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WRONG DEVELOPMENT MIX DERAILS BID TO BOOST TRANSIT

December 13, 1999
Section: MAIN NEWS
Page: A1

By Stuart Leavenworth Bee Staff Writer

--In 1992, Sacramento County had a grand plan: It would try to concentrate a mix of development around commuter rail stations, where people could easily walk to offices, homes and stores. Seven years later, county planners acknowledge their blueprint has been a whopping failure. Across the county, de velopers are building big-lot subdivisions, big-box stores and a necklace of parking near existing and proposed rail stations.

As a result, ridership is uneven on transit lines; future rail extensions are uncertain. And hopes for reducing traffic and auto fumes are becoming as hazy as the summer skyline.

"In short, we haven't been very successful in getting that kind of development strategy adopted," said Don Thomas, an assistant planner for the county.

"With every application (from developers), we are getting proposals for the standard subdivision design and big-box developments," said Rob Burness, a senior planner who helped craft the 1992 plan. "They are following the path of least resistance."

As county and city officials note, there are some partial successes. In downtown Sacramento, lofts and mixed-use developments are rising near some stations. In east Elk Grove, the county is working with developers to create village centers that could one day facilitate daily transit users.

Overall, however, "we have missed a lot of opportunities," said county Supervisor Roger Dickinson. "We are approving development that discourages people from walking, discourages people from meeting each other, and encourages more reliance on automobiles."

"There are some real consequences," he adds. Traffic is building, and pressure is mounting to widen highways and build sound walls. "All that costs money, but people don't realize that."

Who's responsible? Fingers point everywhere. Some blame last-minute compromises in the county's 1992 plan. Others blame NIMBYs (individuals who oppose certain developments "in my back yard"), banks and elected leaders, who have repeatedly waived requirements for transit zones at the behest of developers.

Even environmentalists say they have done a poor job of selling the public on rail-friendly development, which involves such plannerish gobbledygook as "high-density, mixed-use transit nodes."

"No one is going out to those communities, either from the government or public-interest groups, and making a case for transit," said Earl Withycombe, who leads the Environmental Council of Sacramento.

A fixture of town planning from Brazil to Canada, "transit oriented development" refers to a compact mix of apartments, shops and offices centered around rail or bus stations. Tourists to Europe often snap pictures of such transit villages without knowing it.

Since 1993, Sacramento has called for half-mile rings of "TODs" around the county, part of a policy to reduce auto emissions at new projects by 15 percent.

But the county plan hasn't been widely embraced.

In south Sacramento, neighborhood activists have helped defeat at least two proposals for TODs. One of these -- at the corner of Elk Grove-Florin and Calvine roads -- would have included a mix of apartments, homes and commercial development, served by buses and, eventually, light rail.

In the same vein, county supervisors this year allowed a Home Depot with 500 parking spaces to be built next to a future rail stop on Antelope Road, despite staff opposition. Other Home Depots have been built near RT stations at Power Inn Road and Sunrise Boulevard.

George Phillips, a Carmichael lawyer who represents Home Depot, said the company worked hard to reach "a darn good compromise" with the county. The Antelope Road store, he said, is designed to accommodate bus pull-ins and a park-and-ride lot. The company has also vowed to subsidize transit passes for its employees, he said.

"I think we ended up with a transit-friendly Home Depot," said Phillips.

Friendly for automobiles, say environmentalists.

In north Natomas, plans for a transit village near Del Paso and Commerce boulevards are also up in the air. The Lewis Operating Corp. is designing a 26-acre mix of shops and offices, and is setting aside land for a future spur of regional rail that could go one day to Arco Arena and the airport, said Greg Thatch, an attorney for the company.

But City Council rezonings have led to what some call "a retail land grab" in the area. Three years ago, the council approved the Natomas Marketplace, a collection of big-box stores near Truxel Road and Interstate 80.

That, in turn, has prompted two other proposals for big-box developments, and could undermine Lewis' transit-planned village.

County officials point to several reasons why their 1992 transit plan -- lauded as "visionary" at the time -- has been ineffective.

One problem is the uncertain extensions planned by Regional Transit. RT plans to extend a line to Meadowview by 2003, and Folsom by 2002. But lines to Elk Grove and Natomas haven't received funding, and RT isn't making promises.

As a result, neighborhood groups are reluctant to support transit-friendly development. In many cases, neighbors fear they will get the traffic of high-density housing without the transit.

"There's a chicken-and-egg question we have to deal with," said Burness. Without higher-density development, he said, Sacramento won't have the ridership for rail. But without assurances rail will be built, denser developments can't be sold, he added.

Another problem: Many rail stations are close to freeways and highways. That makes land adjacent to the stations attractive to big-box stores and other businesses dependent on motorists.

"That is especially true with the Highway 50 corridor," said Burness. "It's an accident of geography that we have to deal with."

Some business leaders say that, in light of this geography, the county should be more realistic. Instead, said Curt Haven, CEO of the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce, the county has rigid rules and little to show for it.

A few years ago, he said, Cordova had retail developers who wanted to redevelop an old Lumberjack store site on Sunrise Boulevard. But since the area was close to the future Sunrise rail station, "All these red flags went up," said Haven. "Regional Transit and the air quality district ganged up on them."

The county approved the project, but Haven said it was a needlessly long ordeal.

RT officials say that, if anything, they have been slow to voice concerns.

In coming years, Sacramento and RT planners hope to take a more proactive approach to developing transit projects.

But what's missing, said Burness, is a broad support for transit. That includes support from business groups, which have a stake in preventing Sacramento from turning into another Los Angeles, he said.

"In Silicon Valley, business groups have taken the lead in advocating transit-oriented development," said Burness. "That hasn't been happening here in Sacramento County."

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