Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "urban planning"

Capitol Mall design project getting worldwide attention

2011-09-15T23:10:52Z

More than 70 design entries have been submitted for the Capitol Mall design competition to redo the section of the street west of the Capitol building, and organizers said Thursday that they expect to get up to a total of between 150 and 200 over the next couple of weeks.

The competition’s goal is to draw interest from international designers, architects and urban planners as well as from locals, with the winner taking home a $20,000 prize.

“We’ve been really pleased with the turnout,” said Kristopher Barkley of the American Institute of Architects Central Valley Chapter, which is advising the city on the competition.

He added that the 70 entries have come from all six inhabited continents, and submissions have come from places as far-flung as Iran and Vietnam.

“It puts a spotlight on Sacramento,” said Maurice Chaney, a spokesman for the city. “People throughout the world can really bring some good ideas to revitalize and bring some good energy to Capitol mall.”

Those ideas, however, won’t translate to construction anytime soon.

“This is sort of an idea-gathering type of event,” Chaney said. “Based on that, we can see what would be implementable in a short period of time or long-term. At this point, this is the first of many steps to redesign Capitol Mall.”

Barkley said there is still time for people to enter the competition, with the deadline for submissions being Sept. 29.

“A lot of people wait closer to the deadline to turn in, so we are expecting more to come,” he said. “It’s exciting how far it’s reaching. It’s really getting out there and bringing in a lot of entries.”

Anyone can submit a design – large or small – to fit the parameters of the competition, which are outlined on the competition’s website.

The competition came about when the state returned control of the portion of Capitol Mall between Tower Bridge and the Capitol to the city five years ago.

“I think it’s a really exciting time for Sacramento,” Barkley said. “Even though we’re in a recession, it’s these kinds of positive things that will move us forward and take us out of it into the future.”

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

Opinion: Open letter to Midtown Business Association, Mayor Johnson, City Council Members and the General Public

2011-05-10T19:15:35Z

Introduction/Background: The purpose of the following open letter is to outline quality of life problems that many residential neighbors now face from over concentration of alcohol "entertainment" establishments in Midtown whether related to Second Saturday or other weekends as well. The article also includes recommended solutions to these problems but so far Midtown Business Association and city leaders have largely ignored them.

This letter was written cooperatively by long-time Midtown residents, Bill Burgua, Karen Jacques, Dale Kooyman and Vito Sgromo, all of whom have successfully worked for years with many other residents to create a vibrant residential and business Midtown, which has existed now for many years as evidenced by its popularity and people buying homes and moving to Midtown throughout those years.

Over those same years, the authors have lived close to the center of this growing unplanned "entertainment district" so are especially sensitive to the negative fallout due to too much alcohol related misbehavior. They warmly welcome new ways to enhance Midtown's vitality but recognize that there must be a balance. These historic neighborhoods, which now house many children, a mix of residents' ages, ethnic groups and incomes, remain fragile and concerns raised about quality of life issues must be respected if both businesses and residents are to maintain a healthy coexistence in the future.

None of the various media have reported with any depth the adverse consequences that residents' endure or reported to their readers/viewers recommended solutions that we have proposed many times over the past years. Instead, reporters paint a picture of a small number of intolerant, narrow minded residents who are anti-Second Saturday, anti-entertainment, anti-youth, anti-business, anti-restaurant, anti-special events, anti-vibrant Midtown, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The real truth is that the key guideline for our decisions and advocacy follows the long successful urban planning principle of "healthy residential neighborhoods must be fundamental to supporting healthy business districts." We respect and support our neighboring business and we expect nothing less of them by adhering to the same underlying principle when promoting our total community. Unfortunately, this seems to have been lost in the alcohol sales hype, which focuses too narrowly on alcohol consumption as the primary draw for “revitalization.”

Open letter to Midtown Business Association, Mayor Johnson, City Council Members and the General Public

As we begin to plan for the summer city events, Second Saturday and now have a recess period in the RHI/HZA Process, residents are waiting for MBA and city officials to respond to their need to be protected from the adverse effects of the over concentration of alcohol businesses (bars, clubs and restaurants, which function like clubs and bars after 10:00 p.m.) on J Street and other areas of Midtown where there are high concentrations of alcohol venues. We have submitted proposed solutions, had meetings with our councilman, city staff and MBA but the presentation at the NAG meeting Monday night, March 23, still produced nothing new, substantial or significant from MBA or city officials on the following issues and recommendations:

1) Parking - The city and MBA publicly announced that such venues are responsible for bringing over 22,000 people into Midtown every week. Recently, MBA stated that 60% of these visitors are local. What is MBA's definition of local? How many visitors are driving to Midtown? For us that is the distinction between local and non-local. Because our streets are so walkable and the alcohol venues are so closely concentrated together, the real question is how many patrons WALK to the weekend and Second Saturday events?

