Better Know a Neighborhood: Sunriver Neighborhood
Sunriver, a neighborhood of more than 1,000 homes and condominiums between Sunrise Avenue, Coloma Road and the American River is a diverse mix of incomes, ages and issues. The 30-year-old freeway close community features a well-kept bike trail along the river, a new park and an array of river-named streets and courts.
Sunriver also boasts an active Neighborhood Association led by Communications Director Rob Towns, Neighborhood Enhancement Director Craig Osborn, Parkway Liaison Ginger Enrico, Trinity Woods Liaison Gail Osborn, Sunriver Sentinel Editor Deanne Sherman and Social Director Jessica Ocenosak.
The group started in 2000 after a resident on Klamath River Drive was burglarized. The group soon expanded its reach to address issues such as beautification and traffic. It has also become a galvanizing force, bringing people together for holiday caroling, Easter egg hunts and the highly anticipated Summer Fiesta. A monthly newsletter keeps everyone informed of upcoming events and a web site and e-group features breaking news. Monthly meetings create a communication link with city administrators and local residents.
One example of this activism was a legislative bill passed in August, 2009 to protect the American River Parkway after some residents noticed mowing and staking in the area behind their neighborhood. That was when they discovered Sacramento County Supervisors were considering a proposal to move American River Raft Rentals to the Parkway. Concerned about damage to the wetland habitat and increased traffic in the residential neighborhood, residents spoke at supervisor meetings, asked for an update to the Parkway plan and succeeded in getting legislation passed and signed by the governor to preserve the Parkway for recreation and preservation.
“A lot of good people live here,” Ocenosak said. She moved to Sun River from Citrus Heights in March of 2003 and said it was like coming home. Her husband grew up in the area and attended WE Mitchell Middle School, the same school her son now attends. She immediately joined the SNA steering committee as social director and volunteered as a den mother for the local Cub Scouts. She is a graduate of Rancho Cordova Leadership 2009 and dedicated to making an impact in her community.
Like many neighborhoods, crime – mainly in the form of car theft and vandalism – has been a challenge for Sunriver. The community responded by organizing volunteer patrols who could act as the eyes and ears for law enforcement.
SNA tries to approach curb appeal issues with a carrot rather than a stick. Neighborhood cleanup days focus on beautifying public spaces like medians, parks and empty lots. “We are trying to figure out how to ask people to take care of their property rather than calling in code enforcement,” Ocenosak said. “Peer pressure can have an impact.”
SNA goals include new gateway signs and more beautification projects. “It’s a sense of pride. We are a maturing community and we want to keep that community feeling,” Ocensosak said.
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Geographer’s note: You can distinguish between the Jimmy Carter era (1978-1980) and the Reagan era (1981+) homes in Sunriver by the original roofs: Carter era is brown-asphalt shingle, while the roofs built when the Gipper was pumping federal $ into the local economy were cedar shake. The distribution of the older roofs give some indication of the level of home maintenance in various parts of the neighborhood.
Prior to the late 1970s Sunriver was a group of mine tailings called the Citrus Ponds. Prior to 1964, when the Sunrise Bridge was built and Sunrise Boulevard came south of the river, the Ponds were the mouth of Buffalo Creek that carried Aerojet effluent into the American River. Prior to the early 1900s when the Citrus Ponds were originally dredged, Sunriver was an almond orchard owned by a James Beach.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/sacbeac.htm
One of Beach’s almond trees still survives.