Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "housing"

Redevelopment winds down, city must decide next step

2012-01-26T01:49:24Z

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 will take on, and which ones will be taken over by other agencies, Shirey said.

In August, the City Council agreed to take over the non-housing functions of SHRA.

The city is responsible for managing current construction projects and making required payments on bond debt and other financial obligations.

With redevelopment being disbanded altogether, though, the housing assets and activities of SHRA have to be disposed of as well.

The city could assume that responsibility – or it could allow the city’s Housing Authority to take it over, which is what Shirey encouraged the City Council to have the city do.

If the city Housing Authority assumes those responsibilities and they continue to be managed by the SHRA, Shirey said, Housing Authority staff would have the benefit of the expertise of SHRA staff to administer the ongoing housing activities and assets.

Another problem the city is faced with is how it will handle staffing.

Currently, SHRA provides staff for all redevelopment programs in the city and the county.

Once the redevelopment agency is disbanded Feb. 1, staffing duties will have to be transitioned from SHRA to whatever entity takes over.

There are nearly 100 employees working on various projects at this point, Shirey said, and not all of those people will be needed in the transition.

That means layoffs for a majority of those employees.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said Tuesday that she is concerned about potential layoffs.

“I hope that if any layoffs occur, that management is included and it’s not just the workers who take the hit,” she said. “I’ve seen that happen too many times.”

Bernadette Austin, a housing finance analyst with SHRA, spoke to the council on behalf of staff members who have worked behind the scenes on redevelopment projects such as the La Valentina housing project.

“I couldn’t do my job without (those staff members),” Austin said. “They helped create projects that really mean something to the community.”

Austin urged the council to keep as many current staff members in place as possible throughout the transition.

Shirey said attempts are being made in the Capitol to extend the dissolution deadline from Feb. 1 to April 15, but it’s not certain that legislation will make it to the governor’s desk in time to make a difference.

Redevelopment dissolution will be on the agenda at the Jan. 31 meeting, and the City Council is expected to take action then.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and the correct information added.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Bus tour shows off south area development

2011-10-21T02:12:03Z

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 we still have more land to be developed. We’re going to be looking for new projects – so developers on the tour, pay attention.”

Some of the economic development successes highlighted on the tour included a $350 million expansion of Kaiser Permanente, a new 20,000-square-foot Valley Hi/North Laguna public library, new recreational amenities with three new parks and the Phoenix Park development – a project completed in conjunction with the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

“One way we can get through our financial difficulties in the city is to grow our way out,” Shirey said. “I see the positives all around now. We’ve got something good started, and we can build on that.”

David Kwong, city planning director, pointed out on the tour more development activity at Meadowview Road and Freeport Boulevard, including a new Walgreens and a 20,000-square-foot veterinary hospital.

Kwong also noted the future site of a Fresh and Easy grocery store – something residents in the south area want and need but have very few of, according to Pannell.

“Meadowview really needs a grocery store,” Pannell said. “They’ve been talking about a grocery store for 13 years, and (the future Fresh and Easy) is the closest we’ve come.”

Pannell said residents often have to drive nearly two miles to the nearest store, and that creates a real challenge for people.

Nehla Buchanan, 46, a caregiver with the state of California, has lived in Pannell’s district for about a year. Buchanan said she moved to the Meadowview area because housing was affordable and there was a good opportunity for home ownership.

Buchanan’s neighborhood is adjacent to the future site of the planned Delta Shores development – an 800-acre mixed-use project that will include retail shops, single-family and multi-family housing, and office and commercial uses.

The project will also include at least one grocery store, according to Jain Wager, a developer with MerloneGeier Partners, the developer of Delta Shores.

“I love the Delta Shores development,” Buchanan said. “I can’t wait until they start building over there.”

Buchanan is part of the Meadowview Neighborhood Association, and the group has held numerous meetings with Pannell and city staff to give input into the many changes happening in the district.

“We’ve worked with Ms. Pannell specifically on improvements in our neighborhood, and it’s been so helpful,” Buchanan said. “We will continue to give our input to new things that are happening here.”

Jesse Reese, president of the Meadowview Neighborhood Association, has been a community activist for more than 35 years in the south city area.

“It’s good to see us grow,” Reese said. “It’s inspiring to see things that we’ve worked toward for a very long time finally happening.”

Reese said that, when the idea for Delta Shores was first discussed nearly 30 years ago, the developers at the time wanted to open “another Mack Road” with nothing but apartment complexes, Reese said.

“We wanted more of a development than that,” Reese said. “We now see (developers) MerloneGeier doing something better and hearing what (neighborhood associations) have been wanting.”

Reese said that, as the area develops more, he and the MNA will continue to reach out to City Council to make sure the issues that concerned neighbors want addressed don’t get lost in the shuffle.

City Economic Development Director Jim Reinhart said that, over the past five years, south area neighborhoods have experienced a real growth spurt – but it’s gone “unnoticed” for the most part.

Pannell said south area development has been largely ignored because downtown and North Natomas have been getting the lion’s share of attention at City Hall.

“We have a ton of land that needs to be developed,” Pannell said. “So, we’ve been quietly developing small plots, plugging along and hoping that one day someone would notice.”

The bus tour was the second one in four years that Pannell has hosted. The next one won’t be planned for another two or three years, she said, to allow time for “even more growth and development to show off later on.”

“Even though we still have a lot of vacant land, we have done a lot,” Pannell said. “And we’ll do even more before the next tour.”

Pannell said she hopes to see a new, 200-plus-unit senior center that is in the planning stages get approval in time to break ground next summer.

“I want the light rail South Line to start next year,” Pannell said, “and the Cosumnes River Boulevard connection (between Interstate 5 and Highway 99) to happen next year, too.”

Gwendolyn Feathers, 67, a resident of the district since 1988, said she has seen a lot of the growth and development projects going up in the district, but this was the first bus tour of the area that she has been on.

“I’ve learned so much today,” Feathers said. “We have really been building up in the area – it’s exciting.”

Although City Council approval is in place, the Delta Shores development does not yet have a planned construction start date, according to Wager.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Sacramento leaders learn from New Orleans tour

2011-10-12T00:52:54Z

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 used to rebuild itself after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

“(New Orleans) Mayor (Mitch) Landrieu is a vibrant, energetic mayor,” Johnson said, “and he is an excellent example of the focus it takes to turn things around after a disaster. We went (there) to learn from the work they have done in New Orleans.”

Johnson, Ashby, Cohn, McCarty and 85 other delegates joined Maggie Townsley, public policy vice chairwoman for the Sacramento Metro Chamber, for the chamber‘s 13th annual study mission in Louisiana last week.

The study mission is a program the Metro Chamber develops every year to provide a learning experience for delegates about the challenges faced by other regions and how they successfully manage those challenges for long-term regional prosperity, according to the chamber website.

“We represent about 170,000 employees in the Sacramento region,” Townsley said. “One of the key things we do is partner with government and nonprofit organizations to further specific objectives for the region.”

Some of the objectives highlighted on this year’s study mission include improving city transportation, public housing and flood control.

Delegates on the tour had the opportunity to meet with Landrieu and other civic leaders and came away with ideas for improving Sacramento and the region.

“It’s been six years since New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina,” Ashby said Tuesday, “but the devastation from that event was widespread, and you can still see it.”

Ashby said that one thing that struck her was that the flood waters during the hurricane reached nearly 20 feet in height.

“Should our levees break in Natomas,” Ashby said, “we could be as deep as 33 feet. We can’t let that happen.”

Ashby said it is necessary to improving flood protection for the region, including having the levees in her district certified by the federal government for improvement funding.

One thing McCarty said he found fascinating in New Orleans was how they are rebuilding their public housing.

“One in five kids lives in poverty,” McCarty said, “and many times those families are isolated in neighborhoods divided from economic development and grocery stores and other public investments that improve the neighborhood.”

McCarty said one thing that the city of New Orleans has done to “reinvent” the city’s public housing is taking down old units and rebuilding them as mixed-income units.

“They are making sure they have (an economic) blend to bring in development opportunities,” McCarty said. “That is something we are going to look at for some of our neighborhoods here in Sacramento.

McCarty said that neighborhood housing and development, especially for low-income populations, should be a priority for Sacramento.

Representatives from the Sacramento Metro Chamber are preparing a report about the study mission and said they expect it to be completed sometime next week.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Renters, landlords to feel effect of sewage rate hike

2011-07-26T01:15:09Z

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 Jim Lofgren, executive director of the Rental Housing Association of Sacramento Valley, which represents the rental housing industry in throughout the valley.

He added, though, that he doesn’t hold the elected officials who approved the increase at fault.

