water.

A place to hitch horses could be as simple as a ring secured to a concrete building or a metal decorative sculpture that could double as a bike rack, he said.

Design plans being considered for two pilot alleys stretching from 17th to 19th streets between L Street and Capitol Avenue would include public and private space. Horse-friendly features likely would go in private space on the property line, said Taylor and Stacia Cosgrove, a senior planner for the city.

Funding would come from private donations, not from money for public infrastructure, Cosgrove said.

California Highway Patrol's mounted officers are as likely to use the facilities as the city's mounted unit, said Taylor, who spoke to members of the CHP unit.

Mounted police officers would clean up after their horses in the alleys, Taylor said. The officers already clean horse droppings in Old Sacramento and anywhere pedestrians may go, said Sgt. Sherry Bell, who leads the Mounted Police Unit.

Mounted police can serve several purposes in alleys. They can be a deterrent just by being there, but in a way that builds community and evokes Sacramento's roots, Cosgrove said.

"If the police were to have a presence on an alley, to have them idle in a patrol car is not as warm and approachable as an officer on horseback," she said. "I think it would be a nice way to draw the community closer together."

Taylor said he was surprised alley developers have embraced features for horses. He's made the same recommendations to other developers, but the idea didn't get far — partly because their projects were further along, Taylor said.

"These people who are working on the alleys liked the idea and scooped it up," he said.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Pilot alley projects to council Tuesday

2009-08-09T01:59:32Z

A group interested in transforming alleys will present three prototypes to the Sacramento City Council Tuesday.

A restaurant row concept is proposed to hold a mix of outdoor cafés just steps from Memorial Auditorium. Another could contain an alley-front condo sales model. The third would demonstrate the vision for alley hardscapeimprovements.

The Alley Activation Committee is proposing three pilot alleys in Midtown. Two would stretch from 17th to 19th streets between L Street and Capitol Avenue in the Handle District, and a third is proposed for the alley from I to J streets between 16th and 17th streets.

"It's thinking about the whole piece of how do people live and work in the city," said committee Co-Chair Julie Young.

Midtown's blocks contain the same configuration: shallow lots on numbered streets and 160-foot deep lots on lettered streets. Developer Jeremy Drucker hopes to build a compact, three-unit condo building at the back of a deep lot behind a house at 1717 Capitol Ave. The residential units would face Old Soul coffee roastery, which also sits on the alley running from 17th to 18th streets, between L Street and Capitol Avenue.

Designed by architect Ron Vrilakas, the "Stitch" building would contain environmentally conscious interiors and a market-rate, ground-floor unit fully accessible for individuals with disabilities. Exteriors would be designed to fit the neighborhood. A roughly 700-square-foot, one-bedroom unit would cost about $250,000. An 1,100-square foot, two-story unit with two bedrooms would cost about $350,000, said Drucker, who co-chairs the Alley Activation Committee.

"The benefit of working with Ron — a great architect — is there's no wasted footage," he said. "When you're in the space, it feels 50 percent larger."

Drucker's aim is to create affordable housing in "unaffordable" neighborhoods for single people and young couples or families — without demolishing existing housing. He believes the condos would be most ideal for outlying, residential alleys in Midtown, rather than business districts.

For three years, the sales model will be used to show property owners what they could potentially do to increase income and raise the value of their property, he said. The units would then be sold.

"It could be a rundown garage back there, a weed patch or some sort of under-performing part of their property," said Drucker.

Developer Aaron Zeff is proposing to turn two cavernous old buildings currently used for parking into mixed-use space with alley-facing restaurants between I and J streets, from 16th to 17th streets. Taking a cue from San Francisco's Belden Street, the restaurants would feature upscale dining with outdoor seating on the alley.

The historic character of the buildings would be maintained, he said. A 25,600-foot building at 1630 I St. contains old timber trusses and a mezzanine that may be used for a 160-foot dining loft. The other building, which sits directly on 17th Street, contains arched ceilings and barn doors[.]

"That's what people want -- they want to dine in an interesting space," said Zeff.

A restaurant row there could attract Memorial Auditorium visitors and downtown workers to stay in the city longer rather than fleeing for the suburbs, Zeff said.

The third alley, which sits between L Street and Capitol Avenue from 18th to 19th streets, behind the Zócalo building, would help form an attractive, walkable corridor giving diners and shoppers easy access to the East End Parking Garage. That also would serve as a model for what can be done to accentuate Midtown's existing character and increase accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Attractive paving has already been laid there by Vrilakas; Young's development company, Young-Clifford; and developer Sotiris Kolokotronis. Additional beautification could include trees, planters, benches, signs and solar lighting. Lighting options include tiny Italian lights overhead and in-ground lights, Young said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.