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By 2030, Sacramento expectzs that most of the new development in the city will be ofthe mixed-us variety. The city’s general plan the draft of whicg was releasedin May, calls for four new urban centers outside of the central businesw district that will function like their own “We’ve really changed directions from our 1988 plan,” said Tom the city’s long range planninbg manager. “This is getting away from the single-uswe district approach that was in place for the past50 We’ve been set up to do greenfiels development and not infill and that needz to change.
” In Rocklin, the city for the first time is turningh to the mixed-use land designationn in hopes that it will help create a downtown core and enlive commercial arteries. Rocklin last month approved its first projects to incorporatethe mixed-use concept that will combine apartments and townhouses with neighborhood retail shops. Roseville has already started clearingf the wayfor mixed-use by revitalizin streetscapes and adopting redevelopment plans to encourage new projects. And Sacramento County recently approved itsfirsr “form-based” zoning code for an area of North Highlands that encourages the mixed-use concept to take hold.
But as these efforts begin, there are risks for a region that was nurturedf on the bedroomcommunity model. “We’ve got to do it right,” Pace “If we do it wrong, nobody is going to want it. That’ds very important and that’s the pressure that we’re facing.” Mixed-usr projects have already been popping up on a small scaler in theurban landscape, such as SKK Development’s projectzs on L Street in midtown Sacramento and Fulcrum Property’x F65 project at Folsom Boulevard and 65th Areas surrounding Interstate 5 in North Natomas have been approvedx for a mix of hotels, restaurants, shopping and offices.
The plan for The Railyards projectr downtown is amassive mixed-use concept. But Sacramento’s general plan goes much furthere with its conceptof “mini downtowns” that are envisioneed for Arden Fair, the Arco Arena should a new arena emerges elsewhere, the area near the campus and the Floribn light-rail station. These areads would be designed to be walkable by creating smaller city blocksw and making way for job centerswand higher-density housing. The city is hopingy these ideas take hold as the populatiom is expected to grow byabout 200,000p over the next 22 years.
The concept of mixed-usw zoning is not entirely about throwing out the suburbah model and moving people next door totheif jobs, said Gordon Garry, director of researcnh and analysis at the . The organization is pushing the concept as a way to improveair “There are more non-work (car) tripw than work-related ones,” Garry said. “Th e idea is that people can get to these destinationsaon transit, on bicycles or by Garry noted several areas aroundc town in addition to The Railyardsw will test the mixed-use concept on a large scale, including Raley’se Landing and the Triangle area of West and the area around in Sacramento.
Ed Quinn, a managinhg shareholder of McDonoughHolland & Allej in Sacramento and a land use and redevelopmenft attorney, believes the region is becoming more adeptt at siting mixed-use He said the European model of urban planningf allows for smaller cities to provids more amenities because more people resider in a concentrated area, giving entertainment and cultural activities a base to draw from. That’ws the hope for the area of Rocklin, senior planner Laura Webstere said.
By moving people closer to retaiand entertainment, it helps sustain the The city’s effort began several yearws ago, when it reached out to the communitty to develop a concept for a Rocklin downtow n in what’s now primarily a commercial area alonyg Pacific Street. Some see Rocklin as the epitomwof suburbia, so the adoptionj of a mixed-use land designation — the first of its kind in the city is a bit of a departure from that The draft general plan is expected to be out in late Webster said. In the meantime, city leaders last month approvee the ZLRocklin project, a 140-uniy apartment community on 6.
2 acres featuring retail shopsa along the corner of Pacific and Midad streets. That’s at the edge of what the city foreseea as its newdowntown area. Two of the proposed six buildingsz would house retail shops in addition to the The project is proposed byMenlo Park-based Lake Street Ventures, a small developetr whose last mixed-use project combine d apartments, shopping and hotels in the small town of American Canyojn north of Vallejo. Michael Stoner, one of the company’x principals, said typical developer connections drew the companyto Rocklin, but the city’s commitment to make developmentt happen in the downtown area is what convincedf him to proceed.
“It’s hard enougnh to get it done when theywant you,” Stonere said. He said the company is unsures of when it willstart construction. The city has also approvedr Triton Tower, a plan to mix 10 townhouses and 10,00p0 square feet of retail along Sunset Boulevardfin Rocklin. Both projects required an amendment tothe city’z general plan because it doesn’ty yet recognize the mixed-use land category. High-density apartments and condos with retail are typica l examplesof mixed-use, but it becomee more complicated when the property type startx to diverge.
Quinn noted that largee job centers andhousing don’t always mix An example is Roseville’s examination last year of an efforr to locate more than 200 homes near an which resisted the plan because it could’vre impacted NEC’s plans for expansion. “The city recognized NEC’s concerns and rejected the project,” said who represented NEC in that Pace said other challenges are sureto arise. Lenders are set up to financew segregated projects and are only now adjusting to the new form of Then there are thehigher “Infill land is more expensive,” he said.
“Digging up an existin street and replacing it is more challenginv than building anew
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