“I think the elected officials were faced with a tough choice on that,” Lofgren said. “They had to comply with the new discharge permit. I think they were put in a pretty tough spot.”

Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty told The Sacramento Press earlier this month that while he wasn’t at the June 23 meeting, he would have voted for the increase – which goes into effect in October – as a necessity.

Lofgren said he expects rents to go up.

“I think most owners try to pass on the cost, so that will probably be the effect with the sewer rates,” Lofgren said. “The raise in rents doesn’t necessarily mean a raise in profits for the owners, though.”

Chris Airola, owner of GCA Property Management in Citrus Heights, said the rate increase is the talk of all property owners.

“New (property) owners are finding a difficult time renting,” he said. “If you charge over $95 (per month) for utilities, you won’t rent the property.”

Twelve years ago, he said the average combined rate for water, sewage and garbage was $60. Today, the average is closer to $110.

“It just tightens the noose on landlords, and they tend not to be as happy with their properties,” he said. “The owners are thinking to pass it on, pass it on, pass it on, but if so, tenants probably won’t take the property.”

He added that landowners are purchasing fewer properties, as they see more taxes and fees cutting into their bottom line.

Shawn McGhee, an assistant with Vintage Properties in Sacramento, said the owners are likely to take a bigger hit than renters.

“Probably, it’s just a hardship on the owners,” he said. “Rents start out at a certain rate and go down from there (on vacant properties). People rent things for what they can rent it for, and ultimately, the longer it is vacant, the harder it is to keep waiting for a renter at a higher rate.”

McGhee said he doesn’t anticipate rental increases across the board in Sacramento, so he believes the costs will be mostly absorbed by property owners.

Lofgren said the now-familiar story of homeowners being upside-down in their mortgages – owing more on their homes than they are worth – applies to income properties as well.

“These are very tough times,” he said. “I don’t see people’s wages going up, and I don’t see unemployment going down.”

Compared to other segments such as home construction and sales, Lofgren said the rental market is doing better, but added that that’s not saying much, as the other industries are in such poor shape.

“Midtown and downtown are not hurting as badly as the suburbs, where there have been more foreclosures,” he said. “There’s been a desire for properties downtown due to rising gas prices and the urban renewal we’re seeing within a five-mile radius of downtown.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Redevelopment 101: A bucket half full

2011-07-16T00:54:37Z

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 and counties set up redevelopment agencies to eliminate blight by paying for public and private improvements and economic development.

According to a report from the state Legislative Analysts Office, the use of redevelopment has improved many areas through the revitalization of downtown and historic districts and improvements in public infrastructure.

This creates economic growth, provides affordable housing and adds value to properties and neighborhoods, increasing property taxes and bringing revenue to cities, counties, special districts and schools.

HOW IS IT FUNDED?
Property taxes don’t just fund schools – they also provide revenue for cities, counties and special districts, such as water districts, utility districts or waste disposal.

When property values rise in a redevelopment area, so do the property taxes collected. The distribution of that money is calculated using formulas established by state law, and it is not divided equally.

As soon as a redevelopment agency is formed, the distribution changes. Instead of the increased property tax amount flowing out in its usual proportions to cities, counties, schools, and special districts, their shares are fixed, and redevelopment takes the rest – the growth – off the top.

That “growth” is the incremental tax increase, and it is the prime source of funding for redevelopment agencies.

HOW DOES IT SPEND MONEY?
When a redevelopment agency forms a development project, it leverages the projected amount of tax increment it will receive with bonds to finance the project.

Eric Rasmusson, a Sacramento lobbyist who specializes in housing issues, said to “think of a redevelopment bond as kind of a mortgage.”

A mortgage is secured by a house. On a home loan, the bank gives money up front on the risk that the value of the house will go up – and that the homeowner will make the required payments.

“A redevelopment bond is secured by the expected tax increment (revenue from property value increases) that a project will earn over the next 40 years,” Rasmusson said, “and the bond money finances the project.”

The bondholder loans on the risk that a development project will, in fact, raise property values and revenue – and that the agency will make the required payments.

When a redevelopment area experiences growth and the redevelopment agency collects revenue from that growth, the agency then uses those funds to pay the debt on bonds and to finance more projects.

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION TO SCHOOL FUNDING?
Schools are funded by property taxes. When Californians passed Proposition 98 in 1988, they established a constitutional obligation for the state to fund schools to a certain level.

Proposition 98 spending for schools is determined by a formula outlined in the state constitution, and it equals approximately 45 percent of the state general fund revenues each year.

Let’s think of school funding as a big steel bucket.

Imagine two faucets over the bucket. One faucet is “property tax,” the other is “state general fund,” and water (money) flows from those faucets into the bucket.

Since schools are primarily funded by property taxes, the property tax spigot is turned on first.

“School districts get, on average, about 52 cents of every property tax dollar, based on state formulas,” Detwiler said.

Property taxes are based on home and land value, and California has been suffering from a severely impaired housing market, so the property tax spigot doesn’t always fill the bucket to the top, he said.

When that happens, the state general fund spigot takes over to fill the bucket to the constitutionally guaranteed level. The less property taxes there are to fill the bucket, the more the state general fund has to make up.

Last year, the state general fund spigot poured out $3.2 billion for school funding in California.

At the same time, the state budget included cuts to everything from health and human services to transportation and parks.

WHAT FUNDING PROBLEMS DO REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES CREATE?
If redevelopment agencies are collecting the incremental growth from increased property values in a redevelopment area, that money is not going to cities, counties, special districts – or schools.

Think of it as a hole in the bottom of our school funding bucket: Schools get some of the property taxes for a redevelopment area, but not as much as they would receive if their allocation level wasn’t frozen by the redevelopment agency.

Redevelopment agencies may help create growth, but they do not share the revenue from that growth.

IS THAT ALL?
Not quite.

A recent study showed that increases in property tax revenues are not solely due to redevelopment agencies.

“When redevelopment agencies do good things, property values rise,” Detwiler said. “But some of that was going to rise anyway.”

The study, conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, concluded that about half of the growth from property value increases was going to happen anyway, and half is attributable to redevelopment agencies.

“It’s fair to say, then,” Detwiler said, “that the unearned half of revenue being captured by redevelopment agencies (from property value growth) should really belong to schools.”

Since the state is obligated to make sure the school funding bucket is full, it is in effect subsidizing redevelopment agencies for the unearned portion of revenue.

The question the governor asked Californians with the new budget was, “Can the state general fund afford this size of subsidy to redevelopment?”

The governor’s answer was “no.”

HOW DO WE PATCH THE HOLE?
The new state budget included legislation that eliminates redevelopment agencies in an effort to save the state nearly $1.7 billion dollars in “backfill” school funding obligations.

Under the new laws, redevelopment agencies can elect to remain in business by paying “continuation payments” that fund K-12 schools – reducing the amount of “water” flowing from the state general fund spigot.

Those continuation payments, however, must come from the city or county that has authority over the redevelopment agency. That means, if a city cannot afford the payments, it cannot afford its redevelopment agency.

Between a property tax spigot that runs low in a bad economy, and a state general fund spigot that is running dry, redevelopment agencies may be too big of a hole in the bucket.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her @MelissaCorker.

Mutual Housing raises nearly $65,000 at breakfast

2011-06-20T17:00:57Z

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 children.

Through Mutual Housing’s focus on leadership, the nonprofit also provides training and mentoring as well as educational programs, community-building activities and services for residents and neighbors.

For more information, visit http://www.mutualhousing.com..

Disclosure: A former journalist, Dell Richards runs Dell Richards Publicity, a Sacramento public relations firm. Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association is one of her clients.

Law professor speaks out on ‘The New Jim Crow’

2011-05-27T05:19:39Z

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 read brief excerpts from her book, her presentation — which was made mostly without notes and delivered from the heart — mirrored the thesis of her newly published work. Namely, that the nation’s criminal justice system is designed to create a new caste system, akin to former Jim Crow laws, that is on its face colorblind but in reality disproportionately affects poor people and people of color, especially young black males.

Alexander postulates convincingly that felony convictions for relatively minor drug offenses are now used against so-called “ex-offenders” to label them as criminals. That label carries with it the stigma of a lifetime badge of shame and dishonor. The result is that there is now in existence a virtual explosion of the numbers in the burgeoning permanent underclass of mostly men of color who are excluded from most opportunities for education, employment, housing and public assistance that are required to even have a glimmer of hope to escape a revolving-door prison system.

Former Sacramento City Attorney Sam Jackson had the honor of introducing Alexander to the audience. Alexander’s message was met with an enthusiastic response from the crowd, which was sprinkled with grassroots organizers, religious leaders and a variety of well known community activists.

