Elk Grove's SEPA Open House Draw Large Crowd
March 26, 2014 | A large crowd attended an open house at the Elk Grove City Council chambers last night to see plans for the city...
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2014/03/elk-groves-sepa-open-house-draw-large.html
March 26, 2014 |
A large crowd attended an open house at the Elk Grove City Council chambers last night to see plans for the city's so-called Southeast Policy Area (SEPA). The 1,200-acres, the last unplanned area in the city's current boundaries, are located just west of Highway 99 and north of Kammerer Road.
Planned uses for the SEPA area, now renamed Meridian, include housing, schools, commercial, offices and light industrial uses. The plans call for a town center of sorts that will include high-density housing mixed with commercial uses.
Of the displays on hand to explain the various components of Meridian, the focal point was a large map that showed a schematic for the various uses in the area. Many of the people who viewed the map inquired to city planner Christoper Jordan about planned Whitelock Parkway-Highway 99 interchange.
Jordan said the interchange was not included in the SEPA plan as the interchange was a public works project. An interchange at Whitelock Parkway and Highway 99 could impede on the northwest corner of the Elk Grove Regional Park and several attendees at the open house expressed concerns regarding the effects it would have on the park.
In past public meetings the city has said they will attempt to design an interchange that would have minimal effect on the park. One of the ideas floated to mitigate effects an interchange could have on the park include reconfiguring Highway 99.
Tonight the Elk Grove City Council will hear an update on the Meridian project.
12 comments
I stopped by the Open House last night. Yes, it was well attended but if you know who's who you'd notice there were many developers in the room. Many of them have already submitted draft plans for development. This wasn't an open house to receive public comment/direction it was an open house to showcase what's being rubber stamped.
I want to commend those that took the time to attend and speak about the Whitelock Parkway Interchange and the impacts on the park. I don't understand why anyone would accept the explanation that the interchange was not shown because it is a public works project. Don't you understand that this is one of those BS answers that only really means they have an excuse for not showing it! This has got to be a litmus test for anyone running in the November election!
If the city does anything other than build more houses and strip centers, I for one will be very surprised. Don't get your hope up folks, the fix is in, again!
Yes, I noticed the invisible 99/Whitelock connector as well. How juvenile for the city to leave it out just in the hopes of avoiding confrontation.
I also noticed the sports complex that Mayor Davis assured all the youth soccer players was in the plan, was actually NOT in the plan.
Thankfully, neither was the $100 million soccer stadium!
I overheard comments about the "estate" housing bordering high-density residential and a comment from staff that that would be changed later, just as the sports complex be added later.
The project is already being changed before it's even been to council. If that's the case, why were we there? Why were we shown a plan that is inaccurate and incomplete?
This city staff and the PMC puppets take us as a bunch of rubes.
Despite the "selling" of all the new jobs to be created by the SPA, it looked to me like the vast majority of the land was dedicated to residential housing, just as the public comments said it would be.
This old-timer thinks it looks like more of the same.
I attended this presentation last night. Thank you for the opportunity to review the plan; however for every question I asked (and I do mean EVERY question) the staff told me my concern would be remedied by "changing the plan"? Huh? When asked about estate residential housing next to high density/low income housing and how I had a concern about that, staff told me "Yes, that's not right. We will just have to ask for a re-zone when necessary". Next...where is the land for the soccer stadium or water park? Oh, it is not listed on here because we had no direction from staff..so when those issues come up, we will re-zone for those items. Next...what about the interchange at the auto mall and how come we don't see it here? "Well, that's not part of this project so it wasn't included". It just seemed like we were there to "check off a box" on someone's list. This presented plan is not well designed..it is very colorful, but not well designed. Christopher Jordon said it was 70%residential and 30% other (including parks, sidewalks, commercial, etc.). I thought this land was to entice businesses to help ease the housing to jobs imbalance? Is this just lip service? 70% housing!!!! When will they learn??? We have some much empty housing/ rental housing now, it's driving down our home prices. More homes will devalue existing homes even more. Where will all these people work? How will these extra cars fit onto Hwy 99 each morning as they stream into Sacramento for work? I think we best get back to the drawing board.
I attended the meeting last evening and will Ditto the Anon. 15:43 statement also. Time to toss it and start over!
If anything, this city has proven over time its ineptness in planning and execution of various ideas. In fact, most of them are just poorly thought out ideas that never see the light of day, but we taxpayers have to pay for.
First there was the whole ETran fiasco. Then came the crab-style city hall, followed by softball parks, followed by the splish-splash park in the middle of the residential neighborhood, and of course lets not forget the Mayor's soccer stadium dealings with Fabian Nunez. I guess the SEPA is just another addition to the long and quickly growing list of EGD's - Elk Grove Debacles.
Here's an idea council members, next time you come up with some scheme, put your own money into it. Maybe then you will think twice about how OUR money is spent.
Do the words Madeira and the term Crown Jewel mean anything to you?
I attended the SEPA "presentation" as well. Asked about the interchange and was told that "it isn't a part of this project" - lots of us were being told that. A woman pointed out to the planner that what we were all trying to communicate was that IF the city moved forward with this project as it was laid out then there would be no alternative left for the interchange other than doing the Whitelock Parkway incursion into Elk Grove Park. The City can look at the two things as separate all they want, but the people know that one with certainly affect the other - and NOT in a good way. I think the City is playing a shell game with the planning. It's a misdirection pure and simple.
Why doesn't the city pave over the wetlands at Franklin and Elk Grove while they are at it?
Could slam another 1,000 houses in there.
How about this...Why doesn't the city first look at filling the numerous vacant stores and empty mall and then worry about filling in the vacant land. Let's see if this city can actually become a better city before it becomes a bigger city that nobody in their right mind would choose to live in!
Echoing the poster above, didn't we just spend $7,000 promoting "BETTER NOT BIGGER."
As of yet, I don't see better, yet the city wants to build out our last remaining large parcel of land based on a plan that admittedly needs substantial modification?
Let's just slow down here. Speed in the decision making process got us where we are.
Let's see what our leaders can do with our vacant storefronts right now.
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