Things are a bit quiet around Citrus Heights this week, with only a handful of community meetings scheduled and a final California Dream TeamTennis match on Wednesday — but August promises to heat things up with several larger events on the calendar.
July 27: On Monday, guest speakers from the Area 4 Agency on Aging have been invited by the Sylvan Old Auburn Road (SOAR) neighborhood group to discuss identifying and prioritizing needs of seniors in Citrus Heights, according to a meeting flier. The 7 p.m. meeting will be held at 7521 Community Drive in the Sylvan Community Center.
July 29: Wednesday evening features the final TeamTennis match in the Dream Stadium for the 2015 season, with California Dream players facing the San Diego Aviators. The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the temporary stadium set up in the Sunrise Mall parking lot near Greenback Lane and Sunrise Boulevard.
A pair of workshops have also been scheduled by the City of Citrus Heights for Wednesday, with one addressing development of the City’s first-ever Pedestrian Master Plan and the other addressing community development funding. The master plan workshop promises to give attendees the opportunity to share input on draft recommendations to “make Citrus Heights a more walkable and vibrant community,” according to a workshop flier.
The other workshop will be held at the new temporary city hall location on Auburn Boulevard in the Grand Oaks Shopping center, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The workshop is set to address Community Development Block Grant funding, which accounts for about $83,000 in public service funding to benefit low-to-moderate income areas or persons, according to the City’s website.
Upcoming events for August include National Night Out, the annual Veteran’s Day Picnic and Hot August Bites at Rusch Park.
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With trumpets blaring and drums rolling, about 30 members of the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band filled the Auburn Boulevard Walmart with sounds of Christmas for about half an hour, Saturday, as surprised shoppers looked on.
“I think it’s great that we have a community marching band,” said Walmart shopper Rita Fox, highlighting the diverse ages of band members. “It gives the older people a chance to mingle with the younger people.”
Parading through the isles in a circle inside the store shortly after 11 a.m., band members assembled near the entrance to play several more songs, while many onlookers took video on cellphones.
“It sounds very nice, just a little loud — you know, marching bands in the store,” said Liz Rohan of Citrus Heights, who stopped by to watch the group play tunes like “Silent Night,” and “Jolly ol’ Saint Nicholas.”
A Walmart manager said most customers “seemed to enjoy it,” adding the flash mob “definitely spreads the holiday joy.”
Similar events have taken place across the country in recent years after videos of different groups surprising shoppers have gone viral online, with others following with their own versions of the seasonal singing-surprise.
The Citrus Heights Community Marching Band is an all-volunteer group sponsored by the City of Citrus Heights and the Sunrise Recreation & Park District.
Proposed 3-story medical office building being considered by the Planning Commission. //Photo courtesy Dignity Health
After a year of negotiations and community input, the Citrus Heights Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday night for the proposal to build a 68,000 square feet medical building at the current City Hall site, and build a new hall on Antelope Road.
While the City calls the proposal a “once-in-a-lifetime” deal that would give residents a new City Hall and bring jobs and dollars to the area, opponents say the numbers “don’t make sense,” and plan to be at Wednesday’s meeting to advocate for keeping City Hall at its current location on Fountain Square Drive.
“We’re taking every opportunity to make our point known, whether it’s through the Planning Commission, or through the City Council.” said proposal opponent Tim Schaeffer, who heads up a volunteer group called Save City Hall.
Schaeffer said his group is made up of about 25 volunteers who have been circulating petitions, sign-waving, and educating residents as part of their effort to keep City Hall in the civic center, next to the Police Department and the recently built Community Center.
The civic center aspect of the proposal to move City Hall is expected to be a major point of discussion at tonight’s meeting, due to the wording of Goal 21 in the City’s General Plan which states that government services are to be concentrated at a “civic center complex.”
Suggested amendment to the City’s General Plan, which would allow for City Hall to be moved away from the other civic center buildings.
A City staff report suggests that the Planning Commission eliminate the “civic center complex” language from the goal to allow the proposal to go through. The report also recommends the commission approve several other key entitlements needed for the projects to go forward, including the approval of zoning code amendments, tree permits, design review permits, and an environmental report’s findings.
Following the Planning Commission’s recommendations, the City Council is expected to take up the matter at their July 24 meeting.
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If you plan to go tonight:
Planning Commission meeting
Public Hearing
7:00 p.m., July 9, 2014
City Hall Council Chambers
7117 Greenback Lane
Residents’ are invited to bring their tents and camp out, without having to leave the city.
Called Citrus Heights’ “legitimate tent city,” the annual Community Camp Out plans to take over Rusch Park with an activity-filled overnight event that promises to be fun for the whole family.
“This is an opportunity for mom and/or dad, grandpa and/or grandma to take the kids camping and never leave the city,” said Tonya Wagner, president of the Residents’ Empowerment Association of Citrus Heights.
Beginning in 2001, the event has continued to bring the community together outdoors, with organizers’ saying last year’s event drew over 200 people to Rusch Park.
Campers can expect swimming, crafts, games, face-painting, balloons and entertainment — along with a dinner barbecue served by city council members. The evening will also feature a bonfire with s’mores, and star-gazing opportunities by the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society members.