“Michelle Alexander’s book and speech here tonight has clearly and concisely articulated the genesis of the next human rights movement,” said Keith J. Staten, a local criminal defense attorney.

Alexander’s message was far more than what might be expected from an author conducting a typical book-signing tour. She contends that the current crisis in the criminal justice system was not the result of fortuitous events, but it was instead created from a calculated design and perpetuated from the highest levels of policy-making in this country, including both major political parties and the U.S. Supreme Court.

She articulated her reasons for researching and writing the book as the next logical step once she came to realize what was occurring in this county during her years working in the field of civil rights litigation and advocacy.

Alexander indicated that she was especially happy to be back in Northern California during the week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California’s prison system was unconstitutionally overcrowded and its population must be reduced by some 37,000 prisoners.

She continued that the election of President Barack Obama proves that even if a nice guy is elected to lead the country, no one person can change a system that is fundamentally flawed.

Dr. Vaja Watson, who serves as the director of research and policy for equity for the Cress Center at the UC Davis School of Education couldn’t have agree more.

“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “Now that we have the facts in front of us, we need to shut the system down. We are living in a new slave state.”

Alexander currently holds a joint professorship at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. Alexander earned a law degree from Stanford University and held a prestigious clerkship with former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. Her prior accomplishments include extensive experience in the field of civil rights advocacy and litigation, including a term of service as the director of the Racial Justice Project for the ACLU of Northern California.

“(Alexander’s book and tour) is a wake-up call for communities across the county to work to ensure that those coming home from prison will have a reasonable opportunity to heal and become productive members of society, especially in light of the current difficult economic times,” community activist Tim Boyd said.

The evening concluded with a brief but lively question-and-answer session whereby Alexander demonstrated her command of a wide range of subjects, from concerns about zero-tolerance policies practiced at local school districts to articulating how to begin implementing the call to action she communicated to the audience and that is described in detail in the final chapter of her book.

Judging by the number of individuals who lined up to have their newly purchased copy of the book signed, Alexander is much more than a newly minted successful author. She is a force to be reckoned with as legal scholar and an accomplished visionary who is an articulate and powerful voice for change.

Sacramento Habitat for Humanity, Welcomes Global Partner

2011-05-10T20:19:06Z

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.

“Part of the mission of Sacramento Habitat for Humanity is to build affordable housing not only for those we serve in the Sacramento area but to also assist affiliates in impoverished countries where the raising of funds is much more difficult,” said CEO Ken Cross. “We have invited Ms. Penalba to Sacramento so that she can share the significant impact made from dollars raised in our community.”

Ms. Penalba’s is also in Sacramento to promote a “Global Village Tour.” A Global Village Tour is made up of a group of volunteers from all walks of life who generously give of their time (usually a week), talent (skill and labor) and financial resources (donated funds) to help eliminate poverty housing by building homes in a Habitat partner country, such as Nicaragua.

Disclosure: Trish Moratto sits on the Board of Directors for Sacramento Habitat for Humanity.

Senior Legal Hotline reopens phonelines statewide

2011-04-08T22:44:00Z

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 nothing available.

At its peak about five or six years ago, the SLH was getting about $250,000, mainly from the federal and state governments. It was serving more than 10,000 cases per year during that time, but with major budget cuts, that funding is completely gone.

The total caseload has decreased to 3,581, with 2,041 cases belonging to Sacramento County seniors.

“If we had a stable $500,000 from the federal or state governments, or even a combination, we could really serve any California senior who wanted to call.”

Despite the losses in funding, the SLH continues to do what it can to help senior citizens, especially in Sacramento County, where the program is allowed more services because it originated here and continues its work from here.

Mandel said that in Sacramento, the hotline continues to aspire to not limit the types of cases it takes on. But with limited funding and the growing complicated nature of cases, the number of people the staff is able to help has been greatly reduced.

Douglas Myers, 64, who lives in Rancho Cordova, was having trouble tracking down his pension from a company he worked for that went out of business. He found an SLH flier at the Cordova Senior Center and called to see if they could help recover his pension. They were able to locate it for him and he can now collect on it for the rest of his life.

Another elderly woman said she felt like she was being taken advantage of by a company who she called to inspect her heating system.

Sacramento resident Grace Coan, 86, said she couldn’t figure out why the heater in her home wasn’t working.

“I wasn’t getting enough heat in my home and called a company to come in to see why,” Coan said. “When the first person came over, they just said, ‘You’re just not getting enough heat. It doesn’t work.’ ”

The proposed solution was to install a new gas heating system, which would cost her $9,000. However, after speaking with a neighbor, she found out the problem centered around replacing a battery in the thermostat and turning on the water heater.

The neighbor then helped Coan contact Mandel at SLH, who was able to cancel the contract within the three-day statutory limit, avoiding the unnecessary $9,000 heater. He also was able to get Coan reimbursed for the initial inspection fee, since the company provided no explanation in regard to why it chose not to inform Coan about the thermostat and water heater.

Mandel mentioned that he was able to meet Mickey Rooney last week on March 31, 2011 in San Francisco during a lunch meeting for the Elder Financial Protection Network Organization. Rooney was there speaking about and raising awareness of the plight of the elderly. Mandel said he thought it was great that there is now a media spotlight on the issue and added that he hoped it would really get people thinking.

“If Mickey Rooney can be abused, imagine the thousands of people who we never hear about who are taken advantage of by their family, caregivers, businesses and even strangers,” Mandel said. “Even if you have money and are famous, you can fall victim to such abuse. Now imagine if you don’t. Who can you turn to?”

While, the SLH cannot represent callers in court cases, it does provide certain mediation services, as it did with Elizabeth “Betty” Burt, 83, a resident of Elk Grove and client of the SLH for more than 12 years. The Area 4 Agency on Aging was how she heard about SLH’s services.

Burt said that the SLH has been a resource for a number of problems, including car accidents and issues relating to her mortgage.

Sherri Newman, a staff attorney and coordinator of the organization’s Domestic Violence Project, said that the SLH tries to offer a holistic approach when helping seniors.

“For example, if the person, as a result of the domestic violence, loses their job, we are able to offer advice and counsel over the phone about their legal rights in the given situation,” Newman said.

The SLH was formed in 1991, when the Area 4 Agency on Aging recognized how effective a legal company in Sacramento was at specifying representation for local seniors. Because there was available funding at the time, the agency created the Senior Legal Hotline (SLH) to be a program of Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC).

At the moment, the grants are helping the SLH stay afloat, but the company is looking to lay off almost half the current staff. Furthermore, Mandel noted that the grants they currently receive are very specific and, consequently, there is a lack of flexibility in services. He said that as a result, they spend most of their time turning people away because don’t qualify for the specifics.

With funds low and the specific and complicated nature of their cases, the organization is always looking for trained attorneys or paralegals willing to make a significant ongoing commitment. If you are interested in extending a hand, check the website for volunteer and donation information.

Sacramento Senior Legal Hotline is located at 444 N. Third St., Suite 312. They can also be reached at (800) 222-1753 or online at www.seniorlegalhotline.org.

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.

La Valentina affordable housing project kicks off

2010-12-10T01:21:47Z

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 of Sacramento,” said Meea Kang, a principal at Domus Development, the San Francisco-based company in charge of the project. “We’re very pleased to be able to do that."

Kang said the $27 million project is being financed by a combination of private, state and local funding and will create and/or maintain about 400 jobs in the area. Construction is scheduled to be completed in summer 2012.

“We are tremendously excited about this project, because this is one of the first near-zero-energy projects in the Sacramento area,” said Paul Lau, assistant general manager of SMUD. “This meets all the requirements of a great project.”

SMUD contributed more than $400,000 in credits for the project’s energy conservation, Lau said.

Lau checked off a laundry list of energy-efficient features in the building, including solar roofing panels, sliding glass doors, energy-efficient windows, space heating, central air conditioning, compact fluorescent and LED lighting, and Energy Star appliances.

“The whole (City) Council is really excited about this project,” said City Councilman Steve Cohn, in whose district the project sits. “This project really hits all the sweet spots; this hits all the points that we are trying to do when we talk about Sacramento becoming the most livable city in America.”

Cohn applauded the fact that the site is “taking advantage of a 25-year investment” in the Alkali Flat/La Valentina light rail station and urged Sacramentans to rely more on walking, bicycles and public transit.

“These types of projects are going to do just that,” he said.

But it wasn’t just government officials and developers who saw the groundbreaking as a good thing Thursday.

“Affordable housing gets people off the street,” said Harvey Hayes, an area resident. “And the energy efficiency is big.”

Hayes said he believes people are speeding up the natural process of the Earth’s climate change, and in working to be more energy-efficient, that process can be slowed down.