MBA has stated that it does not have sufficient parking to accommodate the group of visitors who drive. Consequently, these visitors use our residential neighborhood streets as a free parking lot. When parking is spread out into the various neighborhoods as it is now, it also scatters law enforcement staff and increases Police Department costs and complicates coordination, including DUI enforcement.

2) Crime and vandalism - That an over concentration of alcohol retail businesses causes crime and vandalism is now an accepted national standard used in all city planning and alcohol crime issues. The unplanned over concentration of alcohol retail businesses, which has been allowed to develop in Midtown has attracted crime and vandalism. These unfortunate results are consistent with findings of studies conducted by several other cities, and we have submitted copies these reports to MBA and the city.

The Alcohol Beverage Control has established that Midtown has an over concentration of alcohol businesses. Since it is now an established fact that finding enough parking spaces is a problem for many of the over 22,000 visitors attracted to Midtown, it then follows that these visitors who are parking in our neighborhoods also become targets of crime as well as bringing crime, littering, noise, vandalism and air pollution with them--all of which creates an unhealthy environment for our children as well as adults.

Contrary to some people’s misperception, many children now live in Midtown and more families are moving in. Attracting mixed ages and families to our neighborhoods is one of the goals we have strived for and have been seeing those efforts succeed for some years. It is not healthy for a residential or business neighborhood to see this trend reversed.

3) Profile Visitor Age Group - The type of alcohol businesses, special events and entertainment, which Midtown Businesses promotes have primarily targeted young people in their teens, 20's and early 30’s. This has created a “party atmosphere” where these groups of youth feel they can continue engaging in their related ”party” activities on the way to their cars parked in our residential neighborhoods. Residents must then bear the reality of repeated disruptive alcohol-related misbehavior such as shouting, screaming, noisy arguments, fights, vandalizing property and vegetation, using park strips or lawns as toilets and discarding beer bottles/cans or other litter.

While we are not suggesting that all misbehavior is deliberate or that all visitors engage in such misbehavior, it is a known fact that over-consumption of alcohol alters or impairs thinking, behavior, coordination and reaction time, resulting in unintended consequences. This is most demonstrable in DUI arrests. We agree with Bill Burgua who eloquently explained at the March 21, NAG, that he has heard nothing since the fatal shooting to address those adverse quality of life impacts.

4) Air and Noise Pollution - Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District has stated that due to MBA's attraction of over 22,000 visitors weekly to Midtown who have a problem finding parking and therefore repeatedly circle around our residences looking for parking, Midtown residential neighborhoods now have the highest concentration of auto pollution in Sacramento.

Noise pollution has also created a big problem--particularly for our early-to-bed children when special outdoor musical events are held and clubs open their doors or windows and play on their patios. It is not assuring that the Entertainment Permit Fact Sheet handed out at the NAG contains only weak generic boilerplate verbiage as to noise, which was never enforced before in our neighborhood and looks very likely that it will not be again.

These facts point out that even though MBA and city staff may feel that they are doing what they can to mend the problems with the nearby residents, they still have a great deal of work to stop these negative impacts.

Recommendations:

1. Parking – MBA and city officials should work with residents to restrict parking in the nearby residential neighborhoods to residential preferential parking on weekend days and evenings just as is done when there are special events. Also work with city and state officials to implement a more comprehensive local transit system. Sutter and Mercy Hospitals have created a local transit system that can be the basis of a more extensive local transit system. Work also with the local private parking lots to open their parking spaces to visitor parking. These efforts combined with parking restriction in residential neighborhoods would greatly reduce the negative impacts from MBA’s alcohol businesses’ customer misbehavior.

2. Crime and vandalism - Expand the area that the City Police Entertainment Team, Lavender Angels and Sutter Angels patrol to include the nearby residential neighborhoods. Extend the area of MBA’s graffiti abatement and trash pickup services covers to include the nearby residential neighborhoods. These extensions could eventually be eliminated once the parking restrictions are in place. Finally, limit, as other cities have done, the number of alcohol licenses in the MBA district. A self imposed limit will not only reduce crime but will encourage a more diverse retail base by attracting other types of businesses and customers.

