Mere days before the Feb. 1 deadline to end redevelopment, the City Council is faced with two important decisions: what role the city will take in the aftermath, and what will happen to agency staff when redevelopment ends. Although the City Council did not take any action at the meeting Tuesday, City Manager John Shirey outlined the next steps for council members as the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency winds down. Shirey is the former executive director president of the California Redevelopment Association. SHRA is the agency responsible for redevelopment in Sacramento County and the city. An important factor in the process is figuring out what responsibilities the city wil

District 8 City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell hosted a bus tour Thursday highlighting recent redevelopment efforts and future growth opportunities throughout the district with a group of developers, real estate brokers and city employees – along with a few district residents and neighborhood association representatives. “This is going to be a tour of opportunities,” said City Manager John Shirey at the start of the tour. “We’ve got a good future for this district.” The Meadowview and south city areas have seen the second-greatest rate of growth in all of Sacramento, second only to North Natomas in District 1, Pannell said. “We have had a lot of growth (in District 8),” Pannell said, “and

A delegation of Sacramento business and political leaders returned from a four-day tour of New Orleans with fresh insight into what it takes for a city to recover and thrive after a disaster, including improving transportation methods, sustainable housing and flood protections. “New Orleans had a unique opportunity to reinvent itself because of all the investments made there after Katrina,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. “We need to look at how we can reinvent ourselves here, too.” On Tuesday, Council Members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson shared the lessons learned from the people in New Orleans about methods of recovery the city has u

The 30 percent increase in sewage rates that was approved last month will raise rents and make owning income properties more difficult, according to some in the industry. The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District approved the 30 percent increase over three years on June 23 in a 9-2 vote in response to a December decision by the state to set new guidelines for clean water in the Sacramento-San Juaquin Delta. The new guidelines require tightening controls on sewage discharge that will cause the local providers to overhaul their systems. To read more about the decision, click here. “It’s troubling in this very down economic climate to see any increases of that magnitude,” said Ji

There is a lot of talk about changes to redevelopment agencies in the state and the impact those changes will have on development projects in Sacramento. To get a better idea of how redevelopment agencies work from a fiscal point of view, Sacramento Press has put together a “redevelopment primer” to make it easier to understand where the money comes from, where it goes and how the city benefits from redevelopment funding – and how it doesn’t. “It all starts with property taxes, guaranteed school funding from Proposition 98, and state redevelopment law,” said Peter Detwiler, a consultant with the state Senate Governance & Finance Committee. FIRST, WHAT IS A REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY? Cities a

Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association recently raised nearly $65,000 at their second Building Up Breakfast in one-time donations and multi-year pledges. As expected, attendance was higher this year than at the inaugural event in 2010. Thanks to the sponsors, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Roseville Bank of Commerce, Sierra Health Foundation and Vital Networks, the nonprofit will be able to use all the money donated by individuals for programs, services and operations Mutual Housing develops and operates well-designed rental housing for modest-income households in Sacramento and Yolo counties. The communities are home to some 2,600 residents, nearly half of whom are ch

Law professor Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow," spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of over 200 people at the Women’s Civic Improvement Center in Oak Park on Wednesday. The event was sponsored by a variety of local organizations, including the local chapter of All of Us or None, A Project of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. The crowd was virtually mesmerized by the fascinating statistics about the devastating effects of the “War on Drugs,” along with the explanations of important details from relevant rulings from U.S. Supreme Court cases that drove home nearly every point made by Alexander’s seemingly encyclopedic recitation from memory. Although Alexander rea

Sacramento Habitat for Humanity will welcome Vittoria Penalba, a partner in Habitat from Nicaragua. For the last 25 years, Sacramento Habitat for Humanity has sent a portion of its funds raised to help under-developed nations, such as Nicaragua, bring decent affordable housing to their people. Vittoria Penalba’s visit is scheduled from May 10-14, 2011. During that time, she will meet with community members to discuss the progress being made with the Habitat for Humanity, Nicaragua affiliate, and to show the results of the donations made from the Sacramento area. Through the years, their affiliate has been able to build 149 homes thanks to this generosity of the Sacramento affiliate. “Par

Mickey Rooney recently brought media attention to the issue of elder abuse in his testimony to Congress on March 2, and it’s an issue the Sacramento-based Senior Legal Hotline (SLH) can now offer help with across the state. Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women, the SLH is able to reopen its phone lines statewide in regards to issues involving domestic violence. David Mandel has been with the SLH for more than 16 years and highlighted the problems seen with the loss of funding. The organization is continually searching various databases looking for any possible donors and grants, but has had little success. Mandel said there is currently n

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 nei

Developers are promising to bring new life to a blighted section of Alkali Flat following the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for 81 units of affordable housing adjacent to the Alkali Flat/La Valentina light rail station. The site on the corner of 12th and D streets has been vacant for more than 20 years and previously housed an auto repair shop. The new construction will include 63 apartments and 18 townhouses, the latter being the first “Net Zero” site designed for Sacramento, meaning all energy consumed on the site will be produced there. “We’re here to bring, I think, the most contemporary, most cutting-edge design that we could bring to one of the oldest residential neighborhoods

