The Future of Rosemont
This is a three installment essay regarding the future of Rosemont. It was originally published in the February thru April, 2010, RCA Newsletters.
Part 1
Since Rosemont began developing as a community over 50 years ago, much has changed – and continues to change. The Rosemont Community Association, which was established as the community began transitioning from rural agriculture to residential and commercial, has always been there to help guide these changes, working for what was deemed good and against that which was seen as harming our community. RCA continues to strive to serve that purpose.
As we enter a new decade, RCA wants to assess the circumstances and conditions that are impacting our community, and develop a process by which, with all who live and work in Rosemont working together, we can chart a future for our community that meets our collective needs as best we can.
We anticipate this open and public dialogue will be energetic and even controversial at times. We hope that is good, and drives us to greater awareness and respect for each other, our assets and resources, and our weaknesses and needs. In this process, RCA has no preconceived goals or hidden agendas. We only want to work together to help make Rosemont a better, more desirable, safer, more attractive, healthier, more cohesive and more economically viable community.
RCA is motivated in this effort by several forces. Our community is, like most communities, undergoing changes: our demographics are evolving in terms of age, ethnicity, culture, economics, interests, beliefs, languages, values and aspirations. Many homes appear to be changing from owner occupied to rental and back again. Our schools in Rosemont naturally include children reflecting the composition of the community, which can enrich their learning and growing experience. Our commercial community is equally diverse and interesting. While we no longer have some of the features we did just 20 years ago, like the Rosemont Cabana Club with its wonderful pools, tennis courts, picnic grounds and clubhouse which was the site of many memorable parties; or the Rosemont Swim and Dive Team or the little league park that drew families together; or the summer concerts in the park; we still have many other wonderful and new features that serve today’s residents, including our long-awaited Rosemont High School, a real gem in our community.
One of the recent and significant changes we are experiencing is in the level of public services available to us. We all know about the reductions in the County budget and services (and they’re not over yet) – including Sheriff patrols and code enforcement. And there is little evidence that the level of public services is likely to improve in the next few years at the earliest. Are we satisfied with this situation? Or what alternative do we have?
The Rosemont area is largely built out, with few parcels of land left to plan and develop, mostly in our southeast corner in reclaimed aggregate pits. (Fortunately, most of this land is controlled by our neighbor Teichert Corporation and its land development unit Stonebridge Properties, who have demonstrated a genuine sensitivity to and interest in the quality of life of the Rosemont area.) Some of these parcels will be coming up for development in the next ten years.
And there are the expected changes that will happen along Jackson Road that will include both road improvements and developments that will affect Rosemont. On our northern edge, the drive-in theaters at Folsom and Bradshaw are slated for redevelopment into a significant shopping-dining-entertainment complex. The area around the Butterfield light rail station is now being planned for mixed use housing and commercial development known as transit oriented development (TOD). And plans for the development of the little triangle of land at Manlove and Watt next to the light rail parking lot will be presented to us soon.
Already we are hearing bits of conversation asking whether our community should continue as an unincorporated portion of Sacramento County; whether there may be better arrangements we can make with the County for improved services; whether we should begin considerations of annexing to either Sacramento or Rancho Cordova; whether we have other viable options to improve our situation by perhaps creating some other kind of entity, maybe a community service district or community improvement district, that would give us more control and resources to assure the enhancement of the Rosemont community. Each of these options involves many serious questions, and if any are to be considered there will be much effort required.
With all of these factors in mind, the RCA Board is looking for your engagement and thoughts as to what is best for our future. In future issues of this newsletter and on the web page we will present some of these issues, and others, in greater depth so that at our “futures workshop” at our April 27 annual meeting everyone will have a broader understanding of the issues and options before us. We look forward to your engagement and input. In the meantime, we welcome your thoughts via the comments section of the RCA web page, www.rosemontca.org.
Part 2
The Future of Rosemont - Where are We Now?
In the first part of this series, we discussed a bit of the history of Rosemont and our present status and level of services, and how our circumstances are changing. This part will describe in more detail our present services and their constraints. The third part will explore some of the options Rosemont may want to consider, and what is involved in exploring them.
We've all heard about the problems over the past few years with our economy and with our public agency budgets. In one way or another, we have all been adversely affected. Regardless of your opinion of how and when (or even if) things will improve, it is not likely things will get better quickly. And many think we will not return to the economic conditions or program levels we saw just a few years or even months ago, one that proved unsustainable.
Even if the general economy improves rapidly, it will take several years before the public sector budgets experience the benefits of those improvements. Therefore, we can expect several more years of very tight public budgets, meaning several more years of service levels different from what we've known or may want. Whether those service levels can be improved in tight fiscal times is an open question. The answer probably lies in how the public reacts to many factors and choices yet to be posed.
We do know, however, that as things are now, we in Rosemont have lessened levels of some services, among them sheriff, code enforcement, neighborhood services, and some human services – all services that promote and protect our quality of life.
