January 12, 2007

City Council News

Council votes unanimously for two Evergreen projects

During the first city council meeting for the Reed administration and its first meeting of 2007, council members voted unanimously for two measures affecting Evergreen.

The council had voted one of those measures down last June, but over the summer and fall, residents of the Meadowlands and California Oaks developments sat down with Dal Properties LLC and city staff from the planning department and worked out their issues.

In fact, Dal developer Mark Lazzarini and several members of the two Evergreen housing developments all spoke in favor of the new development.

Last June, community members worked hard to ensure the development did not get the city council’s okay. Complaints included lot sizes were too small for the area, older growth Eucalyptus trees on San Felipe Road were to be torn down, and there was the issue of the riparian areas surrounding Thompson and Misery Creeks. Adding to this were concerns that the developer would end up cramming too many homes together in the development.

After a series of six to eight meetings, they worked out a compromise memo of understanding that satisfied everyone, Lazzarini told the Times in an interview. “We’ve been hard at work with the community,” he said. “We spent the summer holding a series of meetings and we came up with a plan to draft some of their concerns. We went before the planning commission and we received their approval.”

Among the changes are the Eucalyptus trees. Lazzarini said the compromise provides that everything possible be done to save not just the Eucalyptus but as many of the area’s trees as possible to keep the existing character of the property.

One of the homeowners, Michael Mace, who had been worried that the development brought before the council last June would set a precedent, told city council members he is no longer concerned. He listed a number of the changes that satisfied all involved, including house separations at a minimum of 25 feet now compared with 10 feet before; bench and trail amenities compared with none last June; and a configuration of 15 homes west of Misery Creek and six homes east of it compared with 21 homes west of the creek last June.

“After a calming period we got together and met [with Dal Properties] and eventually came to have a mutual trust in each other. We listened to each other and both of us compromised. When we got to the point where we agreed, we all went to the planning commission,” said Larry Cargnoni, one of the homeowners who initially lobbied hard against the development.

In addition, when Dal decides to build on the remaining Pan Clair property, it has agreed to limit development to 13 homes.

Compared to the June discussion, this time it took council members a very short time to agree to the development. Last June at least 40 homeowners offered public comment. On Jan. 9, only four speakers commented, three for the measure and one asking that there be street access to his home.

Skate park bid accepted
Council members voted last December to approve a 40,000 square foot regional skate park at Lake Cunningham. They approved a bid for that construction at the Jan. 9 meeting.

Staff recommended, and council members approved, the low bid from Robert A. Bothman, Inc. at $4,761,300 including a variance of $761,300. The firm has done general contracting for several city projects including the Plata Arroyo Skate Park, which was completed on time and on budget.

Construction includes the skating area, asphalt-concrete decking, concrete pathways, a staff/restroom building, security cameras and lighting, fencing, irrigation and landscaping plus site amenities. Additional items include handrails, handicap parking and drop off area, plus a parking lot, concrete paths and observation overlooks and night use lighting.

Construction is set to begin in February with a completion date of spring 2008.

—By Carol Rosen