Right to the Point
by Geoffrey Sakala

The multi-purpose room at Sunrise elementary was brimming with energy as more than 100 residents showed up to participate in the Anatolia town hall meeting. The town hall was held at Sunrise elementary school on Cobblebrook drive.

The event was hosted by resident and HOA board member Craig Osborn. Opening the discussion was Rancho Cordova Mayor David Sander. Mayor Sander spoke about the progress the City of Rancho Cordova has made since incorporation in 2002. While speaking about the days just after the vote for incorporation Mayor Sander aptly stated, “we had to build everything from scratch”. He highlighted some of the accomplishments from the past five years include creating a General plan for the City, putting 50% more officers on the streets, and updating the city building codes and enforcing those codes, “to clean up dodge and improve quality of life” as Mayor Sander put it. Residents didn’t wait long to ask some tough questions.

One of the hottest topics of the night was development. Numerous residents wanted to know when a grocery store would be built at the corner of Sunrise and Douglas. Although city officials attempted to answer this question, the only real answer would be when Safeway or Raley’s or some other store decides to build one. The City has approved the zoning and design plans, but neither company has requested to pull building permits.

One resident asked a question about code enforcement and empty lots on Sunrise with weeds 3 feet high. Another resident, speaking of Sunrise boulevard, stated, ” the north is very nice and the south looks like a junkyard” referring to Sunrise blvd. south of Highway 50. The mayor responded by saying “the city has changed the zoning along Sunrise, the long term vision of that area is very different than what is there now”.

Traffic was another hot button issue Tuesday night as many residents appeared fed up with delays in road improvements and with reckless driving throughout the neighborhood. Many residents questioned why the road construction along Sunrise blvd. was progressing so slowly. Officials from the City Public Works department and from AKT development, the lead developer for Anatolia, were on hand to answer questions from the public.

According to these officials there have been delays due to a year-long wait for permit approvals after the Federal Corp of Engineers halted construction while they inspected for endangered wildlife. There have been additional delays due to structural engineering problems with the sewer system installed. According to development officials; after heavy underground flows from Morrison Creek parts of the sewer line started to undulate like a roller coaster and the construction crews were unable to stabilize the slopes in order to repair the sewer line. There is still no resolution to the problem and officials predict that it may be next summer before the intersection of Sunrise and Douglas can be paved.

Residents complained of stop sign runners, speeders, and street racers violating the law throughout the neighborhood. City officials urged residents to call the Rancho Cordova police department so that these incidents could be tracked and traffic enforcement could target trouble areas.

There was a lengthy discussion about parks and the new 25 acre Anatolia park being planned. Currently there are 3 neighborhood parks completed in the area; Argonaut park, Eagles Nest park, and Sandpiper park. The new Cordova Recreation and Park District administrator David Edmonds was on hand to share information about park development in the area and answer questions from residents about park amenities. He explained that the CRPD has pooled all available resources to try and meet the goals of the parks master plan for the new 25 acre park in Anatolia, but came up short. He explained that money for parks comes from developer fees, when they pull building permits, and not enough permits have been pulled by developers to fund the completion of all the master plan amenities.

The park district is going to move forward with the first phase of the park development in the Spring of next year. The first phase will include a softball/baseball complex with 2 lighted fields, 2 lighted tennis courts, 1 lighted basketball court, a group picnic area, multiple play areas including a water play feature, soccer fields, restrooms, concessions, along with a parking lot and small maintenance yard.

The discussion Tuesday night clearly showed that the City of Rancho Cordova and its residents still have some work to do, but we’ve certainly come a long way. One of the exciting new developments in the future may include a city transit system. Cyrus Abhar, Public Works Director told the audience that the city has secured $900,000 in grants to augment transit funding which could be used for a city shuttle or transit system. These discussions are still in the works, but it appears progress is forthcoming. In two weeks David Sander will step down as mayor, in accordance with the City charter, and Vice Mayor Linda Budge will assume the year-long position. We’ll be watching closely as our new Mayor carries out the vision of a better Rancho.