Following the overnight tent-stay, a “Campinental Breakfast” will be provided in the morning, with pancakes, eggs, sausage, fruit and beverages — for a fee of $6 for adults and $4 for kids.
The event is scheduled for July 12 and 13, with check-in beginning Saturday at 2 p.m. and continuing overnight until check-out time at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Wagner recommends registering early online or by calling (916) 725-1585, as spaces are limited.
The camp out is sponsored by the Sunrise Recreation and Park District, in collaboration with REACH and the City of Citrus Heights.
A conceptual view of the proposed 3-story medical office building at Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive, which some residents say doesn’t fit with the “small-town” character of the city. // Courtesy of Dignity Health
*Editor’s note: As this story is now several months old, a more up-to-date story can be viewed by clicking here.
Controversy erupted at a community meeting this week over a proposal to bring a new 3-story medical office building to the existing Citrus Heights city hall location, and move the hall to Antelope Drive.
In a full room of about 200 people, public comments from the audience were largely critical or skeptical of the proposal, although Board Chairman Evan Jacobs from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce announced the Chamber had recently taken a unanimous vote in support of the proposal.
The meeting was the sixth in a series of evening sessions designed by the City to inform the community about the proposal and invite feedback from residents — and during the evening’s four separate Q&A times, many residents expressed concern over building size, construction noise, traffic, location choice and cost.
Event Facilitator Wendy Hoyt sought to keep the meeting moderated and on schedule, but audience members shouted accusations of “cutting off” speakers when she tried to close comments while a few hands were still up in the room.
“Many assumptions have been made in the financial scenarios made by the City-hired consultant,” said Joan Bippus, during one of the evening’s question times. “There are still too many unanswered questions for these proposals to be accepted as gospel.”
The 40-year resident also said the 68,000 square feet medical building would not be in keeping with the City’s General Plan, which lists a community development goal of “Preserv[ing] the unique character of Citrus Heights” and its “small-town attributes.”
City Manager Henry Tingle responded to some of the concerns by calling the Dignity Health medical building proposal a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” where the City could get an $18.9 million new hall for an estimated net cost of about $5 million — primarily due to income from leasing land for the medical building, as well as projected energy and repair savings coming from a new city hall.
Built in the 70’s and previously used by a nursery, the City has said the existing hall buildings are in need of major repairs and upgrades. Additionally, City officials have emphasized that the current city hall was always considered to be a temporary solution when the City first incorporated in 1997.
If the City were to reject the Dignity Health proposal, it estimates a cost of $11.9 million to provide “necessary improvements” to the existing hall structures, although it had previously reported a lower repair and upgrade cost of $5.5 million earlier this year.
Reacting to the cost estimates, one resident called the numbers presented by the City “a shell game.”
“They only give the information they want to give,” said Susan Howell, who also lives nearby the proposed medical office building location. She also expressed concern about construction noise, and adding more traffic to an already-busy Greenback Lane.
Presenters from both the City and Dignity Health sought to calm tensions by calling the proposal a “win-win” for everyone involved, saying the new medical office building would help serve Citrus Heights’ aging residents, bring in jobs, help pay for a new city hall and boost business in the Antelope Road area.
A packet handed out to attendees also included a list of ways Dignity Health had responded to community input at past meetings, including decreasing the size of the building by 25 percent, adding more trees, and agreeing to retain most of the existing palm trees.
Varying reactions to the proposal have also been seen across the city.
Notably, both of the neighborhood associations representing residents around the Antelope Road and Fountain Square sites have avoided taking a position on the proposal, citing conflicting opinions of residents and unknown impacts.
The City acknowledged there are still unknowns about the proposal, with environmental and traffic impacts among those brought up and currently being studied.
Environmental unknowns will be reviewed, and findings will be released for public review in June, followed by a final decision on the proposal in July by the council, according to Citrus Heights Planning Manager Colleen McDuffee. She added that a final decision date is tentative, as it is dependent on environmental review findings.
A full traffic report is also expected to be available in June by Fehr & Peers, but a representative from the company said it was already “clear” that a new traffic light would have to be installed if city hall were moved to the proposed 7625 Antelope Rd. location.
The agenda for the evening also allowed for an “open house” one-on-one opportunity at the end, and Hoyt made it clear to attendees that city staff and architects wouldn’t be leaving until everyone had an opportunity to ask questions and get answers. Conversations continued until about 9 p.m., well after the main session was scheduled to close at 8:20 p.m.
Although the April 30 event was the final community meeting, residents will still have an opportunity to voice their opinion when the planning commission and city council take up the issue this summer.
The City welcomes questions and comments about the proposal via email at publicinfo@citrusheights.net, or by phone at (916) 725-2448.
Every fourth Friday, Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan has been holding a “Community Cabinet Meeting” at the Citrus Heights Denny’s, as part of an effort to stay in touch with those in her district.
During February’s meeting, MacGlashan gave an update on a recent CPS accountability report, and brought in a “surprise guest” from RegionalSan to give an update on sanitation quality efforts, as well as a proposed fee increase.
MacGlashan has close ties with the City, having served as both a council member and mayor of Citrus Heights prior to being elected as county supervisor in 2004.
Things are a bit quiet around Citrus Heights this week, with only a handful of community meetings scheduled and a final California Dream TeamTennis match on Wednesday — but August promises to heat things up with several larger events on the calendar.