Of course, County wide other services such as health, criminal justice, welfare, child protective services, juvenile services, etc. have all suffered budget cuts. And our fire, parks and recreation services, all provided by special districts, are in similar fiscal situations with similar questions. Whether these services can by provided by other means, or the need for them be reduced, is a question yet to be answered.
And these issues do not even address our schools and educational programs, also facing similar concerns.
Given these factors, two general options seem to be available to us in Rosemont. We can do nothing and see where it leads us, hopefully through the current problems and to more "normal" conditions again. Or we can begin exploring actions we can take, as a community or at some other scope, which can bring about desired changes. Of course, if we choose the latter option, we will need to have good and effective discussions about what goals we would want and what actions we would need to attain those goals. This is where you - each person in our community - come in.
Toward this goal, RCA will be conducting a workshop at its annual meeting on Tuesday, April 27, at 7:00 pm at the Rosemont High Cafeteria. At the workshop everyone will have the chance to begin exploring these options and ideas, share their thoughts and
preferences with each other, refine their ideas as they become aware of new ideas, considerations, facts and options, and begin to formulate steps by which we can work together to secure a better future for ourselves and our Rosemont community.
To begin your thinking, here are some general alternatives that may or may not prove viable.
Each of these alternatives will have many issues that need to be carefully addressed, and many pros and cons one could fairly argue. Each alternative, to be properly and fairly considered, will need careful research and gathering of facts, not just opinions. If there
is to be any change, we need to remember that change is not easy. And any change will take time, careful thought, and sensitivity for the common good of the community.
Part 3
The Future of Rosemont – Some Possible Options
In the previous parts of this series we discussed the current situation of Rosemont in light of what is happening in the larger community around us. The intent is to stimulate our thinking in preparation for our “futures workshop” at the annual meeting of the Rosemont Community Association on Tuesday, April 27, 7:00 pm at the Rosemont High School cafeteria. This final part of the series will describe what some of the options might be if the community desires to become more assertive in guiding its future. Part 2 briefly listed four alternatives; there may be more. Here we will explore these four in a bit more depth. Note that they are not mutually exclusive.
We can develop means by which our community lessens the needs for services provided by public or private agencies, and thereby reduce the cost of services.
Some possible actions: take more responsibility for reducing crime and other problems. Form Neighborhood Watch programs to help prevent and solve crimes. Work to prevent juvenile delinquency, abuse, graffiti, littering, etc. Work to reduce property neglect and code violations that denigrate property values and attract problems. Work to assist people with needs who cannot help themselves, such as temporary yard care for infirmed, or watching out for elderly citizens, or just being mindful of one’s children’s behavior and how it can affect the neighborhood. This list of ideas could be virtually endless, and all ideas tend to help form a more cohesive, caring and thriving neighborhood that is enjoyable to live in.
We can explore means of changing how any needed services are provided by current agencies, with the goal of making their delivery more efficient and effective, and thereby presumably costing less.
Some possible actions: work with agencies to press for sound improvements to policies and processes that enhance a community. Expand programs for trained volunteers to take on duties that can be safely delegated, such as police report writing, background research, neighborhood cleanup, community safety training, community eyes-and-ears patrols, etc. Press for expanded uses of technology where the return on the investment can be proven to be worth it. Consider reorganizing how work is done so that it can be accomplished more efficiently and effectively (this may mean being willing to change policies, work rules, jurisdictions, etc., no easy task and one not to be tackled lightly.)
We can explore new ways of funding desired services, presumably along with improvements in how funds are expended, so desired service levels can be sustained.
Some possible actions: Press for more transparency and ease of general understanding about how services are now provided and why they are provided as they are, so that there can be better understanding in the public leading to perhaps a greater willingness to make improvements. There are numerous examples of a community approving increased funding for desired programs, but they typically are based on a sufficient level of understanding and trust that existing revenues and resources are being well used. In this alternative, the role of the public cannot be stressed too strongly in creating any desired change. Actions in this area likely will involve actions in other alternative areas as well.
We can consider new organizational structures that could allow the Rosemont community both improved service levels and greater say over how those services are delivered.
Some possible actions: In a great oversimplification for this article, the Rosemont community may have several alternatives. We could remain an unincorporated area of the County with services like we now have or as changed by the County in the future. We could explore annexation to either the City of Sacramento or the City or Rancho Cordova, and become part of either of those communities. Or we could explore forming some kind of district that would have authority for both arranging desired services above those provided County-wide and for raising the revenues for paying for those enhanced services. Exploring any of these options would require considerable research into many factors such as our revenue base and potential, desired service levels, oversight structures and processes, and long term goals. It would not be a simple process, but other areas have done it.
In Conclusion
As noted before, the Rosemont community has choices facing it. We may decide that at this time, no action is more desirable. Or we may find other alternatives. