One possible reason so many people are coming together to form new cities in Sacramento County is being dealt with in Rancho Cordova, as the new city tries to clean up the mess many feel the county created by inadequate oversight and lack of concern of the effects certain business placements have had on the community.
This lack of care and oversight is also partly responsible for our call for the county to relinquish its daily management of the Parkway, which has been ineffective and almost led to the Parkway being closed in 2004, in favor of nonprofit management, which is being used very successfully with other parks nationally.
City is pushing to burnish image
By Stan Oklobdzija - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, January 22, 2007
When Rancho Cordova Mayor David Sander looks at Folsom Boulevard, main drag of the city he took charge of last December, he imagines the tattoo parlors and transmission shops disappearing and condos and art galleries taking their place.
He envisions sushi bars where fast food outlets now stand, fashionable boutiques in place of thrift stores.
"(In Rancho Cordova) there's a real lack of mainstream stuff people like," Sander said. "But retailers are looking for a change in atmosphere before they'd relocate."
So, just like in the days when agriculture dominated the city, before planting the seeds of redevelopment, he must first clear the fields.
This month, Sander will unveil his Strong Neighborhood Initiative, a multipronged effort at fostering city pride, increasing property values and encouraging residents to enhance their homes and communities, according to a press release.
Crafting a careful balance of carrot and stick, the city will aggressively target blight and nuisances through a ramped-up enforcement and education campaign.
The City Council last week passed a 45-day moratorium on the establishment or relocation of certain types of businesses, including tattoo parlors, thrift stores and check-cashing centers.
Citing a risk to "public health, safety and welfare," that these businesses present, the month-and-a-half hiatus will be used to study the effects they have on the surrounding community and ensure they are properly zoned, according to a staff report.
Sometime within the next month, the council will be presented with a similar moratorium targeting adult-oriented businesses, such as strip clubs and sex shops, said city spokeswoman Erin Treadwell.
On Jan. 31, residents living near White Rock Community Park will be greeted by a slow-rolling cavalcade of police cars and code enforcement trucks searching out and citing homes with visible blight, said Treadwell.
"(We'll be) looking for junk and rubbish, dead cars in the street ... visible construction without a permit," she said. "For so long in Rancho Cordova, code enforcement was few and far between."
The monthly sweep, called "Blight Busters," will focus on a different neighborhood each time and aim to educate residents on complying with city codes. In addition, it will put offenders on notice that they face possible fines or criminal charges if they don't correct the problem, said Kerry Simpson, Neighborhood Services supervisor for the city.
The initiative, said Sander, aims to increase civic pride, which in turn, he hopes, will boost property values.
"There's an opinion locally that the county took advantage of Rancho Cordova in those pre-incorporation years," Sander said.
