Go. See. Do. Riverside and Beyond
Driving down Van Buren today, my wife noticed this:
We both thought that this might be the spot where Citrus Heights Drive FKA Fairway Drive FKA Street “A” ends at Van Buren.
I went back later this afternoon and walked up into the hills to check on the progress of the road. Here are some pictures:
The beginning at McAllister:
Near the middle:
What looks like the end at Van Buren:
Moving along.
Although the proceedings aren’t posted on the County’s website as of the time I am writing this, I received word that Citrus Heights II was approved by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on June 30th.
The Citrus Heights II tract is just south of the previously approved Citrus Heights development referenced in a previous post.
I have also been told that this development will provide the final portion of funding for Street “A”, although the County is still working to acquire a few of the properties needed to construct the street.
** Update 07/15/15 **
This is a picture of an exhibit from Riverside County’s La Sierra / Lake Mathews town hall meeting on 07/14/15 confirming the current status of “A” Street:
** End of update **
From agenda item 16-1 of the Riverside County Board of Supervisor’s June 30, 2015 meeting:
Tentative Tract Map No. 36475 would construct several public roadways on the site. Access to the Project site would be provided via two (2) full access connections from an approved, neighboring development project to the north (TR 36390, marketing name “Citrus Heights”). From Citrus Heights, Project residents would have direct connections to McAllister Street and Street “A”. Street “A” is also known as “Fairway Drive”, an approved public street that will provide a connection between McAllister Street and Van Buren Boulevard. In 2012 the Board of Supervisors authorized Fast Track status to the adjacent SP325 and this project site in recognition that both projects are causing the construction of Street “A”, which will not only provide access to these projects but which also greatly benefits the adjacent communities of Victoria Grove, the Orchard, and other properties around McAllister Street by bringing a connection to Van Buren Blvd.
Information on Citrus Heights II from the same document:
TENTATIVE TRACT MAP NO. 36475 is a Schedule “A” subdivision of 168.33 acres into 171 residential lots on 79.83 acres, two water quality/detention basins on 5.26 acres, four park sites on 3.78 acres, and 21 open space lots encompassing 50.56 acres. In addition, 29.31 acres will be dedicated for on-site infrastructure development (Streets “A” through “R”). Lot sizes for the proposed residential units will range from 14,010 sq. ft. to 116,073 sq. ft. with a minimum lot size of 12,101 sq. ft.
Previous posts about the Dufferin Closure, “A” Street / Fairway Drive and Citrus Heights topics can be found by clicking on the “dufferin closure” tag.
It has been almost five years since the City of Riverside closed Dufferin Avenue at McAllister, cutting off a “critical circulation and emergency access link for the communities of The Orchard, Victoria Grove and other developments located east of La Sierra Avenue, and north of El Sobrante”.
I sent a few emails last week to contacts within the County of Riverside to find out the construction status of “A” Street (Fairway Drive), since the last estimate I received was that construction might start this summer. One person told me that there is no firm timetable, and that staff is continuing negotiations to purchase the properties needed for the right-of-way (one of six has been purchased). Another person told me that the County is working with the developer, but that there is hope construction will begin by the fall.
Unless you devote many hours to attending County meetings (I don’t), construction projects can be difficult to follow. This post contains information on the construction of “A” Street from my review of County documents. If you find that I have missed something, relied on outdated documents or have any feedback, please leave a comment below. Also, if you would like to express your support for this project, it falls within Supervisor Kevin Jeffries‘ district.
The quoted words in the first sentence of this post aren’t mine (although I agree with them). They are from a submittal dated 01/15/14 from the Riverside County Transportation Department to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors recommending approval to enter into right of way and temporary construction agreements with CV Inland Communities 1, LP. The Board approved these recommendations on 02/04/14.
CV is the developer that is building the Citrus Heights community. From what I can tell, the Citrus Heights plan calls for the construction of 345 homes (no golf course) between McAllister and Van Buren (see the end of this post for info on Citrus Heights).
Background from the document:
The Riverside County Transportation Department (RCTD) proposes to construct A Street, a two-lane collector road connecting McAllister Street to Van Buren Boulevard in the Woodcrest area (Project). Approximately 40 percent of the Project is located in the unincorporated county area (County) and 60 percent is located within the City of Riverside (City) jurisdiction.
In 2006, the County approved Tract 30153 (McAllister Hills), which would have constructed a golf course residential community development. The County required this tract to construct a new road between McAllister and Van Buren, referred to as A Street, which would serve traffic from the development and provide an alternate access route for residents of Victoria Grove, the Orchards, and other communities in the area north of Cajalco and east of La Sierra.
