A lot needs to be worked out that is still just hanging out there.
Editorial: Council needs to nail down details on railyard
All aboard? Not so fast, because the answers about risks and benefits matter
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, November 16, 2007
Logic would seem to dictate that the Sacramento railyard is a done deal. The Sacramento City Planning Commission recommended approval of the 244-acre project three days ago. The City Council seems supportive and plans three hearings, the first Tuesday.
Yet there are numerous questions hanging over this project, which could bring 12,000 residences, cultural attractions, shops, entertainment and a new transit center to Sacramento over the next three decades.
The City Council needs to insist on solid answers, to ensure that the railyard district lives up to its lofty expectations and fairly balances risks and benefits between the city and the developer, Thomas Enterprises.
As noted before, the railyard is an enormously challenging patch of dirt, complicated by issues of access, toxic contamination, track relocation and financing deadlines. Thomas and the city plan to seek up to $150 million in state bond money to pay for needed infrastructure. Thus they are racing to establish "project readiness" and secure permits by early 2008, even as they try to build a case their plan has been substantially vetted and reviewed by the public.
The truth is somewhere in between. Although Thomas and the city have worked to develop sound design guidelines and strengthen their initial plan for affordable housing, the public didn't see two key documents – the financing plan and development agreement – until late last week. That gave the Planning Commission little chance to hammer issues that need to be nailed down.