As to costs for the above, officials and MBA should not forget that we as taxpayers also pay annually a significant amount into MBA’s PBid as shown following:

Park-(Marshall) $11,434.50
2 Parcels that make up Sutter's Fort @ 13,904.35 ea = $27,808.70
City Property that RT leases $6,476.50
City Utility Parcel $823.28

By the way we as taxpayers also pay for much of the police who patrol the bars on J Street. These taxpayer contributions entitle the public to some kind of return. Our recommendations lay out possible returns.

3. Profile Visitor Age Groups - Offer Second Saturday events and activities starting at noon or 1:00 p.m., as was very successfully done some years ago, and closing at 6:00 p.m. or 7:00p.m. These hours enable far more people to participate and will benefit day-operating business in the PBID as well. Day hours will attract the now excluded broader base age group which includes our and visiting families, teenagers and seniors many of whom could walk or use public transit. This will create a balance and a more diverse visitor profile that will not only profit the other non-alcohol businesses in Midtown but lessen police costs.

4. Air and Noise Pollution – How you address the parking issues listed above in the recommendations would eliminate this negative health impact caused by autos. Noise pollution must be addressed not by a consultant hired by MBA but by city staff working together with businesses and residents to create a fair and impartial updated noise ordinance. As for the acoustic consultant, hiring him by MBA is a conflict of interest. City codes are unclear and conflicting because they do not take into account health and other quality of life issues.

Finally, there are those who claim that adopting these recommendations is unnecessary because these adverse factors are an unavoidable part of “urban” living and that we residents must accept and adapt. That claim is without merit because many of us who live and bought in Midtown have lived or have friends/relatives who live in other “urban” centers where such factors are controlled. Those municipalities value highly the residents who live there and their contributions to their cities and adjacent business districts so take appropriate measures to ensure both continue to be healthy.

There are also those who have callously advised us that “if you don’t like it move!” In fact, some who found buyers have moved, and some are planning to do likewise if conditions don’t improve and the economy/real estate market gets better. There are others who are looking for homes that are located farther from this troubled zone. Still others have invested their life’s savings in their homes here and cannot afford to move elsewhere.

However, the major drawback to that advice is that avoiding problems has never solved problems. The adverse conditions causing the problems remain. Then what and who replace those caring and conscientious individuals who have been seeking solutions but finally move from enduring too much aggravation and frustration are usually those who don’t care. Residents or “investors” not caring about surroundings and related quality of life has long been known to be the first step to a declining neighborhood, which then heads toward eventual costly government Redevelopment —both business and residential.

Please be advised that our main goal has long been and is still not only to protect the residential neighborhoods but to reunite the residents with the businesses to build a great healthy community as we were successfully doing before the alcohol interests took over. As we have all said before, please do not let the tremendous amount of time we have volunteered and city staff have invested in the RHI/HZA process be wasted. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to finally create a unified community of businesses, residents and schools to make Midtown a great place to work, visit and LIVE!

MBA, city council and city staff: again we ask please let us know how you plan to address these issues and which recommendations you plan to adopt.

Editor's note: This article was temporarily removed and reposted again. All reposted articles appear at the top of the story feed.

"Jane's Walk" Urban Planning Walks

2011-05-04T05:27:47Z

Sacramento Jane’s Walk 2011: Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8

Jane’s Walk USA is a series of free neighborhood walking tours that helps put people in touch with their environment and with each other, by bridging social and geographic gaps and creating a space for cities to discover themselves. Since its inception in 2007, Jane’s Walk has happened in cities across North America, and is growing internationally. Sacramento’s Jane’s Walk series incorporates elements of urban planning, neighborhood advocacy, urban history, and architectural history, to demonstrate how a neighborhood’s physical form promotes its walkability, sustainability and economic and social vitality. All tours are free of charge; show up at the starting point at the designated time in comfortable walking shoes. No RSVP is necessary.

In 2010, Sacramento's first Jane's Walk series took place on May 1 with four simultaneous tours. This year, five total tours are being held over two days; except for the Oak Park and Southside Park tours, the tours are held at different times, so people can attend more than one.