“Anything and everything makes a difference,” he said.

Another local resident, Richard, who declined to give his last name, said the area has long been a haven for drug use and crime, but building new housing on what was formerly a derelict lot will help curtail that problem.

“This place is a slum,” he said. “(The new project) is going to help a lot with the drug situation.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Photo tour of Maydestone Building renovation

2010-11-18T02:15:57Z

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 and downtown.”

Much of the building’s historical character is being preserved, including the above mosaic at the main entrance.

According to Miry, historic pull-out beds are being preserved and incorporated into some of the remodeled units.

Corner units are the bigger ones, coming in closer to the 850-square-foot size. Smaller units begin at 400 square feet, and Miry said monthly rents will range from $700-$1,100.

Rooms will be accessed through the interior hallway on each floor.

An all-metal exterior staircase will allow for the building to be accessed by the rear as well as the front.

Some of the details of the approximately $8 million project are still being hashed out, and in the above photo, co-owner Steve Lebastchi (right) discusses construction-related issues with contractors.

The above photo shows the basement, which will house the common area and amenities.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Regional plan for 2035

2010-10-29T05:26:22Z

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 Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) to hold nine workshops throughout the region: one in each of the six counties and three in Sacramento County.

Held at the Sacramento Convention Center, the MTP2035 Workshop involved an explanation of the three possible planning scenarios for the region, round table discussions on these scenarios, and an on-the-spot voting session, with some 157 participants able to cast their opinions onto the front screen via handheld polling devices.

According to electronically submitted polls, 96 percent of the tables were in favor of the proposed “scenario three plan.”

Scenario three would see the least amount of growth in established, developing and rural residential communities while anticipating the most growth in central and corridor communities. In regards to transportation, it would see the least construction in new or expanded roads, the most offered in transit service, more money to pedestrian, street and trail improvement, as well as additional bike paths. And with regard to the environment, scenario three would see the least amount of farmland converted to development, the least amount of vernal pools (wetlands) affected by development and the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions per passenger vehicle, according to SACOG.

SACOG Senior Planner Kacey Lizon presented some of the big themes of the new plan, which involves a reworking and implementation of the current 2008 plan while also expanding and improving current infrastructure to account for the estimated 359,000 more jobs created and 300,000 more homes needed by 2035.

Lizon briefly explained considerations the plan has to make for the diverse communities within the region. She shared the little-known fact that Sacramento County boasts the largest wine and grape production in the region and also has the only dairies in the region.

Other than these rural residential communities, the plan recognizes the unique set of needs and differences within developing communities like Natomas and Southport, established communities like South Sacramento and Land Park, and central corridor communities like Old Sacramento and other highly trafficked areas that contain transportation services, bustling commerce or historic downtowns.

In addition to understanding how the plan would work within each unique community, attendees were provided with maps of the region, displaying the impact each scenario would have on roads, housing and business development, environment, and pedestrian travel.

“We want to know how this plays in the real world,” McKeever said. “We need a plan for the big, diverse region we live in.”

McKeever said the workshops are important because they work with real people representing the needs, opinions and wants of their specific communities.

The public were able participate at the workshop by way of polling questions and round-table discussions, allowing for interaction, debate and discussion on the proposed scenarios.

Some of the questions posed to the audience were: “What do you think is the most important issue facing the Sacramento region at this time?” “If you have a choice for transportation, what influences your choice?” and “Which scenario do you prefer of the three regional and county scenarios discussed tonight?”

McKeever explained how each of the three potential scenarios would change the region, while highlighting certain projects that would result from their being adopted as the plan of action.

By 2035, the Sacramento region, which includes Yuba, Yolo, Sutter, Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties, is expected to add nearly 900,000 people to its population, according to SACOG.

In order to prepare for the effects of this growth in relation to land use, and housing and development, SACOG must initiate an 18-month process of research and update its current plan (adopted in 2008) every four years.

SACOG Government and Media Affairs Coordinator Erik Johnson said that all of the workshops are open to the public.

Johnson said that results from previous workshop polls have varied.

He added that a public hearing will be held in spring to discuss the information gathered from the workshops and SACOG’s research.

SACOG must adopt an updated Metropolitan Transportation Plan by December 2011.

To view the complete contents of the Metropolitan Plan for 2035, click here.
To review the results of past workshops and their survey results, click here.

Tired of renting? Dream of owning your own home? Learn how it can become a reality.

2010-10-25T23:11:50Z

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 with a zero-interest loan. A typical mortgage is no more than 30 percent of the homeowner's gross income.

If you are interested in applying to become a homeowner with SHfH, please register to attend a Sacramento Habitat for Humanity Homeowner Orientation at the Oak Park United Methodist Church (3600 Broadway) from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., on the following Saturdays:

Nov. 6
Dec. 4

RSVP to Ashley Tully, AmeriCorps – Family Services Representative at (916) 440-1215 ext. 1111 or atully@shfh.org. (Parents – children may not attend the meeting).

The Next American Dream - Second Screening

2010-09-30T22:39:53Z

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!

Ask the County Law Librarian - Foreclosure Defense

2010-09-09T22:44:12Z

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 this proof. Under California law, however, “It is well-established that non-judicial foreclosures can be commenced without producing the original promissory note.” Chilton v. Federal Nat. Mortgage Ass'n, 2009 WL 5197869 (E.D.Cal.).

Unfortunately for many homeowners these days, foreclosures are almost impossible to stop. An action to set aside the trustee’s sale requires both an irregularity in the procedure outlined in California Civil Code §§ 2920-2924 and a grossly inadequate sale price. Moeller v. Lien, 25 Cal.App.4th 822 (1994). If faced with foreclosure, the best thing for you to do is talk to an attorney, your mortgage company, or a nonprofit foreclosure prevention organization. Avoid foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

Do you have a question for the County Law Librarian? Just email sacpress@saclaw.org. If your question is selected your answer will appear in next Thursday's column. Even if your question isn't selected, though, I will still respond within two weeks.

Coral Henning, Director
@coralh & @saclawlibrarian

www.saclaw.org

Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center's After Hours: Wine Event & Live Auction

2010-09-03T00:42:02Z

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. Tickets are on sale for $50.00 per person for an evening under the stars filled with fine wines, delicious food tasting, and live music. There is a newly added live auction performed by Benefit Auctioneer David Sobon of David Sobon Auctions. Some of the items up for bid are A San Francisco Getaway at The Ritz Carlton, Golf for A Year & A Beach Cruiser Bicycle. Featured live music acts include The Retronaunts and The Putah Creek Crawdads. Be sure to look for the Wall of Wine, a Lottery-Style wine purchase!

So for the same price as a restaurant dinner, come feast and dance the night away in the spirit of helping the SAEHC who has served many families and young people turn their lives around. Since 1972 the non-profit SAEHC has helped over 10,000 families receive housing services, 68 % of the participants are children. Additional programs offered include self-sufficiency workshops, living skills, parenting classes, and mental health care to name a few. Support Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center as they shape the lives of so many people in our community. A true reason for Sacramento to give. For tickets and more information please visit http://www.saehc.org/fttah.php

The Next American Dream

2010-08-28T00:17:19Z

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 caring folks.”

Littrell had seen the documentary aired on KVIE about six months ago and said he was astonished at how applicable the film’s content was to some of the current issues facing Sacramento.

“It was as if we were watching a documentary about Sacramento,” Littrell said.

However, Kansas City, Mo. was the main focus of the film. It followed the process the city took to revitalize and reinvigorate its own downtown.

After World War II, the suburbs seemed to epitomize what so many Americans believed to be the American Dream, but now, the film argues, we are ready for a new American dream; The Next American Dream.

Many in attendance didn’t know much about the film before arriving at the Crest. Terrence Johnson, executive director at The Stockton Boulevard Partnership, said, “I actually don’t know anything about it. It’s kind of a blind faith thing because Dustin (Littrell) recommended it. I kind of follow him around to see what he’s doing because he does a lot of interesting things.”

Similar stories were heard throughout the foyer during the event’s preshow social hour. There was a common bond among those in attendance, in that each one of them seemed involved in projects or careers that shape the future of Sacramento.

Gretchen Steinberg came to the event hopeful that it would provide answers for her group, Sacramento Modern.

“We are a new nonprofit working to promote, preserve and protect mid-century and modern architecture, art and design in Sacramento,” Steinberg said. “I want (the film) to give recommendations and provide some knowledgeable input regarding preservation.”

Littrell said he hoped the film would work to bring Sacramentans together, to work together and have pride in their city. Johnson unknowingly echoed Littrell’s sentiments, having said, “I’m hoping that if this (is) an awareness-building event that it’s very successful for people that may traditionally not be paying attention. I’m hoping that I see faces here that we don’t normally see at the table for economic development, revitalization and other issues that go on in City Hall or downtown.”