In 200B, work ceased on the developer’s project, which went into foreclosure due to the economic downturn. Since that time, the communities desire to see “A” Street move forward has been heightened by the closure of the extension of McAllister north into the City of Riverside. The County took over the “A” Street project in 2010 and is working on property acquisition to prepare for construction.
Funding for the acquisition comes from Development Impact fees collected in this area since this road will help mitigate impacts of future development.
Environmental Impact Report No. 433 (EIR) was completed in compliance with the EIR Guidelines and Riverside County Rules to implement California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). On December 21, 2004, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution No. 2004-539, Certifying Environmental Impact Report No. 433. On September 24, 2013, Amendment No.1 to EIR No. 433 was approved by the Board of Supervisors.
CV Inland Communities 1, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (CV Communities) has agreed to dedicate the right-of-way and temporary access from the portion of the property needed for the proposed A Street project at no cost. […] There are costs of $16,200 associated with this transaction.
The County and City are working together to identify potential funding for this project. […]
Impact on Residents and Businesses
The Project is a critical circulation and emergency access link for the communities of The Orchard, Victoria Grove and other developments located east of La Sierra Avenue, and north of El Sobrante
The Board’s approval of these agreements follow the earlier approval of an agreement (link is to the first amendment) that calls for the developer to contribute $1.6 million toward the construction of Street “A” after certain conditions are met.
Background from the document:
The Amendment of SP 325 and its associated tracts is coming before the Board for consideration as a separate Item on this same agenda. A necessary infrastructure component of this project is “A” Street, a new road that will extend from McAllister Parkway to Van Buren Boulevard. “A” Street is not only necessary for this project but also a critical circulation and emergency access link for the communities of The Orchard, Victoria Grove and other developments located East of La Sierra Avenue, and North of El Sobrante. The” A” Street Project is approximately 40% within County jurisdiction and 60% within the City of Riverside jurisdiction.
On October 16, 2012 the Board entered into an agreement with CV Communities, the Developer of this project, whereby the Developer will provide the County with $1,200,000 in funding towards the construction of the road upon County approval of the entitlements, and another $400,000 within 6 months of the County awarding a construction contract. This Amendment accelerates the payment of the $400,000 and provides a vehicle for the Developer to contribute additional funding, in exchange for additional DIF credits, and also a mechanism for the Developer to receive DIF credits if they have to construct the road project. This amendment therefore helps facilitate the construction of “A” Street.
The County is in the process of acquiring the needed right-of-way for “A” Street, and working with the City of Riverside on a funding plan for the construction phase of the project.
I’ve been writing about the Dufferin closure since 2009. I’ll do my best to share what I learn as the construction process continues. You can find all of the posts I have written about the Dufferin closure and “A” Street issues here: dufferin-closure
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Info about Citrus Heights:
The best document I have found about the Citrus Heights project is here (emphasis added).
From the document:
SUBJECT: SPECIFIC PLAN NO. 325, AMENDMENT NO.1; CHANGE OF ZONE NO. 7779; TENTATIVE TRACT MAP NO. 36390, (FAST TRACK NO. 2013-05) -Addendum No.1 to EIR
No. 433 – Applicant: CV Communities, LLC – Engineer/Representative: T&B Planning – First/First Supervisorial District – Lake Mathews Zoning District – Lake Mathews / Woodcrest Area Plan: Community Development: Low Density Residential (CD: LDR) (1/2 Acre Minimum), Open Space: Conservation (OS: C), Rural Community: Very Low Density Residential (RC: VLDR) (1 Acre Minimum), Rural: Rural Mountainous (R: RM) (10 Acre Minimum), El Sobrante Policy Area – Location: Southerly of Van Buren Boulevard and easterly of McAllister Street – 333.7 Gross Acres – Zoning: Specific Plan (SP00325) – REQUEST: The Specific Plan Amendment proposes to increase residential acreage from 98.4 acres to 135.5 acres, increase the total number of residential units from 295 to 345, increase the average residential lot size from approximately 10,237 square feet to approximately 12,976 square feet, increase the development intensity from 0.9 to 1.0 dwelling units per acre (du/ac), eliminate the 119.1-acre golf course and 3.5-acre golf course clubhouse land uses from the Land Use Plan, increase the area reserved for open space from 85.2 acres to 162.4 acres, increase the acreage designated for public parks from three parks on 2.5 acres to eight parks on 7.0 acres, provide approximately 6.6 miles of pedestrian trails and modify the internal circulation system to accommodate the modified land use plan. The Change of Zone proposes to modify the adopted Specific Plan Zoning Ordinance for SP325 and formalize all of the planning area boundaries within the Specific Plan. The Tentative Map is a Schedule A subdivision that would subdivide 333.7 acres into 343 single-family residential lots, 8 park lots, 3 water quality detention basin lots, and 43 open space lots.
Here are a few maps from the document (click on the images to view larger versions):
