Sacramento-Carmichael Homeowners Alliance

SCHA Meeting Minutes - 12/14/04

Submitted by Raymond Anderson, Secretary-Treasurer

1. Location – Greentree Clubhouse. Meeting brought to order at 7:03 PM. Agenda provided with samples of letters written to Ione DeMorales by Roland and Maureen Dart and written to Charlie Dyer by John Rogers.

2. Opening remarks began with a brief discussion on the purpose of the organization. We have retained a land use attorney, Bill Yeates, who has provided similar legal assistance for another nearby Sacramento neighborhood group. He has already done work for our organization, but he needs more facts and figures to better represent us. To provide more information for our legal representation several areas need to be researched as follows:

3. Crime: Roger Hewitt is compiling a spreadsheet of all the crime in the area. It was suggested that we investigate past crime data and compare it to the current population and current crime and population changes in the past. The sheriff should have statistics on this. We should be able to extrapolate what the increase would be with the proposed apartment’s increase in population to the area. We may also want to consider what the additional cost would be to the police to handle this increase of crime. Rusty Gagnon will help with this extrapolation research.

4. Density: Roger Hewitt has started a spreadsheet on the population density in the area. We need to identify that our area has a higher that average amount of multiple dwellings. Density closely relates to an increase in accidents and crime. He has a map of our area and he will send to Zana Redden for the web page.

5. Photographs: Roger Hewitt has taken about 25 pictures of 4950 Hackberry. He focused on the drainage. Ron Rasmussen has an aerial photo. John Rogers suggested that we take photos of your own houses during the Christmas. Dave Rosenberg has also taken some photos of the proposed apartment complex area.

6. Plan review: When plans are available for review, we need a contractor or civil engineer available to review those plans with the interest of our neighborhood in mind. John Maniscalco volunteered for this.

7. Environmental: We need to research the proposed apartment area to see if there are any vernal pools or endangered plants or animals. Don Hinkins (of the Department of Fish and Game) volunteered to research some information on this. Ray Redden volunteered to research the area for information on water shed and flooding problems. Marlene Corey will identify the Learning Exchange person that does the nature walks in the area to see if he can provide any guidance on the local environment. There was some question on how will we get access to the property to investigate potential environmental issues. We need to see if any environmental report has been done or has been requested. It is believed that the county will not require this as long as the building permit review process remains a ministerial matter.

8. Trees: If the trees must be removed for the apartment development, local air pollution and drainage issues will occur. We need to demand that the county to count and map the trees. As we understand it, large heritage trees are to be preserved. The developer has said that he has already made the tree count, but we need to verify that this is true. If a tree is tagged and cut, it can result in a fine. Dave Rosenberg (331-6131) said that because of the zoning as it is, to develop a less dense housing proposition could result in the developer being fined.

9. Everyone was encouraged to write letters to Muriel Johnson and Charlie Dyer. Addresses for both are on the agenda and on the sample letters provided. Charlie Dyer is Ione DeMorales’s supervisor, therefore it is better to send letters to Charlie Dyer. We need to ask the County for some sort of representation on the review of the plans. We can ask for this in the letters we write.

10. The need for Area Representative was discussed. The current Reps are: Victoria Daher, Lourdes Cintron, Gwen Oliver, Lee Meadows; and Lilly Orlaski. Reps are to be the first line of contact for the people in the neighborhood to communicate information. Reps will also assist in collecting funds for SCHA. The current volunteers have already put in a lot of time, but the area is large and we need more help. Victoria researched the ownership of all the homes in our areas and we have approximately 550 addresses identified. Madison Villa Estates has an organization with Sandra Renison as a representative of that sub-group in our area. Chris Sommers, Jay Cowle, and Jane Gunter also volunteered to be Reps.

11. The need for assistance in the maintenance of the website was discussed. Peter Harnett volunteered to be the other website coordinator. Zana Redden will give him access to the website as soon as he enrolls as a member on the website.

12. The next item for discussion was the group’s finances. Each household is asked to contribute $50. We need at least $1500 for the attorney retainer. We only have $850 to date. Ray Redden suggested that the names of those who have contributed to our organization be published on the website, but not with the amounts. It was also suggested that we publish the group’s financial status as well as the future financial needs.

13. The next meeting will be after Jan. 1, 2005. – the exact time and place will be posted on the website and communicated to the Reps. Ron Ritterskamp teaches at SAA and will see if we can use the school as a meeting location to better handle our growing group.

14. Miscellaneous Discussion Items: Maybe we should do a traffic study: Pat Anderson volunteered to do the traffic study. An apartment development will add greatly to the traffic load on the area. Where are the other new developments of apartments in the area? Do the other developments have their permits already? Have we considered purchasing the property ourselves? It is not likely that this property is going to be left vacant. Some sort of development will occur. We need to develop and submit items for mitigation on how this property is to be developed. We need to identify what things the developer should include at his cost. Ray Redden discussed how we can increase the momentum of SCHA. He suggested that many of us put out a sign on our property that will catch attention of those that pass by. We could also put out realtor type boxes that could hold our flyers. Ray provided some samples of what the signs or flyers might be like. Ron Rasmussen and Ray Redden will pursue the sign concept. We need to include in our communications that we are not against dense housing – we just already have our share in the area. We have 7 complexes. Will the development of the apartments put pressure on opening up Hackberry for traffic instead of the foot bridge? Do we know what the developer’s timeline is and if not can we find out? Can renters send letters? Absolutely!

15. Assignments and Action Items

1. Rusty Gagnon will help with the research to extrapolate what the increase in crime would be with the proposed apartment’s increase in population to the area.
2. Roger Hewitt will submit his research spreadsheets on both crime and density.
3. Roger Hewitt will submit his area map for the web page.
4. When plans are available, John Maniscalco will review them for SCHA.
5. Don Hinkins (of the Department of Fish and Game) volunteered to research some information on vernal pool or endangered plant or animal possibilities.
6. Ray Redden volunteered to research the area for information on water shed and flooding problems.
7. Marlene Corey volunteered to contact the Learning Exchange person that does the nature walks in the area.
8. Pat Anderson volunteered to do the traffic study.
9. Ron Rasmussen and Ray Redden will pursue the sign concept.