Trucks are clearing and leveling the soil in the commercial area in the southern part of Crocker Village. Infrastructure for housing is being installed in the northern part of the 72-acre development. With new activity underway, Viewpoint staff wanted to update neighbors on the status of the development, sandwiched between Sacramento City College and the Curtis Park neighborhood.
According to planning documents, Lot A in the commercial area was approved by Planning staff in 2016. This allowed Petrovich Development Company (PDC) to construct three buildings of approximately 8,000- 12,900 square feet each along Crocker Village Drive and one large building (75,000 square feet), with three tenants on the opposite side of the development to the west. This multi-tenant retail building is where the grocery store is planned. Lot A also included 268 parking spaces.
Shortly after this approval, PDC requested a special use permit to add a 16-pump fuel center, saying Safeway wouldn’t come without it. The permit was approved by the planning commission by a 6-3 vote, and later appealed to the city council by SCNA. The city council denied the permit by a 7-2 decision. PDC then sued the city and won a judgement that required a new vote on the permit, without the participation of Councilmember Jay Schenirer. The mayor and council unanimously agreed to appeal the judge’s decision.
An April The Sacramento Bee article reported PDC development left room on the property site for a 16-pump gas station next to the planned grocery store. Without waiting on the outcome of the city’s appeal, PDC decided to build out Lot A. The article said Petrovich is “moving forward with the work now because of supermarket lease deadlines.” Petrovich has never named the grocery store for the site. The Bee article also reported the mayor’s office declined to comment on Petrovich’s statement that the mayor had stepped in to help end the battle over the 16-pump gas station, and pointed out the city and Petrovich remain locked in a legal battle until the higher court’s ruling.
Petrovich is “moving forward with the work now because of supermarket lease deadlines.”
In May, PDC made three more development requests for the Village. According to documents, PDC submitted a plan for Lot B in the commercial area. This area is contiguous to Lot A and both lots make up the shopping center. PDC’s request was to construct four additional retail buildings between the current construction and 10th Avenue. The proposal would result in the commercial area having a total of 514 parking spaces and 184,000 square feet of retail. While SCNA and the public are welcome to submit comments on the plan, no public hearing is required. Planning staff will decide the final design for the commercial area in late summer.
Danny Abbes, a city planner, also reported that PDC submitted a request to build 52 “front loaded” homes, (garages accessed through the alley), with three elevations and eight different house plans, ranging from 2,200 to 2,800 square feet. These larger homes will be on the northern edge of the development, bordering the Portola Way alley. A third request seeks to build 83 smaller “paseo” homes (1,600-2,000 square feet) offering four styles: French Cottage, English Country, Spanish Mission and English Cottage. The house designs are under review by planning staff, and approval for the housing designs is expected in early summer.
It was planning staff’s understanding that before the housing can be built, Caltrans must agree with PDC on improvements for the freeway on-ramp at Sutterville Road and Highway 99. No one at Caltrans was available to comment on the status of that agreement.