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  • Settlement reached in lawsuit against new city hall & MOB project

    Settlement reached in lawsuit against new city hall & MOB project

    view of medical office building on Greenback lane in Citrus Heights
    This initial computer rendering of the new three-story medical office building on Greenback Lane shows the building with a 20-foot setback, which will increase to a 30-foot setback, according to terms of a settlement agreement reached. // Image courtesy, City of Citrus Heights.

    A settlement agreement has been reached in a lawsuit between a resident group and the City of Citrus Heights, nearly a year after council members unanimously approved a controversial plan to move city hall and construct a three-story medical office building (MOB) in its place on Greenback Lane.

    The lawsuit, filed last April by a resident group known as Preserve Our Civic Center (POCC), alleged the project did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and sought to put a halt on both the new city hall and MOB until alleged violations were addressed.

    Under the terms of the settlement agreement, POCC agreed to drop its lawsuit against the City, in exchange for several modifications to the original plan. POCC will also receive payment of $67,500 to cover its attorney fees and costs involved in the lawsuit.

    Modifications listed in the settlement primarily address issues raised by residents during the debate over the project last year, including concerns about screening and setback for the 68,727-square-foot medical building, increased traffic, and a desire to preserve the old rose garden at city hall.

    A statement issued by POCC spokesman Norman Hill summarized key aspects of the settlement agreement and stated the group was “pleased” to announce the settlement had been reached. Previously, Hill told The Sentinel he was hopeful “some kind of compromise settlement” could be reached with the City through the legal process, and he appears to have accomplished that.

    [For more on the lawsuit, see story: “Lawsuit filed against Citrus Heights over MOB, new hall”]

    The city manager’s office confirmed Thursday that a settlement had been reached, but referred all requests for comment to City Attorney Ruthann Ziegler. Messages left by phone and email for Ziegler on Thursday were not returned by 4 p.m. Friday.

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    Five key modifications listed in the settlement include:

    • Setback from Greenback Lane: In an effort to reduce the visual impact of the building from travelers on Greenback, the new Dignity Health medical building will be set back an additional 10 feet, for a total setback of 30 feet from Greenback Lane.
    • Screening: To help provide screening for the adjacent neighborhood, a row of Redwood trees will be planted along the western border of the new medical building.

    • Traffic: The left turn lane from eastbound Greenback Lane onto Fountain Square Drive will be extended by four car lengths. Hill previously told The Sentinel he believed this modification would help alleviate a traffic backup he anticipates with the new MOB.
    • Access: Larger vehicles exiting a soon-to-be-built utility yard next to the new city hall will be required to exit only from the northern driveway. According to POCC, this will help reduce the impact on local traffic passing by on Fountain Square Drive.
    • Rose garden. A public meeting will be held by the City to discuss development of a replacement rose garden at another location, although the ultimate decision is left to the City whether to expend public funds on the garden or not.
    The settlement announcement comes less than a month prior to a scheduled Sacramento Superior Court hearing on the lawsuit, originally set for April 1, 2016. What's next It is unclear whether the lawsuit had an effect on construction progress of the new medical building, as neither POCC nor the City said work had been halted on the project. However, the lot has laid dormant since demolition of the former hall was completed in November of last year. According to a statement from the city manager's office in January, Panattoni Development had submitted plans for the new medical building, with construction estimated to begin in spring of this year -- although a specific start date was unknown. [Related: "Citrus Heights city hall ‘on target’ for completion by September" ] Construction work on the new city hall began last summer, with an expected completion date of September of this year. Save Save

  • Citrus Heights city hall ‘on target’ for completion by September

    New Citrus Heights city hall, in progress
    An in-progress view of the new Citrus Heights city hall, taken on Jan. 21, 2016. // CH Sentinel

    Updated Jan. 22, 9:44 a.m.–
    Construction of the new $22 million Citrus Heights city hall is “on target” for completion by September of this year, according to the project’s manager and City officials.

    After beginning work on the project last July, Project Manager Tyler Gahagan said structural steel went in earlier this month, followed by a roof being put on the 35,000-square-foot facility last week. Currently, he said crews have started metal stud framing and are installing plumbing and electrical.

    Gahagan said some site work had been slowed down by rain, which caused cement trucks to slip and slide in the mud, but he said the new hall is on track for completion by mid-September.

    The new hall features a single-story design, along with an adjacent 4,000-square-foot utility yard. Its new location is on a 10.9-acre parcel just north of the post office on Fountain Square Drive, about a block away from where the old city hall was located.

    Approved unanimously by councilmembers last March, the new hall project included authorization for Dignity Health to construct a three-story medical office building in place of the old city hall, at the corner of Fountain Square Drive and Greenback Lane. Demolition of the former hall was completed in November, and a groundbreaking ceremony for the new hall was held in July of last year.

    [Related: Citrus Heights leaders break ground on new city hall project]

    According to Monica Alejandrez, who serves as assistant to the city manager, Panattoni Development submitted plans for the new 68,727-square-foot medical building, but a specific start date is unknown. She estimated construction would begin in spring of this year.

    On its website, the City calls the new hall and medical building project “a unique public-private-partnership,” which it says will generate more than 170 jobs and result in a “direct investment of $53.2 million into the Citrus Heights economy.”

    [Image: Click to see official drawing of what the new city hall will look like when complete]

    The new single-story hall will house 65 city employees, who were previously stationed in four separate buildings at the old hall. Staff are currently located in a temporary city hall facility being leased in the Grand Oaks Shopping Center on Auburn Boulevard. The hall was moved in July 2015 to allow for demolition work to begin.

    Background

    The new city hall project caused some controversy among residents during discussion tracing back to 2013, with concerns about increased traffic, construction noise, and whether a new hall was needed. Supporters, like the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce and city council members, billed the project as good for jobs and a cost-efficient way to replace an aging hall without incurring debt.

    [Related: Council votes 5-0 for new city hall & MOB; lawsuit threatened]

    The city manager’s office previously released figures saying the net impact of the new hall to the City’s general fund would only be about $8.9 million after 15 years, largely due to a $6.9 million lease agreement with Dignity Health for use of the old hall grounds, as well as projected energy savings from a new, more efficient city hall facility.

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    A lawsuit filed by the group Preserve Our Civic Center is still ongoing against the project, with a Sacramento Superior Court hearing scheduled for April 1, 2016. Norman Hill, a representative for the group, said the lawsuit seeks to stop the project from moving forward, due to alleged violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
    Hill said a "key" issue involved in the lawsuit regards traffic impact from the new medical building and city hall, a "major impact" he believes was "concealed" from the public, in violation of CEQA. Prior requests for comment from city officials regarding the lawsuit have been referred to Ruthann Ziegler, the city attorney for Citrus Heights. Ziegler replied Wednesday afternoon to a Sentinel request seeking the City's perspective and response to the lawsuit, as well as if progress had been delayed on the project due to the lawsuit. In a short email statement, she said "progress on both the MOB and the new city hall is continuing," but did not comment on the lawsuit. [Related: Judge denies motion to halt Citrus Heights city hall demolition] Last July, Judge Timothy Frawley denied a motion from Hill's group which sought to temporarily bar the City of Citrus Heights from proceeding with plans to demolish the old city hall. Although that attempt was unsuccessful, Hill said he's hopeful "some kind of compromise settlement" can be reached with the City through the legal process, but said specifics couldn't be addressed due to the ongoing nature of the lawsuit.