Township 9 Parks Master Plan

Township 9 is a 65acre planned mixed use community located in the City's River District and adjoining the southern boundary of the American River. Parks within the project include a passive community park along the American River, a small neighborhood park centrally located within the development, widened street medians and a mew, a transit plaza and mid-block paseos. The parks will serve the residents and employees of the development and will help to move pedestrians and bicyclists through the project site as they make their way towards the American River. A master plan for all of the parks, with the exception of the mid-block paseos, will come to City Council for approval on August 10th.

On July 1, 2010, the City of Sacramento Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) reviewed and supported the Parks Master Plan for Township 9, recognizing that the parks included expensive elements not typically found in City parks, and that maintenance of the parks would be more costly. The PRC recommended that park maintenance be conducted by City staff rather than by a private entity, following discussion about the Project's Development Agreement which requires the Developer to form an assessment district to fully fund the maintenance of the parks. The Township 9 Development Agreement allows the City to enter into an agreement with an outside entity to perform the maintenance.

The City received $30 million in Proposition 1 C grant funding that was assigned to the Township 9 development project. This funding has enabled the developer to begin construction on this high profile project. The Proposition 1 C funding will focus on the design and construction of infrastructure needed to develop the site (streets, sewer, water, storm drain and dry utilities), three parks (Transit Plaza, North 7 th Street Median, and Riverfront Park), and light rail improvements in consideration for development of 397 market rate housing units and a 180 residential unit affordable housing apartment. Staff will return to City Council for action on a Credit / Reimbursement Agreement for "turn-key" park development with the Township 9 Developer at a later date. Development of parks creates an ongoing cost for park maintenance and utilities based on the size of the park. The Project's Development Agreement requires that a Community Facilities District or other assessment district be formed and funded before the City will accept each park. The ongoing maintenance of each park will be fully funded by the District to offset any new impact to the Department's Operating Budget.

Timing: The Transit Plaza, North 7th Street Median, Riverfront Plaza and Riverfront Park are anticipated to be completed by mid-2011