Question #1

What is your vision for the ultimate build out and population of West Sacramento? How do you plan to accomplish that vision?

West Sacramento is at a great place in our history, and we have an opportunity to really shape our growth and destiny. What should guide us is the creation of quality neighborhoods in all parts of West Sacramento. That means quality housing, roads and transit, schools, public safety, and shopping and retail for our residents that create a quality of life that we expect and is true to our heritage. We accomplish that by working with developers to ensure they understand our goals for quality growth, and then holding them to that. I have been trying to do that during my tenure on Planning Commission, and, if elected to city council, I intend to continue to manage to quality, and not to a number. We have one opportunity to grow West Sacramento, and we must do it right.

Our original population at full build out was 75,000. We are only 25,000 +/- away from that number. With the way things are going we will be at 130,000.

I want the population to stay closer to 75,000. We should have a choice when it comes to transportation. We shouldn’t always have to drive to get where we are going. There are people that want to take public transportation, but it’s not accessible due to pick up and/or drop off times or the distance that people have to walk to get to it. There are people that rely on public transportation, and it’s not easily accessible to them for the same reasons stated above. I want our City to retain that small hometown feeling.

To accomplish this goal would take a combined effort that would include the City council and departments, and the entire community. Everyone won’t be happy, but I believe that we can come up with a plan that we all can live with. I would like to have a volunteer network in our City. I know our City and they want to be involved.

My vision for the community is as described in our current General Plan, with a population of around 80,000, a vibrant urban center that is oriented to the river at the Triangle and Raleys Landing then extends down a revitalized West Capitol Avenue. Our historic northern, western and central neighborhoods are well preserved and blend in with new residential and retail development. The build out of southern half off our City re-embraces the village concept, so that sensible growth occurs that minimizes traffic impacts and provides a high quality of life. The entire community is served by a strong police and fire departments and an extensive park and trail system, that includes more water related recreational opportunities at a financially sound Port of West Sacramento.

This vision is currently being implemented with the:

a.   Expansion of the River Walk to the I Street Bridge and design underway through the Triangle,
b.   Breaking ground on the State Teacher Retirement Headquarters at Raleys Landing,
c.   Market Rate housing built on West Capitol Avenue, breaks ground October 12th,
d.   New High School that breaks ground October 28th,
e.   26 existing parks and 10 more on the way
f.    Target, Wal Mart, Home Depot and 400.000 square feet of new retail and restaurants schedule to open over the next 18 months.

These are examples of real progress toward achieving this community’s vision, which I pledge to continue.

My vision for the ultimate buildout of West Sacramento follows that described in the General Plan, and in the award-winning Southport Framework Plan.

I was an active participant in the creation and refinement of those two important documents. I also served as a Planning Commissioner during the creation of the Washington Specific Plan and Triangle Master Plan, which outline growth patterns in those two older areas of the City. Each plan describes a vision of mixed-use, walkable neighborhood villages connected by a smooth-flowing traffic and transit circulation system.

West Sacramento is bounded by natural barriers that clearly define our logical sphere of influence. With so much as-yet undeveloped land, there is ample room to permit continued growth within the City’s boundaries, and ample opportunity to adhere to the high quality development called for in the General Plan. We should resist any attempts to chase development by “zoning to the market” and instead recognize, as has already been demonstrated, that maintaining high development standards adds value throughout the City.

The best way to accomplish this vision is to be certain that it is shared by the community. We all define our vision together through a consensus, where all good ideas receive a fair hearing and no one is presumed to hold all the answers. Updating the General Plan, as required on a regular basis, permits the ongoing conversation about West Sacramento’s future to have a reliable forum. I plan on providing balance to that discussion, so that the good ideas of my colleagues can be matched with the good ideas of community members.

Most residents I talk to are concerned about growth, but they welcome its’ positive impacts. Making sure that we all are prepared to meet the inevitable challenges of growing together is the clearest vision I have for our future. The only way I can hope to be successful is by working with the community and with the rest of the Council on the things we all agree upon. I’m sure we all agree that West Sacramento is the kind of small town that makes big things happen for its’ citizens.

My vision for how West Sacramento will build out includes a vibrant West Capitol Avenue and downtown where people can live, dine and shop, improved schools, enhanced public safety, a city that encourages new businesses, revitalized neighborhoods, and traffic problems solved.

Many residents who chose to live here chose West Sacramento because of its proximity to downtown Sacrament its small town, rural feel. We have general and specific plans that I feel articulate a vision for a city full of first rate development and amenities. What ever the build out becomes, we cannot disregard the prior planning process and the reasons why our current residents moved here. We must respect our long time residents as we grow and assure that development is properly managed.

In reviewing the existing plans for future growth, there are plenty of places where dense urban growth would be acceptable and beneficial to our community – most prominently in the Triangle and West Capitol Avenue areas where we should focus on developing a civic center and a real downtown, with restaurants, clubs, theaters, shopping and indoor and outdoor entertainment. Dense residential and office growth in those areas will allow a trolley system and other transit projects to make economic sense and provide a magnet for other businesses and development.

I would accomplish my vision by sticking with a plan developed considering these factors.

Question #4