Sacramento Jane’s Walk Schedule

Saturday, May 7

Alkali Flat
10 AM – Noon
Tour Guide: Luis Sumpter, Sacramento Old City Association Board Member
Starting Point: Shine Coffee, 1400 E Street
SOCA and Alkali Flat Neighborhood Association board member Luis Sumpter will lead a tour of Sacramento’s oldest surviving residential neighborhood, Alkali Flat. This tour will visit local architectural landmarks, neighborhood businesses, adaptive reuse projects, and new mixed-use projects under construction.

Midtown
2 PM – 4 PM
Tour Guide: William Burg, Sacramento Old City Association Board Member
Starting Point: Mondo Bizarro, 1827 I Street
William Burg, historian and author of Sacramento’s Streetcars, will guide this tour of Midtown’s mixed-use business corridors and adjacent residential neighborhoods, from the days of Sutter through the streetcar era to the present day. The tour will focus on walkability, transit, mixed-use neighborhoods, and Midtown’s legacy as a regional epicenter of creativity and art.

Sunday, May 8

Southside Park
10 AM-Noon
Tour Guide: William Burg, Sacramento Old City Association Board Member
Starting Point: Callahan Bandstand, 7th and T Street, Southside Park
William Burg, historian and author of Sacramento’s Southside Park, will lead this tour, focusing on the neighborhood’s rich cultural diversity, transportation, landscape and urban design, neighborhood activism, and adaptation to changing neighborhood roles.

Central Oak Park Walking Tour
10 AM-Noon
Tour Guide: Tom Sumpter, Oak Park Neighborhood Association
Starting Point: Guild Theater, 2828 35th Street
Neighborhood activist Tom Sumpter will lead a tour of Oak Park’s historic business district along Broadway and nearby landmarks, designed by Sacramento State geography professor Robin Datel and using a tour brochure published by the Center for Sacramento History.

Downtown: From the Railroad Tracks to the Civic Center
2 PM – 4 PM
Tour Guide: Melisa Gaudreau, Sacramento Heritage Inc. Board Member
Starting Point: Sacramento City Hall, 915 I Street
Historic architect Melisa Gaudreau will lead a tour of downtown Sacramento, focusing on Sacramento Heritage Inc.’s new tour of the Civic Center area along H, I and J Street between the historic Southern Pacific passenger depot and City Hall.

About Jane’s Walks
Jane’s Walk USA honors the legacy and ideas of urban activist and writer Jane Jacobs who championed the interests of local residents and pedestrians over a car-centered approach to planning. Jane’s Walk USA helps knit people together into a strong and resourceful community, instilling belonging and encouraging civic leadership.

All Jane’s Walk USA tours are given and taken for free. These walks are led by anyone who has an interest in the neighborhoods where they live, work or hang out. They are not always about architecture and heritage, and offer a more personal take on the local culture, the social history and the planning issues faced by the residents. Jane Jacobs believed strongly that local residents understood best how their neighborhood works, and what is needed to strengthen and improve them. Jane’s Walks are meant to be fun, engaged and participatory – everyone’s got a story and they’re usually keen to share it.

Thousands of people have taken part in a Jane’s Walk USA. Past walks have explored a wide range of urban landscapes, from social housing slated for redevelopment to areas with a rich architectural and cultural heritage, to teen hangouts and secret gardens. Walks are led by individuals and small groups. Some are focused around historical themes more than geographical areas, for instance, some strolls have been built around ideas like the history of the bicycle, gay and lesbian history, places of relevance to the homeless, the history of ‘skid row’, and urgent planning matters facing certain neighborhoods.

About the Sacramento Old City Association
The Sacramento Old City Association promotes actions that preserve and enhance a high quality of life for Central City residents, businesses, working people and visitors. The organization works to achieve balanced and harmonious relationships among residential, commercial and employment uses in the Central City. To achieve these goals the Sacramento Old City Association works to:

•Increase public awareness of the irreplaceable historic, architectural and cultural resources of the Central City
•Gather and disseminate information useful in the preservation of structures and neighborhoods of Sacramento.
•Advocate the policies and positions of the organization to the appropriate public agencies and private parties.
•Build and strengthen coalitions with other organizations working to achieve similar goals.
•Promote a quality urban environment through the encouragement of compatibly designed and constructed housing, commercial and office buildings.

