Moving with dispatch in the creation of an identity centered around a new downtown growth model is smart, and will be eagerly watched as it grows from vision to reality, perhaps inspiring other corridors in the region.
Speedy corridor progress urged
By Cathy Locke - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Rancho Cordova leaders -- already committed to changing the face of Folsom Boulevard -- are looking at ways to get it done faster.
The City Council received an update last week on the Folsom Boulevard Specific Plan, a guide for transforming Folsom Boulevard from a regional thoroughfare to an urban corridor. City officials want to see strip malls and parking lots give way to a more traditional downtown, with a civic center and a mix of housing, shops, restaurants, arts and entertainment.
The council adopted the specific plan last year, and it is being updated to include more detailed direction for the design of new development.
To help hasten transformation of the corridor, planners propose establishing a two-track approval process in which projects that meet the standards and regulations for Folsom Boulevard development would bypass the Planning Commission and be referred to a panel of professionals or the City Council for approval.
"We want to outcompete other jurisdictions," Mayor David Sander said, adding that the city needs an efficient process that provides would-be developers with certainty about what will be expected of them.
Planner Jeffrey Beiswenger said the plan will establish the physical framework and standards for development along the boulevard, and the procedural framework, spelling out for developers the "rules of engagement."
The biggest difference in the planning process would be creation of a design review board, consisting of professionals appointed by the City Council to review and approve projects that fit all the specific plan guidelines. The board's actions could be appealed to the City Council.
"We think this is a pretty big step," Planning Director Paul Junker said. "We don't think we're quite ready for this step at this time."
But an initial move in that direction, Junker said, would be to refer projects deemed appropriate for fast-track approval directly to the City Council. The Planning Commission would not be involved.
"This would fundamentally change the way we review projects in Rancho Cordova," he said.
