New owners of the Union Pacific rail yard unveiled a first glimpse of plans to develop the 63-acre toxic super-fund site in Curtis Park at the special SCNA sponsored forum on July 21.
The development team of Renova Partners and Petrovich Development formed Curtis Village, LLC as the entity to oversee toxic remediation and development of the property. The new owners faced tough questioning from concerned residents and SCNA's Railyard Working Group (see the adjacent Q&A).
Neighbors were encouraged by the development team's commitment to cleanup contaminated soil on the entire 63-acre site to an unrestricted residential standard. This cleanup level means exposed soil in a park or backyard garden would be deemed safe for human exposure. Conversely, a more limited cleanup would produce unsafe exposure levels and therefore limit construction projects to those that "cap" the contaminated soil.
Examples of developments on restricted soil include condominiums (with no exposed soil), warehouses and strip malls. The Curtis Village commitment to a toxic cleanup to the highest standard represents a very positive first step.
SCNA's Rail Yard Working Group also pressed the team on the specific proposal for the site. The developers estimate that 60% of the total rail yard acreage will be dedicated to housing equally split among single-family and multi-family homes. Of the remaining 40% acreage, commercial development would account for half of that, and the remaining half would be split between open space, roadways and landscaping.
The rail yard owners also suggested that a large supermarket was a likely commercial use. While some neighbors welcomed this possibility, others expressed concerns about traffic impacts and the effects a new supermarket would have on existing grocery stores such as Taylor's Market and Compton's Market.
Neighbors also questioned the developers about their planned compliance with the City's affordable housing requirement. The City ordinance states that 15% of residential units built on the Curtis Park rail yard must be affordable to low-income residents. Curtis Village representatives said they are exploring alternatives, which might include building housing for the Sacramento Children's Home in lieu of the 15% requirement.
Some residents expressed concern that a loophole was being sought by the developers. According to City staff, sidestepping the affordable housing requirement may prove difficult as the ordinance allows for few exceptions. The developers would likely need the City Council to amend the ordinance in order to avoid the 15% affordable requirement.
Increased traffic in and around Curtis Park is expected to become a significant issue once impacts of the proposed development are calculated by traffic consultants. In order to measure acceptable traffic volumes, the City developed a "traffic yardstick" to establish specific thresholds appropriate for residential streets. However, Curtis Village representatives would not commit to using the "traffic yardstick" in their studies. They suggested the measurement tool is outdated and did not reflect changes in traffic patterns and demographics in the area.
Curtis Village, LLC has been invited to present their detailed development plan at SCNA's fall membership meeting scheduled for November 3 at 7:00 p.m. in Curtis Hall at Sierra 2. All neighbors are strongly encouraged to attend.