The following is the first of LJ Urban’s Open Mic series. Where we invite you to write about the ins and outs of urban life. Email your entries to Levi(at)LJUrban(dot)com
The first post is from Ian Merker, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP. Ian currently works with MFDB Architects and is passionate about urban life here in Sacramento.
A little Urban Controversy
On Thursday 8/21, The Sacramento Bee featured an article about a small residential development that was turned down in Citrus Heights. What makes this project newsworthy to The Bee was that the project was essentially turned down because the neighborhood activists who attended council meetings angrily and loudly denounced the idea and council proclaimed the design as ‘ugly’. Council unanimously rejected the project.
Missing from the article is the personal story of applicant Valentin Krasnodemsky and the greener undertones of the project.
Mr. Krasnodemsky did everything right. He hired an Architect, had meetings with the neighborhood and even meetings with SMUD to go solar. Ukranian-born Valentin was trying to produce an admirable version of the American Dream – create a set of close-knit homes for his own family in a modest neighborhood of modest means on a site long neglected. The house/lot designs are dense, but not to the point of pushing the envelope. The lot subdivision would have created a series of lots of similar size to the neighbors. The floor plans are the average size of new homes, larger than the neighbors, but not monstrous. Valentin’s family would determine the space and amenities they desired to raise their families together in a tradition that is cross cultural and often abandoned in modern US suburbia. You wouldn’t have to load up the car to visit your relatives.
The fatal mistake made by Valentin, and to an extent by the Architects, is that they failed to assess the social and political nature of the project. Who would have thought that a relatively new city (10 years old) in a growing urban area would be so willing to throw progressive values to the wayside to allow an angry mob to prevail? Smart growth issues in the General Plan and regional Blueprint have not been popular among public comment in Citrus Heights, and design is always a subjective issue. Maybe there was even a little mistrust of a foreign-born man with a heavy accent.
Taking the high road has its disadvantages.
Since the beginning of the project, Mr. Krasnodemsky has lost the interest of his family- they have all gone and purchased homes elsewhere. But just as any dedicated, passionate person does, he tried to find a way to continue his vision and intends to sell the units market rate. Now that the project is rejected, he has the option to redesign the units and divide the lot into larger parcels. Where will this project end up in an era of conservatism and plummeting real estate values? We should all hope for a miracle.
6 responses so far ↓
1 dustin // Aug 28, 2008 at 8:57 am
That’s too bad, those are some nice elevations. This is probably why urban infill and mixed-use developments are successes, even in a soft economy here in Sacramento. There are people out there that know if you want a home like the ones being proposed in Citrus Heights, you have to look in the more urban neighborhoods around Sacramento.
2 Micah // Aug 28, 2008 at 9:25 pm
That is really disappointing. I do think it is strange that residents have so much power over the political will in cases where it is clearly good architecture and good planning. I like this open mic thing. I want to hear more.
3 William Burg // Aug 28, 2008 at 10:33 pm
You want to know how I sum up the difference between neighborhood activists in Citrus Heights and neighborhood activists in downtown Sacramento? The Citrus Heights variety want the city to require a citywide public vote to approve any development denser than 4 units an acre. Meanwhile, we’re pushing for mixed use and housing diversity, and get a bit weirded out at lot sizes bigger than a seventh of an acre.
People’s ideas of what constitutes good planning and good architecture varies in space as well as time. Remember that the folks on the Citrus Heights councils and boards are also residents of that city, and thus think more like the residents do in terms of what constitutes good architecture and good planning.
In a suburb, less is more: the primary appeal of suburban life is (comparatively) wide-open spaces and familiar surroundings. When density increases in a suburb, the primary selling point of the suburb gets lost. This, along with white flight, is why suburbs tend to be disposable products: once a certain density is reached, those who like suburbs the most move on to the next one.
In a city, more is more: city people want to be in a busy, engaging place, so when you add density, a city becomes more city-like, not less. This makes the city more appealing, and brings in more people who want an urban environment.
The fact is, suburban living has a strong appeal to many people. Siince the suburb has been promoted as the ideal living situation for more than a century, and it is not yet economically infeasible to build them, that appeal will take a long time to wane. And those who do find more comfort in a “less is more” housing environment will fight to protect that environment, including from city hall.
(Incidentally, have you seen the Citrus Heights city hall? It’s a mansard-roofed one-story office building stuck in between a multiplex theater and a strip mall.)
4 levi // Aug 29, 2008 at 5:36 am
Bring it William! I can’t think of anything to add that you didn’t nail in that comment. It all comes down the to the mindset and when you build “disposable” places its hard to see why its worth making it better than it already is.
5 Chris H // Aug 30, 2008 at 8:58 am
I second Levi’s comments William. That was a great post. I happen to live in a small community about 15 miles Northwest of Sacramento and there is a very similar “mob mentality” when it comes to pushing the limits of what has been deemed “architecturally acceptable”, It is sad. I really like that elevation, it looks great. I hope the owner sticks to his guns.
I like the open mic series, I will have to work on something and send it in. Keep up the good work Levi and crew.
6 somebody else // Aug 30, 2008 at 4:32 pm
w burg: the Citrus Heights City hall is a reuse project and there is no theater next to it. The current City Hall was once a Capitol Nursery type place till about 10 years ago.
Not everyone wants’ to be “busy” like you said, and remember, only 10% of the cities population lives downtown where crack heads and homeless roam the street.
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