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Tag: Proposal

Proposed new city hall, medical building set for final vote in March

Wondering what’s going on with the proposal to construct a new three-story medical office building in place of the existing Citrus Heights city hall?

Computer rendering of Dignity Health’s proposed new three-story medical office building on Greenback Lane. // Courtesy, City of Citrus Heights

After more than a year of discussion, debate and even a lawsuit threat by an upset resident group, Citrus Heights council members are scheduled to take a final vote in March on the proposal to relocate a new $18 million city hall, and allow Dignity Health to construct a 68,000-square-feet medical office building (MOB) at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive.

[Related: GALLERY: Artistic Images of Proposed New City Hall]

According to Monica Alejandrez, assistant to the city manager, environmental consultants and City staff are currently working on the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the proposals, which will include responses to all comments submitted during a 45-day review period on a draft version of the report released in December. She said the City is hoping to have the final report completed by February 27, but it depends on how quickly consultants can compile responses to comments.

Although comments were also able to be submitted in writing, public comments received from a handful of residents during a January 14 Planning Commission hearing included complaints about increased traffic, noise and an “inadequate” environmental review. A suggestion was also made by resident Norman Hill to lessen visibility impacts of the proposed three-story MOB by lowering it to two-story and increasing the set-back “so it’s not right up against Greenback.”

City officials have called the Dignity Health proposal a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Citrus Heights to get an $18.9 million new hall for an estimated net cost of about $5 million. The discounted cost would come primarily from income brought in by the proposed Dignity Health lease, as well as from projected energy and repair savings coming from a more efficient new city hall building, according to City Manager Henry Tingle.

The city council had previously selected a location on Antelope Road last year as the “preferred site” for a new city hall, but council members voted unanimously to switch plans to a closer, larger parcel that came available late last year. The new 10-acre “Stock Property” enjoys greater public support, and is located next to the Post Office — just several hundred feet from where the existing hall sits on Fountain Square Drive.

[Related: New City Hall Site Option Draws Support, While Medical Building Criticized]

Upcoming March 2015 meetings:
March 11, 7 p.m. — The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider the FEIR, design review permit, and associated actions. Ultimately, the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council to either approve or deny the FEIR, design review permits, and other associated actions related to the proposed Medical Office Building and City Hall Project.

March 12, 5 p.m. — A study session will be held by the city council to discuss the two draft ground leases related to the proposals.

March 26, 7 p.m. — A public hearing and vote will be held by the city council to consider approving the FEIR, design review permit “and other associated actions related to the proposals.” The council will also decide whether or not to authorize the city manager to enter into the proposed ground leases associated with proposals.

*All meetings are scheduled to take place in the Citrus Heights City Council Chambers, at 7117 Greenback Ln.

February 16, 2015
Citrus Heights to gain 200 jobs with proposed shopping center

The Citrus Heights Planning Commission gave unanimous approval Wednesday for a developer’s 5.7-acre proposal to bring several new restaurants, retail stores and a Smart & Final to the old Capital Nursery lot at Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue.

An artistic rendering from Planning Commission documents, showing the proposed new Smart & Final Extra! store at the old Capital Nursery site.

According to the Commission’s agenda packet, the proposal would demolish about 18,000 square feet of existing improvements, and construct nearly 50,000 square feet of commercial buildings in their place — along with adding an equal amount of landscaping, and 276 parking spots.

In addition to the Smart & Final Extra! store, a project description for “Capital Nursery Plaza” lists proposed tenants to be Moe’s Southwest Grill, Black Bear Diner, and potentially a financial institution as well as a “gelato/ice cream/frozen yogurt concept.” The drive-thru restaurant was not identified in the documents, but a use permit was requested to allow it to be in operation 24-hours-a-day.

The six new buildings are designed to have “complementary architectural features,” and range in size between 2,600 and 27,000 square feet, with heights between 21 and 41 feet, according to the proposal.

<<Related: “Chance to vote online for best Citrus Heights business ends Jan. 30″>>

Although passing a major hurdle this week, a City planner said the project proposal still has permits, paperwork and approvals to get through before work could start.

“It’s possible construction could begin as early as summertime,” said Citrus Heights Associate Planner Nick Lagura, mentioning construction documents and application for a building permit are yet to be submitted for approval. “As soon as our building official is able to approve the permit, the developer can begin construction.”

According to the project description submitted to the Commission, the proposal would bring over 200 permanent new jobs in Citrus Heights, with positions ranging from entry-level to franchise ownership.