The century-old Maydestone building at the corner of 15th and J streets is scheduled to open in spring or summer to provide 32 apartments to working-wage tenants. “We broke ground a couple of months ago,” said Bay Miry of D&S Development. “We’re building it in four phases of eight units.” The building has four floors for housing and a basement, which will serve as a common area with an exercise room, office spaces and a common kitchen. All units are fully contained with their own kitchens and bathrooms as well. “I’m most excited about two things,” Miry said. “First, we are rehabilitating a major eyesore in a very prominent location. Second, it provides more workforce housing to Midtown

Sacramento area residents voiced their opinion on the region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan at a workshop on Wednesday, and they largely agreed to support a plan that includes greater emphasis on the environment and public transit. This plan, or MTP2035 (Metropolitan Transportation Plan for 2035), is based on assumptions regarding population growth, the economy, transportation, housing, employment, and how infrastructure will need to adjust for the inevitable changes that will occur over the next 25 years. “We’re not shy to give you a lot of information to work with,” said SACOG Executive Director Mike McKeever. Updating the plan, which is a federal requirement, has involved the Sac

Sacramento Habitat for Humanity (SHfH) is a nonprofit organization committed to building quality, energy-efficient, affordable housing in partnership with low-income families in Sacramento County. There is an immediate opportunity for families in need – which have the ability to make small monthly mortgage payments, whose credit record can demonstrate responsibility, and which have the desire to help themselves and other families in need – to be able to own a home. SHfH works with selected low-income partner families who want to learn what it takes to become responsible homeowners. Qualified families will partner with SHfH to build and purchase their own homes with no down payment and

If you missed the last screening of The Next American Dream, you'll have another chance to see the film this weekend.  This documentary and dialogue-driver about revitalizing America's urban cores will be showing for free in front of the MARRS building on Saturday evening. When:  Saturday Oct. 2, 6:30-8.  Screening will begin at 7pm Where:  In front of MARRS, 1050 20th Street Cost:  Free Sacramento stands poised for a 21st century transformation.  Come and join the discussion about shaping our city's future!

Q: I just got a Notice of Default from my mortgage company. My friend told me I could stop the foreclosure process by demanding that the bank “produce the note.” What does this mean and will it really work? Thank you,  Louise A: The “produce the note” defense to foreclosure is touted by many on the Internet —people ask us for the forms needed to do that almost every day. The theory is that because loans are frequently transferred it may be difficult, if not impossible, for your mortgage company to trace the ultimate ownership of your specific loan. To foreclose, the lender must actually be current holder of the note, and a homeowner can delay foreclosure by filing a lawsuit demanding thi

In every fairytale the good guys always win, the bad guys always lose, and there’s always a “Happily Ever After“. Real life however, is a very different tale. Financial woes, unemployment, addictions, and lack of support hit so many Sacramento residents who then find themselves with nowhere to go. Thankfully there is a program like the Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center that helps and supports these families in their time of crisis. Just like a real life fairy godmother. Seems only fitting that on September 10th, 2010 Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center will be having their 18th annual After Hours: Wine Event & Live Auction fundraiser at Fairytale Town in William Land Park. Tic

Applause filled The Crest Theatre Thursday night when a scene from the documentary “The Next American Dream” displayed an enormous tractor claw demolishing a freeway overpass. The scene symbolized an end to urban sprawl, its destructive effects on nature and its seeming lack of forethought in urban planning. No one specific group, organization or political party took responsibility for the showing of the film. Instead, it was communicated to the audience that the film was being brought to the Crest by a group of people who call Sacramento home. Dustin Littrell, a local architect and designer, ambiguously revealed that the idea for showing the film in Sacramento began among “a group of ca

In a follow-up to my earlier comments on the new program implemented by the Sacramento City Council, I’d like to add a little more detail. The city has granted itself the authority to enter all rental homes in the city for annual inspections. All landlords must comply. Of course, there is a fee for those who comply and a fine for those who hesitate. I’d like to add that further investigation shows that it will be incumbent on every property owner to inform the city that he/she has a rental unit and pay an annual fee for the privilege. Oh, and one more detail: The owner must live within 35 miles of city hall, or have a representative who does. I feel that for the city to enter rental prope

About 50 people urged the Sacramento City Council Thursday to help efforts to reserve land for the homeless. The people who addressed the City Council were supporters of the “Safe Ground” campaign, which opposes the city’s anti-camping ordinance and advocates for a living space for the city’s homeless. The recent stabbing death of 68-year-old Bernice Nickson, a homeless resident, was mentioned in the comments of some of the Safe Ground advocates. The Safe Ground supporters spoke during the part of the meeting reserved for public comments on subjects that are not covered in the agenda. Council members do not respond to citizens during that part of each City Council meeting. Comments from