The film explained that a suburban exodus occurred after soldiers returned from World War II. A popular trend involved getting away from congested city centers.

Freeways were constructed, connecting people to their jobs in the city and to their homes in the country, and the automobile became a household item for many. As development moved outward, away from urban cores, cities and their downtown’s were neglected.

“The Next American Dream” argues that new trends are on the rise as people are wanting to live in closer proximity to their work, entertainment, social lives and services. The film claims that “people are bored with the suburbs.”

Lynne Freeman has been a resident in downtown for more than 15 years, and she said, “Your city is only as good as your downtown.”

Having witnessed the ups and downs of downtown Sacramento over the last decade and a half, Freeman remains optimistic about Sacramento’s future. “We’re definitely on our way up, it’s just which way up do we go?”

Freeman’s question remained unanswered by the film. Kansas City’s approach to revitalization, though inspiring, would not work here in Sacramento. So then, what will work to restore life to Sacramento’s urban core? Answers will inevitably vary.

Littrell said he believes an arena built downtown would act as a catalyst project for more development.

“It can bring revenue, bodies, and just people,” he said. “Businesses on game days will come alive.”

The film would seem to support Littrell’s argument, as Kansas City’s success can be largely attributed to the construction of the $276 million dollar Sprint Center.

Other than the arena, affordable housing has also brought life back to Kansas City’s downtown, but is this feasible here?

Vivian Gerlach said she enjoyed the film, but hoped the filmmakers would have addressed more issues relevant to Sacramento.

“They really honed in on the entertainment aspect, but living here is really important too,” she said.

“It’s not just about eating and drinking,” Gerlach said. “They didn’t talk about schools. What about schools? I mean, this is the stuff we struggle with in Midtown, and downtown is having good schools and housing at different price points, not just high-end lofts or low-income apartments.”

After digesting the film, Kris Cowan offered his own opinion on the subject: “I think that so much of the sprawl went to Roseville and to affordable housing.”

Cowan said he believes that the film’s showing was a good conversation starter for people in Sacramento.

“Talking about potential breeds more ideas,” Cowan said.

Travelers often bypass Sacramento as they head up the hill or down to the bay.

“There needs to be something about Sacramento that makes people want to stop for the evening and check it out,” Matt Bullock said. Bullock is the personification of what the film said this new generation wants. He works and lives right in downtown. “I’m trying to live the life!” he said.

Conversation was stimulated by the film as people left the theater.

Tyler Zurcher left the showing feeling positive that Sacramento is on the right track for revitalization.

“We’re heading in the right direction, but we need to get the right people involved,” Zurcher said.

The right people may have been close at hand. Alongside Zurcher was Amy Dempster, who added, “I think there are a whole lot of people in Sacramento that want to see something happen, but they don’t know that they can do something about it. We’re out here tonight hoping that something changes, because people like us are willing to get involved.”

There will be a second free screening of the film at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18 in front of the MAARS building.

Photos courtesty of Jerome Love.

Big Brother or Big Bully?

2010-05-12T04:04:10Z

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 properties to inspect them is illegal and unconstitutional. True, many renters may be without air conditioning, lack ample hot water and/or suffer other unpleasant living conditions, but in most cases, their rents reflect that, and most tenants already know that they can call Code Enforcement if they have a problem their landlord fails to address.
If an owner is forced to spend money to bring his property up to levels the city, in its wisdom, may consider acceptable, and pay someone to live within 35 miles of city hall, then he's going to raise the rent considerably and lose the tenant, who may end up in a shelter made of cardboard down by the railroad tracks.
In the early '80s, the city created what it called target areas, areas in which rents for poorer citizens were subsidized. One of the target areas, which the city and media constantly referred to the former Franklin Villa as “troubled Franklin Villa” or “crime-ridden Franklin Villa," “crime plagued” “crime infested” and so on. How did it get that way? The city filled these units, which were built for adults, with poor families. Many of these were families without fathers, and paroled convicts immediately began moving in. With no playgrounds, the alleys swarmed with children and the area became a typical ghetto, complete with gang graffiti, trash, toys, abandoned vehicles, and an area in which role models for the children drove flashy black BMWs and wore purple homburgs. The police department gave up, saying it could not control crime in the area.

In its next move, the city condemned these condos in South Sacramento. The city realized that instead of letting the Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency subsidize the landlords, it could take over and keep the rents and subsidies for itself. Nothing looks any better now than it did 10 years ago, except that with some reconstruction the area conforms more to our idea of an old-fashioned housing project. The media keeps a low profile and no longer dares mention “troubled” or “crime-ridden” in connection with this area. In fact, it never mentions the area. At best, shootings and so forth take place somewhere in South Sacramento, a much larger and less specific area.

I believe this is an egregious and indefensible encroachment on our personal freedom.

That's just my opinion.

From Code Enforcement’s website:

Rental Housing Inspection Program Outline
All rental housing units are required to register with the City of Sacramento
Properties must have a registered local contact representative within 35 miles of Sacramento City Hall
Property owners are billed the Rental Housing Inspection Program fee of $28 on an annual basis.
All parcels with rental housing units will be inspected within the first five-year program cycle
Properties with violations require the owner makes necessary repairs in 30 days
Properties with no violations may be eligible for the Self-certification Program
Approximately 5% of the properties in the Self-certification Program will be audited at random each year
Owners of properties in the Self-certification Program must perform their own annual inspections and inspect each unit when there is a change in tenant
Rental housing units that are less than 5 years old or inspected by another agency may be exempt from the program

Rental Housing Inspection Program Fee: $28 per unit, billed annually
Rescheduling Fee $80
Re-inspection Fee (for continuing violations)$150 per inspection

About 50 people urge City Council to help form Safe Ground

2010-04-24T02:03:50Z

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 some of the people who addressed the City Council Thursday are below:

Tracie Rice-Bailey, advocate for Safe Ground: Had [Nickson] had a safe place to sleep, she would be alive today. If this is not a solid reason for safe ground, what might be? We need to get real and not let this happen to anyone else. We need a moratorium on the anti-camping ordinance now.

Joan Burke, director of advocacy for Sacramento Loaves & Fishes: Please give us Safe Ground so that no woman has to sleep outside in Sacramento, and no woman has to die because she’s homeless.

John Kraintz, advocate for Safe Ground: Safe Ground is hoping to offer something that provides a solution of empowerment, rather than entitlement. To try to be contributors. That’s why these people are here tonight — because they’re part of your community. They care. How many normal citizens do we find coming out to talk to the City Council and tell them what’s on their mind?

Mark Merin, civil rights attorney: When people say they’re part of Safe Ground, and they’ve counted on Safe Ground, what they’re talking about is a group of people who stay together. They camp at night ... break their camp in the morning, and they drag their stuff away. So, it’s a clean site. That is not ideal. What they need is a place where they can actually be and their stuff can stay safe. And they can go about connecting with family (and) friends, qualifying for services, and moving up.

Cres Vellucci, member of the board of directors of ACLU of Sacramento County and a Vietnam veteran: As I understand it, a number of the people that are homeless ... are military veterans. As a veteran, I would like to encourage all of you to consider that these people have served their country. They’ve done what they had to do — whether they were drafted like I was, or whether they joined.

Photo caption: The city removed "Tent City" last year. Photo by Jonathan Mendick.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sister's United, Inc., Recently Opens The "House of Esther".

2009-11-10T19:46:32Z

Sister’s United, Inc., Recently Opens The “House of Esther.”

Sister’s United, Inc., a local non-profit corporation recently held their grand opening for the “House of Esther” on Friday, October 2, 2009. Many of the attendees marveled at the beauty of the home located at 3334 4th Avenue, in the heart of Oak Park.
The House of Esther is the first of many from Sister’s United, Inc., opening in the Sacramento Community, and is more than Board & Care Housing; this home offers upscale living and beautiful décor. Those entering this home participate in a unique Empowerment Program purposefully designed to transform lives, and build strong affective leaders.
The unique program focuses on holistic health and nutrition, eco-friendly living, imparting curriculums, intense skills training, mentorship, and community involvement. The 12-month program serves to empower women ages 18+.
Beverly Swanson, CEO/Founder of Sister’s United Inc., is a motivational coach, credentialed instructor in Adult Education, Veteran, Retired Parole Agent California Department of Corrections, and a divinely inspired woman of God. While revitalization is ever-present, in the community, it is the vision of Beverly Swanson and Sister’s United, Inc., to be ever-present in revitalizing valuable lives in the community.

