Point of View - Curtis Park Village
Site plan refinements include modifications of roadway through commercial
area
By Philip J. Harvey
Special to the Viewpoint
Philip J. Harvey is director of development for Petrovich Development
Company, which is proposing to develop a new neighborhood adjacent to
Curtis Park, to be known as Curtis Park Village. Viewpoint is seeking
Curtis Park neighbors who are interested in writing a Point of View article
on the proposed Curtis Park Village. Send your query to julie@sierra2.org
for guidelines on preparing a Viewpoint article.
Curtis Park Village is a 72-acre mixed-use, infill project in the former
Curtis Park rail yard where property owner Paul Petrovich set the stage
for redevelopment by committing to the community that he would remediate
the site of toxic waste from the former railroad activities to a residential
standard and that he would integrate the new project into the surrounding
community.
In the past month the development team has unveiled a number of site
plan refinements, with many of these design changes coming at the request
of community members. In large part, the improved site plan focuses on
a shift of the main roadway through the commercial area to the west, the
re-orientation of the commercial structures to face the east (rear of
buildings to face the rail switching yard) and the integration of the
mixed-use component into the commercial area of the plan. It is important
to note that the number of residential units remains unchanged and the
total commercial square footage has actually been reduced.
The project, with the aforementioned site design improvements, received
the first-ever joint endorsement of the Central Valley Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects and Environmental Council of Sacramento,
seven-member, Smart Growth Leadership Council.
In a letter signed by Andy Sawyer, president of the Environmental Council
of Sacramento and Virgil Hancock, president of the Central Valley Chapter
of the American Institute of Architects, they stated the following:
"The mixed-use Curtis Park Village project reinforces an existing
urbanized community structure; provides appropriate infill development;
utilizes a brownfield site; reinforces transit oriented development; encourages
pedestrian use both within the project and with connections to the neighboring
communities; encourages and accommodates an active lifestyle; provides
housing options; and, whose building design, based on pattern books, will
make a positive aesthetic contribution to the community." (excerpt
from the letter)
The AIA/ECOS endorsement came shortly after a Sacramento Area Council
of Governments staff review of the project. SACOG indicated that the Curtis
Park Village project outperformed their blueprint scenario in jobs/housing
balance, acres of parkland and a reduction of vehicle miles traveled.
Further, SACOG recognized the overall importance of the mixed-use development
on the site and the diversity of housing being proposed by the project
applicant.
Community members have asked about the future traffic impacts of the
Curtis Park Village project on the surrounding neighborhood. We have been
recording their comments, but have been informing people that the traffic
analysis, as a component of the Draft Environment Impact Report, will
not be released until late January or early February 2006.
The design and planning teams have also started work on a comprehensive
landscape plan for the project, which will incorporate new landscape elements
into the commercial area, and will refine preliminary concepts in the
new park. The Curtis Park Village team will share these site enhancements
at the upcoming SCNA meeting in November.
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