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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
November 12, 2002 Greenbelt Alliance unveils Vaca smart growth plan Subheading By Barry EberlingVACAVILLE - Promote compact growth within existing city boundaries and save open space and farmland- That's the message to Vacaville in a 37-page report released Monday by the Greenbelt Alliance and Solano Orderly Growth Committee. The report champions what it calls "smart growth." Proponents envision more townhouses, condominiums and apartments to complement single-family homes and more infill development. They envision designing neighborhoods so people can walk, bike or use transit to easily reach jobs and shopping. The report answers the city's draft "Vacaville 2025" vision statement. That proposal sees Vacaville annexing about 4,000 acres during the next 23 years, including part of Pleasants Valley and land northeast of the city. "Our argument is growth can be accommodated in the city," said Natalie DuMont, a Greenbelt Alliance spokeswoman and Vacaville native. Vacaville already does high-density, infill growth, Mayor-elect Len Augustine said. Whether the city adopts all of the Greenbelt Alliance's points remains to be seen, he said. But he noted a cross-current. "The American Dream is a single-family house," Augustine said. "It's not high-density houses. That's a fact." One thing is certain: Vacaville will grow. The city of about 90,000 expects an annual growth rate of 2 percent, higher than in the county as a whole or the Bay Area. Putting the "smart growth" report and draft Vacaville Vision Statement side-by-side presents two different ways of handling the growth. Vacaville's next large growth area is to be North Village north of Vaca Valley Parkway. This 882-acre area is to have homes, industry, stores, parks, schools and open space. DuMont called North Village a "lost opportunity," since Vacaville has already made its growth plans for the area. Vacaville could have planned for 9 units per acre on the land set aside for homes, instead of 5.7 units per acre, the "smart growth" report said. That would have created 3,951 homes instead of 2,449 homes, it said. But the Vacaville Vision Statement in its description of North Village gives no sense that the current plans represent a lost opportunity. The "smart growth" report opposes having Vacaville someday annex 1,440 acres of rural Pleasants Valley. The city would use the land for executive housing, a golf course and corporate offices. "The loss of these valleys and hillsides to development would be a great loss for Vacaville and for Solano County as a whole," the "smart growth" report said. But the draft Vacaville Vision Statement has another view. It sees development in Pleasants Valley as helping the city meet its economic growth goals. "It should be done in such a way that it respects the character of the valley, through retaining hills and creeks in open space and an average density of only one home per acre," the draft statement said. The Greenbelt Alliance and Orderly Growth also oppose having Vacaville someday annex hundreds of acres northeast of town for an "urban village." They like the city's proposal of having higher-density housing there and creating opportunities for people to walk or bike to their jobs, both "smart growth" principles. But they dislike the large annexation. Rather, Vacaville should apply these principles to developing vacant business parks already annexed and to revitalizing existing neighborhoods, the "smart growth" report said. An area with potential is the Interstates 80 and 505 business park that contains Genentech, Kaiser and other business, along with hundreds of acres of vacant land, the report said. A future community there could mix high-tech jobs, bookstores and other shops, cafes, transit and housing, it said. The draft Vacaville Vision Statement foresees this vacant land developing with industry, offices and shops. The "smart growth" report offered examples of improving existing developments. It suggested redesigning the one-story Factory Outlets, adding second stories with more shops or offices and third stories with homes. Building underground parking lots or parking structures could make room for parks and public spaces, it said. What vision Vacaville chooses for the next two decades is up to the City Council. Augustine said council must first fill a vacant council seat and hire a new city manager. "We've got some of those basics to take care of," he said. The "smart growth" report can be viewed at www.greenbelt.org. Barry Eberling can be contacted at beberling@dailyrepublic.net. ### |
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