See Beverly on Sacramento & Company, KXTV-10 on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 9 a.m.
Sister’s United, Inc.
www.sistersunitedinc.info

Built Environment/Green Space Presentation

2009-11-09T22:16:27Z

Built Environment/Green Space Presentation

November 10, 2009
5:30pm-7:30pm

Sacramento Food Bank
3333 3rd Avenue, Sacramento, CA

AGENDA

Moderator: Charles L. Mason, Jr., Ubuntu Green

Confirmed Panelists:

Anya Lawler, Consultant, California State Assembly Committee on Housing

Graham Brownstein, ECOS

Davida Douglas, Alchemist CDC

Brandon Kitagawa, Regional Asthma Management and Prevention, Statewide Coordinator of Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA)

Constance Slider, Coalition on Regional Equity

Invited Panelists:

Paul Zykofsky, Director of Land Use and Transportation, Local Government Commission

Randy Rosalex, Green Sacramento Builders

Darnell Robinson, Clearinghouse CDFI

• Overview of Built Environment and Green Space

• Built Environment and Green Space and the Sacramento Building Healthy Communities target area

• Connectivity to other priority areas (Food Access, Multi-Modal Transportation Network, Access to Doctors, Economic Well-Being)

• What types of systems and policy changes are needed?

A 10-Step Plan To Fix K Street, Or: The Legend of the Skyscraper Fairy

2009-10-12T03:55:54Z

As a Sacramento resident keenly interested in the history of K Street from the gold rush to the present, I have read many opinions regarding the best ways to fix the ongoing problems of K Street. Some have been proposed recently, ideas that I view with a mixture of amusement and horror. Most involve returning to the mistakes of the past while clearly avoiding its successes. In order to take the best from the past while avoiding some of its mistakes, I have selected some favorites. I can take credit for none of them, as they are all ideas that have been suggested at other times and places, but they seem like the best of the lot to me. This ten-point plan varies in scope from the very simple and inexpensive to the rather complex and expensive, some are short-term solutions while others are longer-term solutions for better times, but all of them are practical. I can provide more detail about most of these points if requested.

1. Accept that the Skyscraper Fairy does not exist.

Many landlords along K Street have no apparent interest in maintaining or improving their properties. Some are convinced that as long as they own the land, the magical Skyscraper Fairy will give them uncountable millions for the land where their decaying buildings sit, and will replace them with shiny new skyscrapers. Thus, they have little interest in maintaining or tenanting their buildings. The result is under-utilized or vacant buildings whose facades continue to crumble. Despite the Downtown Partnership’s efforts to power-wash streets and alleys, buildings allowed to fall into disrepair, inhabited only by bats and squatters, make our historic buildings into eyesores. Ideally, the city’s code enforcement division would issue stiff fines to property owners who allow their buildings to fall into disrepair, in order to prevent demolition by neglect. Unfortunately, the city of Sacramento is also one of the guilty parties, and one of the strongest believers in the Skyscraper Fairy. City-owned properties currently sit vacant, awaiting their own savior in the form of a deep-pocketed developer who will brush aside the old building and provide badly-needed money to build something else. Given K Street’s current state, this is unlikely—the only propositions so far are dependent on generous subsidies from the city of Sacramento. Until both the city and K Street property owners can be dispelled of their belief in the magical skyscraper fairy, their properties will continue to rot.

2. It’s time to leave the shopping mall in the past.

K Street was a bustling place until the 1950s, when most of Sacramento’s population moved out of the central city, the residential neighborhoods adjacent to downtown Sacramento were demolished, and the city streetcar system was replaced by highways and automobiles. Suburban malls were closer to the new suburban neighborhoods and had plentiful parking, while K Street was far away and none of the stores had parking lots. The K Street pedestrian mall of the 1960s and 1970s was a desperate move to woo suburban shoppers by simulating a suburban mall, including demolition of nearby buildings to provide parking. But the suburban malls were still more convenient, and their parking lots bigger and more obvious, so K Street’s rebirth as a mall of the 1970s failed. A 1990s re-vamp that enclosed the section from 4th to 7th Street has become another failure, due to its failure to move beyond the idea of a suburban mall downtown.

A new generation of city planners has noted that shopping centers of the 2000s look a lot like old downtowns, with stores that copy historic styles and a mixture of pedestrian paths and driveways. These planners have decided that this is the future of K Street, and call for a return of cars to K Street so they can pretend K Street is a new suburban "power center," the 2010s equivalent of a shopping mall. But those suburban “power centers” are still closer to suburban shoppers, and their parking lots are still bigger. If K Street is simply opened to cars and its facades remodeled to emulate new suburban shopping centers in North Natomas, how can the result be any different from the last two attempts to disguise downtown Sacramento as a suburban mall?

3. Cars, no. Bikes, yes.

The simplest change to energize K Street will cost very little: permit bicycle riding on K Street. Bike riding is already on the rise, and the freedom to bike on K Street would turn it into the main cycling corridor of the central city, free from the vehicular mayhem of J and L Street. Provide a few bike racks so bike riders can stop and shop as well as ride through, and the numbers strolling past store windows will dramatically increase.

4. Shrink light rail to streetcar size.

Until the 1940s, K Street had transit in all sizes. On K Street itself, streetcars ran from the heart of downtown to Midtown, Southside and nearby suburbs like Land Park, Oak Park and East Sacramento. These cars were small, typically 30-40 feet long, about the size of a modern bus, and operated at speeds up to 25-30 miles per hour. Like a bus, they worked reasonably well with traffic, but because they had fixed rails they had a smoother ride and a predictable path, making them more comfortable for riders. Trains ran every ten minutes during the day, and “owl” runs carried late-night travelers all night.

On the corner of 8th and K Street, interurban trains ran in both directions. Passengers from Woodland, Chico, Stockton and even Oakland could hop on the train and get off on K Street. These trains were bigger, 60-80 feet long, and operated in trains as long as 6-8 cars. They were taller and wider than streetcars, and could reach 60-70 miles per hour going flat-out through the countryside. They ran on 8th Street because K Street was far too busy to handle the big trains.

Today, modern Light Rail trains are more like the interurbans than streetcars. With 80 foot long bodies and operating in four-car trains, they are not well-suited to playing the role of a streetcar. By through-routing Blue Line trains north via the upcoming 7th Street extension and connecting to North 12th Street via Richards Boulevard, light rail trains could bring passengers from Folsom, Rancho Cordova, South Sacramento and North Highlands to K Street without crowding pedestrians off the street.

Meanwhile, the streetcars can return to K Street. Some of Sacramento’s historic streetcars exist in unrestored condition in private collections, but modern streetcars offer amenities like air conditioning and ADA-accessible low-floor entryways. They can run on the existing K Street tracks while leaving more room for pedestrians and bikes. Using existing light rail lines and sharing their tracks, these streetcars can link nearby neighborhoods and connect with light rail. Extending streetcar lines into existing neighborhoods and new development areas costs less than one-third the price of light rail extensions and drives population density, economic investment and reduces the need for cars and parking. Run them until after 2:00 AM to give downtown visitors an option to leave their cars at home—especially if they plan on drinking.

5. Legalize street life.

This is another cheap and easy solution. Part of Second Saturday’s success is its prolific use of street music, performers, and vendors, but its monthly status creates a feast-or-famine condition. A permit program to allow music, performance and vending at any time means that visitors to K Street won’t need to check their calendars before going downtown. Street music and vending also gives local entertainers and small businesspeople a stepping stone to a retail storefront or a musical career. Musicians and vendors will promote activity, give walkers a reason to stick around, and attract visitors to enjoy the street life. This also does not rule out special street festivals and special events above and beyond the day-to-day activity, and maintaining K Street as a pedestrian walk maintains this valuable civic amenity for more public festivals. Both everyday street life and special events will draw visitors from within Sacramento, the surrounding region, and tourists from out of town.

6. Tours bring tourists.

Despite the demolition of the past few decades, K Street still retains a remarkable number of historic buildings, proud evidence of our architectural heritage in stone, terra cotta and concrete. Many cities use local tourism programs to bring visitors into the heart of the city, but to most visitors, Sacramento’s history ends at the edge of Old Sacramento. Efforts to alter this perception have been minimal. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership has a guided tour program, but it is minimally staffed, minimally funded, and minimally advertised. Downtown visitors looking for local history information are likely to come up empty-handed. Sacramento needs a full-strength tourism program worthy of a city with such a rich and diverse history. K Street, the walking street at the heart of the city, can be the center of such a tour program, with more tours branching out into nearby downtown streets and our architecturally rich residential neighborhoods. History tours appeal both to visiting tourists and to locals interested in learning more about their city's past.

