Sac city officials yesterday issued a stop-work order for the Ose property on the corner of Del Paso and El Centro roads.
Apparently developer Doug Ose was trying to stockpile dirt on the site “which is premature since the project hasn’t been approved yet,” according to David Hung, an associate planner for the city.
NATOMAS BUZZ readers will recall the proposed Natomas Landing project was the topic of two community meetings.
Sac City Planning Commissioners rejected the proposed rezone and retail development project, but Ose continues to press forward in an effort to get the project going before the area building moratorium goes into effect.
As proposed, the Natomas Landing project would add about 320,000 square-feet of retail space to the neighborhood located west of Interstate 5.
I was wondering what the Teichert trucks were doing out there.
Not really sure how Ose is going to get around the insanely awful traffic effects that the traffic study found (think Natomas Marketplace bad with more spillover effects). Plus, the opposite corner on the Hovnanian land has hundreds of thousands feet of retail already approved…
WE DON’T NEED ANY MORE RETAIL DEVELOPMENT. WE DON’T NEED ANY MORE RETAIL DEVELOPMENT. WE DON’T NEED ANY MORE RETAIL DEVELOPMENT!!!!
Premature? I’ll say. Presumptuous and, dare I say, pompous on Mr. Ose’s part!
No matter how he keeps packaging that center and rearranging the pieces (and moving the dirt) it still comes up to too much retail with, as NSW states, insanely awful traffic effects and only one way in/out of the center.
I see that the item was tabled from previous City Council meetings to be heard on 8/19/08 (but I don’t see it listed as an item on the agenda that is currently published). I hope the City Council takes their cue from the neighborhood/public outcry and from the planning commission and votes against this.
Apparently the City authorized Ose to do the work in error, then had to rescind the permit. There’s a short article on this in the Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/220/story/1158782.html
City Development Services Director Bill Thomas basically said “my bad” and shrugged his shoulders. He then dropped the opinion that the city is “happy” with Ose’s latest proposal. My blood pressure just went up.
That Mr. Ose is operating as if his zoning change and this project are done deals is cause for concern for our area’s overall health (not just our individual blood pressure readings – mine spiked as well when I read the article this morning).