For More Information about Jane's Walk or the Sacramento Old City Association:

http://www.sacoldcity.org
http://janeswalkusa.wordpress.com/

Disclosure: William Burg is a board member of the Sacramento Old City Association.

City Closer to Eliminating Design Commission

2009-02-21T18:41:05Z

At the Planning Commission meeting on February 12, members of the Development Oversight Commission presented their proposal to eliminate the city of Sacramento's Design Commission by integrating it into the Planning Commission. This action would take most planning decisions out of the Commission's hands, assigning them to city staff, with fewer public hearings. This effort was met by surprise and disapproval by the Planning Commission, and also by the 20 or so members of the public who spoke against the effort at the meeting.

Development Oversight Commission member Brian Holloway assured people that this was only the beginning of a large-scale outreach program, that they had not yet formulated specific recommendations, and it would be many months before any action would be taken, but the letter they had sent to the Mayor regarding this action included very specific recommendations. Now, less than two weeks later, the city council is being asked to draw up a new ordinance to put these changes in place permanently. The massive outreach effort will consist of one meeting with the Area 1 Neighborhood Advisory Group, a monthly gathering of central city neighborhood associations and advocates, the day before the City Council meeting.

In brief, this change means that many projects that currently go before the Design Review Commission or Planning Commission will be approved by staff, with no board review. If people want to appeal a design decision, they have to pay a $500 fee to air their concerns before the Planning Commission. But even then, the Planning Commission will be smaller and have less power. $500 is chump change to a developer working on a multi-million dollar project, but to neighbors and small neighborhood associations, it is significant enough to give many groups pause. The change in threshold also means that many of the projects that most directly affect existing neighborhoods, like small infill projects, are the ones least likely to be heard.

The Development Oversight Commission is a think-tank of developers and contractors, paid by the city to suggest changes to the city's planning process. One member of the public at the February 12 meeting, a former Planning Commission member, suggested that eliminating the Development Oversight Commission might be a simpler cost-saving measure.

Here is the letter sent by Planning Commissioner Panama Bartholomy regarding this issue:

---------------------------

Dear neighborhood association, or neighborhood, leader:

At the February 12 Planning Commission meeting the Development Oversight Commission (DOC) members and City staff committed to an extensive public outreach effort to collect input from the community on their proposal to eliminate the Design Review Commission and "move most planning decisions to the staff level" :

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd/meetings/commissions/planning/2008/documents/DOC_letter.PDF.

Now the City Council has on its February 24 agenda an item (#8) to direct the Council’s Law and Legislative Committee to begin work on an ordinance to implement the recommendations:

http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=8&event_id=74&meta_id=171047.

The DOC and City staff have not provided any analysis to show the problems in the current process that the recommendations would address, nor the benefits expected from the implementation of the recommendations. In fact last year a Sacramento Business Journal survey of developers found that the City ranked first in the region for permitting process: http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/03/31/focus1.html. If this is the case is there the need for such a hurried process? Could there be enough time for community members and neighborhood groups to engage with the DOC and City on the most efficient and effective way to oversee development in the city?

The consent calendar is reserved for items with no controversy or questions of content. At this point without any clarity on the intent, nor benefits of such a significant change to our City’s development oversight process and lacking any input from groups besides the development community this direction from Council does not meet that criteria.

Please contact your council member to ask that the direction to the Law and Legislation Committee to begin work on this item be withdrawn until our community can work with the City to craft recommendations that ensure transparency and efficiency while preserving citizen participation. Council member contact information can be found here: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/council/index.html.

The DOC will make their first presentation to a community group next Monday, February 23, at the regularly scheduled Area 1 Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting at the Hart Senior Center (27th & J streets). The meeting starts at 6:15, I am told the DOC presentation will begin soon after 7:30.

Here is what is known about a schedule for this issue:

February 23: DOC presentation to Area 1 NAG, Hart Senior Center (27th & J streets). The meeting starts at 6:15, I am told the DOC presentation will begin soon after 7:30.

February 24: City Council to consider providing direction to Law and Legislation Committee to begin work on ordinance on March 17, New City Hall, 2:00: http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=8&event_id=74&meta_id=171047.

March 2: DOC monthly meeting: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd/meetings/commissions/development-oversight/2009/, location TBD

March 17: City Council Law and Legislation Committee, Committee potentially begin work on ordinance, City Hall, 12:30 pm.

Thank you all for your efforts to ensure that Sacramento continues to provide efficient services to all parts of our community.