On K Street, the potential star attraction of local tourism is right under your feet. Sacramento’s underground sidewalks, the result of a street-raising measure intended to keep the city above flood waters, run the length of K Street from the river to about 12th Street. Many are demolished, but enough material remains to allow a tour to weave in and out of underground sidewalk spaces, sunken alleys, basements, and even below-surface businesses. Combined with the dramatic story of the raised streets, and some entertaining and colorful stories from Sacramento’s history, the potential of an underground sidewalks tour is unlimited. In Seattle, local booster Bill Speidel turned a walk through clammy underground sidewalks in a notoriously bad part of town into a million-dollar tourist attraction that is known worldwide, drawing as many as 300,000 visitors a year and employing as many as 50 full-time staff. There is no reason that Sacramento can’t do the same.

7. Bring on the nightlife.

If a suburban mall isn’t the answer, what will bring suburban residents downtown? The answer is simple: Give them something the suburbs don’t have. Sacramento is best known for its quiet suburbs, the result of a decades-long whitewashing operation to conceal our party-animal past. The rowdy days of the Gold Rush, the proliferation of local breweries and wineries, our almost total refusal to acknowledge Prohibition, the legendary jazz and blues clubs of Sacramento’s West End, and even last year’s New Year’s Eve party (2,000 expected, 12,000 attended) burst through the “town where nothing happens” façade. It’s time to face the truth, and bring more nightlife down the length of K Street. This doesn’t just mean bars, it also means late-night restaurants, theaters, live music venues, dance clubs, movies, spas and salons, comedy clubs, coffee shops, and other imaginative options for entertainment. Cooperative parking agreements with state parking lots can provide tens of thousands of parking spaces, and better public transit can carry revelers home in safety.

8. Shop local, even if you’re from out of town.

The shopping-mall consultants are half right about K Street—it does need more than nightlife to survive. Daytime and early evening traffic means retail stores and services in between the state-employee lunch rush and the arrival of the dinner, drinks and dancing crowd. However, national chain stores are hesitant to expand, even if bribed into doing so. And again, suburban visitors won’t drive downtown to a store in their local mall. The answer is, again, to give them something the mall doesn’t have: unique, local stores. Local businesses keep money in the local economy, stimulate local employment and provide a unique character that chain stores simply can’t match. Encouraging local businesspeople to rent storefronts on K Street should be a city priority. Matched with neighborhood-serving retail like food markets, cleaners, drugstores and small department stores, locally-based retail on K Street should appeal to suburban shoppers, out-of-town visitors, and central city residents. As stores fill and crowds start to appear, instead of having to beg national chains to locate on K Street, they will appear on their own, smelling money to be made.

One idea we might lift from San Francisco: the much-adored Metreon, high-tech consumer wonderland, is falling on hard economic times, with many vacancies. Earlier this year, a full-time farmer’s market moved into the Metreon, and has already proved a popular destination. A permanent farmer’s market on K Street, instead of the current sporadic weekly markets, would provide fresh foods to a neighborhood where none are sold. Downtown workers, visitors and residents would all benefit from a convenient source for the Sacramento Valley’s agricultural bounty.

9. Living on K Street shouldn’t mean sleeping directly on it.

The destruction of the downtown neighborhoods near K Street was followed by the destruction of thousands of inexpensive rental rooms, commonly known as SRO hotels, where thousands of workers lived. As inexpensive housing disappeared, the poorest people did not. Out of necessity, they made their home on the streets. Many are still there, and as existing SRO stock is phased out of service and homeless services disappear, their numbers grow. They will not vanish and they will not simply move away, because they have nowhere to go and no alternative. The only way to reverse this trend is to replace the housing that was lost. This replacement housing need not be here on K Street, but it needs to be somewhere. Our only alternative is to accept the presence of people sleeping on the streets as an unalterable condition, and tell them that their suffering is necessary and unavoidable—or to simply remain in denial of the problem, which amounts to the same thing. As a people, as a city and as a nation, I think we are capable of better than that.

But it isn’t just the poorest that need housing in the central city. Housing for all income levels should be included in new development projects, but putting it into existing buildings would be even easier. Many formerly residential buildings were converted to office use in the 1960s and 1970s, so why not convert the abundance of vacant upper-story office space back into residential units? This housing should cross the economic spectrum: SRO units for the disabled and seniors, low-income units for service employees, workforce housing for office employees, and high-end, high-up housing for the high rollers. A truly urban life results when you can see all the way across the economic spectrum just walking down the street. That can’t happen unless the street has places for all of them to live, dine, work and shop. Again, not all of these places have to be directly on K Street, but they should be close enough to walk there in a few minutes. Restoration of residential buildings will preserve their architectural value, bring life back to the neighborhood, fill a great social need, and jobs restoring and maintaining the buildings will create more employment than comparable levels of new construction.

10. Have faith, be good, and the Skyscraper Fairy will come.

Part of the current mentality of property owners on K Street is based on outdated models of how downtown development should happen. For decades, cities were assumed to be teeming pits of an imaginary disease called “blight” that could only be cured with wrecking balls and a liberal application of public-funded redevelopment dollars, designed to push out “undesirable” tenants and solicit only the coveted suburban émigré to return to the central business district, and then only to spend money and leave, never to live. Today’s cities don’t work like that anymore. People want to live in cities because they want the amenities of urban life unavailable in the suburbs. If K Street can offer those amenities, not a sanitized Disneyland version and certainly not a copy of a suburban mall, they will grow interested in K Street. If they are interested, they will come to visit. If there are places to live, and things to see and do, they will want to move downtown. Once enough people have moved downtown that there is no longer room in existing buildings, and people feel safe and secure in neighborhoods that are well-maintained, high-rise developers who understand how cities work will look at K Street and see dollar signs. Instead of developers seeking handouts to build on K Street, they will come with money in hand where they think they can make even more.

And when they do, the Skyscraper Fairy will visit the property owners and civic leaders who took care of their buildings, who encouraged vitality and street life instead of a tax write-off, who promoted transit and walkability, and drew people back downtown to share in K Street’s uniqueness, character and history. She will shower them with money and riches and blessings, and cranes will rise on K Street, filling the gaps between the last century’s architectural gems with bright, tall new buildings. Yes, Sacramento, there is a Skyscraper Fairy, but she has very high standards.

William Burg is a board member of the Sacramento Old City Association. This story is a guest editorial opinion, and does not represent the opinion of Sacramento Press or its editors.

Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour

2009-10-03T04:39:04Z

Thursday afternoon, about 50 seniors, homeless and other community members participated in the Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour. The tour surveyed 10 different housing options and stopped to provide in-depth tours of three housing complexes.

Guided by Shamus Roller, director of the SHA, Ken Cross, CEO of Sacramento Habitat for Humanity and Paul Ainger, Mercy Housing project developer, the four-hour tour began and ended at the SHA office in Midtown.

"It's important to know what affordable housing means," Ainger said. According to the federal government, housing is considered "affordable" when a person renting or buying it spends no more than 30 percent of his or her income for housing.

"Affordable housing is an economic stimulus," Roller added.

"None of these [properties on the tour] are owned by non-profits," Ainger said. "They are all owned by for-profit guys."

The first stop was the 84-unit complex Serna Village, located in McClellan. A transitional housing community developed by Mercy Housing of California and Cottage Housing, Inc., the complex consists of one- to four-bedroom residential units.

The bus unloaded and took an in-depth tour of the community. One requirement for residency is to have children. Arla, who did not give her last name, gave a speech detailing her experience in Serna Village to the tour group.

She was referred to Serna Village through Quinn Cottages, another housing site for single homeless individuals run by Cottage Housing, Inc. She and other residents, besides meeting minimum requirements, must identify and commit to other lifestyle changes in order to remain in the community, she said.

"You're able to be yourself [here]," Arla added. "I'm in college for the first time in 18 years. It's an awesome program."

Like Arla, Kelly Dean, another Serna Village resident, spoke of her recovery from drug addiction. Dean held a six-month-old baby in her arms during her speech.

Serna Village offers parenting classes, mental health and drug and alcohol recovery programs, she said. "They take people from a homeless nightmare and turn them into the American Dream."

Rent at Serna Village is determined on a case-by-case basis and the average tenant stays for 14 months out of a two-year limit, said Cottage Housing's executive director, Robert Tobin. He also mentioned that Cottage Housing plans to more than double its residential capacity from 241 to 500 units over the next decade.

Victory Townhomes in North Sacramento was the tour's next stop. Developed by Sacramento Mutual Housing Association in 2003, the complex holds 21 three and four-bedroom town homes and tenants are allowed to stay as long as they want.

It serves people who are considered very low income, earning less than 50 percent ($25,500) of the 2009 annual Sacramento Area Median Income, $51,950. But it doesn't lack in high-tech amenities, explained Rachel Iskow, SMHA's executive director.

