Editor’s note: Don’t get schooled
In the buzz about the Sacramento railyards as the next game-changing development, it’s all about the state-of-the-art medical center, the new county courthouse and, especially, a sparkling soccer stadium.
What isn’t talked about as much may also turn out to be crucial to its success—a school.
Bill Mueller, executive director of Valley Vision, says good schools are essential to more housing downtown, as well as a key component of “20-minute neighborhoods,” the urban design principle that everything you need for daily life is within walking or bicycling distance.
The Sacramento City Unified School District says it has an agreement with the railyards developer for a K-6 or K-8 school, once there are enough students. But for parents to be confident enough to send their kids to that school, the district needs to fix its finances and make peace with the teachers’ union, which held a one-day strike on April 11.
The railyards plan approved by the City Council in 2016 calls for 6,000 to 10,000 housing units, predicts a potential need for new schools and says that developers would be expected to pay impact fees to help pay for them. The plan also points out that because it’s an urban infill site, a typical suburban school won’t work. Instead, a school would have to be multi-story with small playgrounds, perhaps even on the roof.
The 244-acre site on the edge of downtown is the former home of Union Pacific Railroad’s railyards, the largest west of the CONTINUE READING: Editor's note: Don't get schooled • SN&R Extra