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A City design permit analysis determined the proposal to be consistent with several of the City’s General Plan goals, including to “maintain the economic strength of retail centers by focusing retail activities at major intersections,” and to “revitalize and maintain corridors as economically viable and physically attractive.”

According to documents approved by the Commission this week, the developer, Sacto Retail Ventures, LLC, will also be required to provide frontage improvements to both Madison Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard, including new sidewalks, vertical curbs and LED street lights.

The site had been used as a retail nursery center since the 1960’s, but has been vacant for several years.

January 30, 2015
Residents Rally Against Moving City Hall, Council to Vote Thursday

Updated 10:52 p.m., July 21

As a proposal to relocate city hall moves to council for a vote this Thursday, Citrus Heights residents hosted a noontime “Save City Hall” rally at Rusch Park on Sunday — vowing to vote out council members who vote for replacing city hall with a three story medical building.

Save City Hall Coordinator Tim Schaeffer speaks at Sunday’s rally in Rusch Park, joined by volunteer Joan Bippus on the right.

“We’re gonna take every step that we possibly can to stop this project,” said Save City Hall coordinator Tim Schaeffer, mentioning his group had gathered over 1100 signatures to petition the council to vote against the proposal. He also warned city officials that his group plans to put the issue before voters through a referendum process — if the council votes to move city hall away from the civic center.

With four city council members in the audience, about a dozen residents took the opportunity to be heard from the microphone during the rally, voicing concerns over cost, location, environmental impacts and deviation from the General Plan.

“When Citrus Heights incorporated, the founding fathers wrote a General Plan and it stated that our civic buildings will be all placed in the same area,” said resident Susan Howell, referring to city hall’s current location next to the Police Department and community center. “Now the City is going to erase this and write in: the buildings can be scattered about.”

The Planning Commission voted earlier this month to recommend the council change the General Plan to allow for the proposal to be approved, despite vocal opposition during public comment.

Howell also expressed concern about the $500 per square foot cost that the proposed 34,000 square foot $18.9 million city hall would run, although Dignity Health would help pay for the cost through a 15-year lease of the current hall property on Fountain Square Drive.

Resident David Warren tossed in some more controversy during his time on stage, expressing concern that Catholic-founded Dignity Health would choose to not provide access for abortion if allowed to construct a new medical building. Although saying he had been “assured by the city administration” that protection for abortion access would be in a lease agreement, Warren said he wanted the text of a lease agreement to be public before the council votes.

Many speakers also accused the council of not listening to their concerns, a feeling shared by Schaeffer, who described City officials’ response as “dismissive.” Other residents, although expressing a sentiment that the proposal is a “done deal,” took a moment to thank four council members for attending the rally – with one speaker asking members to raise their hands so residents could speak with them afterward.

Mayor Mel Turner, who said he attended the rally to listen as a resident rather than as mayor, said warnings made by speakers about voting him out of office were a little “intimidating to hear.” He also highlighted a side comment he and Planning Commission Chairman Albert Fox said they heard from a well-known audience member who suggested “hanging” council members on nearby oak trees.

“I’m sure it was made in jest,” said Mayor Turner, saying that he knew the person making the comment and wouldn’t be taking the issue to police. He added that the comment was “definitely out of line,” although indicative of how heated sentiment from residents over this issue can be.

Mayor Turner is up for election in November, along with Jeannie Bruins and Steve Miller, all of whom were present at the rally. Races for council are still taking shape, as applicants have until August 8 to file nomination papers to run for a seat on the 5-member governing body.

Although many fingers were pointed at council members, resident Robert Wicker said he believed that City staff – rather than the council – were the real ones to blame.

“The reason we’re considering this is because City staff wants a new house,” Wicker told the crowd. “Any objections that come up, City staff says ‘oh that’s okay, I want a new house.’ So, we’re up against it folks.”

City officials have referred to the deal as 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 from leasing land for the medical building, as well as projected energy and repair savings coming from a new city hall, according to numbers released by the City.

Although hoping for a higher turnout, Schaeffer said he estimated about 60 people attended the rally, and hopes for a large turnout at Thursday’s council meeting where a final vote on the proposal is expected.

—

If you plan to go:

City Council Meeting
7:00 p.m., July 24
Council Chambers
7117 Greenback Lane
Citrus Heights, CA 95621

July 21, 2014
City Takes Heat from Residents Over Controversial New City Hall Proposal

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.

May 3, 2014