For one, the town homes are part of Sacramento's first green street, on Dixieanne Avenue, and have solar panels on their roofs. It's the first multifamily development to incorporate photovoltaics, or solar energy.

Opened in 2003, the property also offers a computer lab and free wireless Internet access. Residents who complete a computer literacy series in the computer lab and donate community service hours receive a free computer, which residents can keep.

The last facility toured was the Forrest Street build site developed by Sacramento Habitat for Humanity. When completed, the site, which features four three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-family homes, will be SHFH's 200th home completed worldwide.

Though it is unclear when the homes will be completed, they are all expected to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design "gold" certification, the second highest award possible.

Qualifying families must be low income (80 percent AMI, $40,800 or less annually) and their current housing situation must be overcrowded, unsafe or overpriced. Once approved, the family must complete 500 hours of "sweat equity" by helping to complete their own home, someone else's, or contribute in some other capacity in an SHFH office. The family must then make payments on the home.

Though the building of the homes is sponsored by local corporations, "families earn homes," said Cross, SHFH's director. "These are not handouts."

The tour then drove by The Park at Del Paso Nuevo, Loaves and Fishes, Quinn Cottages, 1801 L. St., Freemont Mews Apartments, and a former Safe Ground location at 1220 C St. owned by Mark Merin. The tour did not have time to stop as planned at Vintage at Natomas Field, St. Francis Terrace, Francis House, St. Anton Building or Pensione K, all of which have affordable housing options.

"I love the tour," said Sister Libby Fernandez, director of Loaves and Fishes. "It's wonderful to see a variety of affordable housing with good resident services."

"There are not enough shelters and not enough transitional housing," added Tina Reynolds, Safe Ground board member. She announced to the bus that Safe Ground is close to completing a shelter near Bannon Street which will use Tuff Sheds as transitional housing for three to 18 months.

Its goal is to have built-in bathrooms, cooking and laundry facilities and solar power, she added.

"There is a lack of SRO-type housing. Most homeless are single males," said John Krayntz, a homeless man and Safe Ground "elder," or leader, who once lived at 1220 C St. "The tour showed a lot of stuff that was very good, but there is still a need for [housing with] more services and disability advocacy."

Jill Hurley, who lives in Riverview Plaza, a low-income independent living facility downtown, said that she wanted to see more accessible showers built into affordable housing for seniors. "The biggest reason for hospital visits [among seniors] is falling and the most dangerous place is the bathroom."

For more information on affordable housing, please visit the SHA website.

Photographs one through six show Serna Village. Photographs seven through show of Victory Townhomes. Photograph ten shows the SHFH's Forrest Street build site.

Mayor Johnson Camps With The Homeless People Of Safe Ground

2009-08-14T19:44:32Z

Fox 40's Natalie Bomke, and Mayor Kevin Johnson camped out with Sacramento’s homeless community, August 11, 2009. This is a huge step in making homelessness a priority and bringing forth change.

Safe Ground’s mission is to help the homeless community to have a safe and legal place to stay until the housing issues are resolved. Mayor Johnson and Bomke showed up at Safe Ground’s recent camp-out spot to learn first hand what it is like to be homeless.

Johnson and Bomke signed Safe Ground’s participant agreement; which is required in order to camp: no drugs, no alcohol, no violence. This agreement is set to keep the homeless community safe.

John Kraintz, a homeless leader and a member of Safe Ground, has great hope that the homeless community won’t appear “invisible” anymore. Change occurs when people take notice. The time has come for just that. How could you not take notice when Sacramento’s very own Mayor decides to take heed and put himself in a homeless man’s shoes?

In visiting, Sacramento Loaves & Fishes website, you can find some very touching and informative videos by Fox 40 and Costa Mantis, in regards to Sacramento’s homeless community, and what Safe Ground is doing to help make this movement work for the best.

Today, Safe Ground continues to move on a daily basis preventing the homeless from being arrested for camping. I’m very pleased to say there weren’t any camping tickets for Mayor Johnson or Bomke.

Mayor Johnson has created a task force to work out a more permanent place for the homeless community to call “home.”

Sacramento housing: putting a lid on the grid

2009-05-29T05:33:50Z

Special to Sacramento Press

By Dena Kouremetis

It may seem like an anomaly, but it really comes as no surprise to REO expert and Re/Max agent Ray Ponce. Housing in Sacramento’s ‘grid’ – surrounded by freeways in all directions, has simply not become a casualty of foreclosure crisis.

“It’s just a matter of supply and demand,” says Ponce. “There has always been, and will continue to be a demand for housing in this area. Most of the homes in this area were built during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s during a period of time when quality of craftsmanship and individual style were important for homeowners. These homes are built well and possess charm and character that today’s modern homes simply do not have.”

Ponce adds, “Since there is no more open space for builders to come in and throw up massive subdivisions of homogenous tract houses, the supply has remained relatively stable, even in these hard times. You may have noticed that the areas of Sacramento with the largest number of foreclosures are the areas that grew the fastest during the boom years -- places like Elk Grove, Natomas, and Lincoln. Most of this was caused from over-building and over-pricing.”

Another factor protecting grid homes from the foreclosure glut is the fact that many of the homeowners in East Sac and downtown are original owners or are heirs of original owners, according to Ponce, making them debt-free and lien-free as well. Fewer liens mean fewer foreclosures.

A snapshot of foreclosure activity, in mid April from Foreclosure Radar,for example, reveals approximately 115 active foreclosures in the Elk Grove area as compared to only four in the grid area. The contrast has not changed significantly since then.

According to Ponce, other types of home owners in the grid tend to be young professionals; doctors, attorneys, and business owners, who could afford to put 20-50% down when they bought these homes. “They purchased homes within their means and probably took out fixed rate loans. The buyers who purchased in the new subdivisions may have been the victims of variable rate loans, since homebuilders’ in-house lenders tended to make qualifying easier for cash-strapped buyers.”

The grid area holding its own is consistent, judging by a story reported several years ago in the Sacramento Business Journal. In it, staff writer Michael Shaw found that homes in East Sacramento were selling handily while homes in other areas three times the size of the diminutive East Sac footprints were sitting on the market for at least six months at the time. “Homes located in East Sacramento, one of the city's venerable neighborhoods, along with others such as midtown, Land Park and Curtis Park have in many ways resisted the ravages of the housing downturn,” reported Shaw.

Rapid growth areas are traditionally hit hardest, reminiscent of the saying, ‘the bigger they come, the harder they fall ‘ The 2007 Sacramento Business Journal investigation revealed that Sacramento's strongest neighborhoods, however, have been landlocked for years, resulting in little new construction. This makes them a smaller commodity, forcing prices to stay stable or even increase over time when other areas suffer.

The beauty of downtown-close neighborhoods isn’t all about economics, however. The proximity to the downtown job core is a big draw for buyers, along with the area’s tree-lined streets, neighborhood shops and eateries and entertainment venues.

Instead of three car garages, you get charm,, instead of strip malls you get sophisticated Downtown Plaza, and instead of freeway gridlock, you get light rail, a few bus stops or a 10-minute drive.

Even though the grid area is resilient, however, it is certainly not immune. “Just as in Sacramento as a whole, the inventory of homes for sale in core neighborhoods has crept up over the past two years,” reported Shaw, adding that multiple offers are not commonplace. But homes within Sacramento’s coveted grid have been and always will be a draw, no matter how you slice it.

Infill house program

2009-04-19T02:47:20Z

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces:

You or someone you know may be interested in this new program the City is offering. Please keep in mind that this program may not be available in certain areas of the city, such as historic districts or design review areas.

The City of Sacramento has recently launched its revamped Infill House Plan Program aimed to promote quality residential development on vacant lots within the City. The new and improved program - which provides pre-approved construction drawings at a reduced price, streamlined application process and reduced fees - includes recent updates to the house drawings to reduce construction costs and achieve compliance with the new California Building Code. Plans may be purchased for $1,850.

Ranging from 1,435 to 1,670 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and large open kitchens, the new plans were value-engineered to reduce overall construction costs. In addition, two different floor plans each with three different elevations are available.

Plans include two full sets of pre-approved construction drawings, a site plan specific to the parcel, and an expedited building permit granted less than one week after building permit application. Other benefits of the program include reduced City review and impact fees.

For more information, contact Pamela Morgan, Assistant Planner in the Planning Department at (916) 808-7771, or you can view our website at www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd/planning/infill-house-plan-program/. To purchase plans, please contact Piches Architecture at (916) 783-4624, 115 Taylor Street, Roseville, CA 95678.

See more information in this brochure and this flyer.