CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - A second community meeting was held Tuesday, August 22^nd at Citrus Heights City Hall by Utah-based Woodside Homes to build a 95-home residential community on a 11.3-acre site, where the original Sylvan School, demolished in 2016, once stood.

Michael LaFortune, vice president of land acquisition and development at Woodside Homes in his presentation to city officials led the slide presentation which provided a Sylvan Corners project update, describing the neighborhood character and lot types of the new residential community, traffic and transportation circulation, landscape concept plans and an estimated project construction timeline.

Should the Citrus Heights City Council vote to approve the project by the end of October 2023, LaFortune said general site work and construction could start in April 2024 with the first model homes completed for sale by the end of 2024.

The project is now being finalized and prepared for a hearing before the Citrus Heights City Council. Completion of a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review ended on August 28^th.

LaFortune said he expected the Sylvan Corners project to then go before the Citrus Heights Planning Commission at its next meeting on or about September 13 where the project plan would then be reviewed, and recommendations would be made to the Citrus Heights City Council.

A first presentation of the Planning Commission’s recommendations would be made to the Citrus Heights City Council for their consideration, and a second reading of the project would take place at its next scheduled meeting before a vote to approve the project would then be taken.

LaFortune said Woodside Homes has accepted all of the specific traffic recommendations made by city traffic engineers and has the project modified signal patterns where they were needed. Initial public comments in an earlier community meeting centered around traffic concerns with Auburn Boulevard already a heavily traveled thoroughfare.

“A number of key trees evaluated by an arborist to be in good condition will be kept in entrance locations to create a special community arrival experience,” LaFortune said.

LaFortune said the project, located adjacent to Sylvan Middle School and the historic Sylvan Cemetery, may offer for-sale units designed for such specific needs as work force housing, teacher housing or similar product type.

The 11.3-acre site was purchased by the city of Citrus Heights in 2019 for $3.4 million from the San Juan Unified School District. The city hoped to turn the property around and sell it to a preferred developer for mixed-use development. Only one offer was received, which was from Woodside Homes during an offering period in 2020.

City Council members then voted 4-1 to sell the property to Woodside Homes for $4.17 million, pending a due diligence period.

Project documents filed with the city describe 70 traditional single-family homes and 25 lots with an alley entrance to the garage. Those 25 homes will face outward toward Auburn Boulevard in an effort to increase the curb appeal of the busy thoroughfare.

Plans show 81 homes would be priced at market-rate, while 14 are shown as affordable units. The project features two entrance and exit driveways, both along southbound Auburn Boulevard.

A total of five open spaces are part of the development, connected by pedestrian walkways, with the largest being a detention basin for stormwater runoff at the southernmost point of the property, filed plan documents show.

A water detention and purification basin for stormwater runoff will be located at the southernmost point of the property. Five open spaces are part of the Sylvan Corners development with the largest being the detention basin that will have a natural, aesthetically pleasing look, LaFortune said.

In his presentation, LaFortune described the project as both “purposefully incorporating the existing Sylvan Plaza retail plaza across the street and meeting an important design goal by fronting all buildings, including residential units, outward from Sylvan Plaza and Auburn Boulevard.”

Woodside Homes would create a homeowner’s association “in perpetuity” that will own and maintain the parks and landscaping within the community, he said.

Enhanced pedestrian connections will connect the property to nearby businesses, Sylvan Plaza and the adjoining Sylvan Middle School. A pedestrian access gate, provided at the southwest portion of the project, adjacent to Sylvan Middle School, will also be provided to create a safe route for students to get to and from school, as well as to serve as an emergency exit, LaFortune said.

“Well-designed parking and service areas inside the new residential community also screen these areas from Auburn Boulevard and Sylvan Plaza,” he said.

“We’ve worked diligently with the city with the same goals in mind,” LaFortune said. “We want to build what we promised as a very well thought out community.”

“We’re excited about the next steps as we bring a great new community to the city.”

The project plans and the completed environmental studies are available for review at: www.citrusheights.net/DocumentCenter/Index/864