Updated Nov. 9th, 7:47 p.m.–
Sentinel staff report– After years of planning and discussion, the city’s ambitious plan to guide redevelopment of the nearly 100-acre Sunrise Mall is slated to finally reach the City Council this Wednesday where a public hearing will take place.
Although the council normally meets on Thursdays, the meeting will take place on Wednesday due to Nov. 11 being a federal holiday, Veterans Day.
The hearing comes on the heels of a public hearing last month where the Citrus Heights Planning Commission unanimously voted to forward a recommendation to the City Council to approve the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan and associated documents.
Related: What about traffic, parking if Sunrise Mall is redeveloped?
The plan for developing the overall concept is a four-phase, 20-year plan, with the first phase developing existing parking areas on the perimeter of the site. If adopted, the plan would open up the current mall site to a mix of residential housing, office space, hotel, and retail use.
The plan calls for tripling the development allowed at the site, with a maximum of 480 hotel rooms, 2,220 residential units, 320,000-square-feet of retail, 960,000-square-feet of office space, 450,000-square-feet of community/institutional uses, and 6,400 parking spots.
A city staff report included in the upcoming meeting’s agenda packet says the city has so far invested around $1.2 million in developing the plan and its associated environmental impact report. Several residents who live near the mall submitted letters of support for the plan, thanking city planners for including a sound wall to accommodate concerns about noise during construction.
The Sunrise MarketPlace Board of Directors also submitted a letter in “general support” for the plan, but noted disagreement with the proposed relocation of the Arcadia Drive bus transit center to Sunrise Boulevard due to “lack of maintenance of bus stop shelters, graffiti and overflowing trash.” The board also expressed concern about the plan’s 20-year timeline and said “there does not appear to be a demand” for the number of hotel rooms included in the plan.
The upcoming Nov. 10 public hearing will take place at City Hall. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
Members of the public are able to comment in person, via Zoom, or by submitting public comment via email in advance. Emailed comments of up to 250 words can be sent to cityclerk@citrusheights.net. (See agenda for zoom link)
To learn more about the plan for Sunrise Mall, see story: City releases 289-page draft plan to transform Sunrise Mall
*Correction: An original version of this story incorrectly said the hearing was slated for Thursday, rather than Wednesday. We apologize for this error.
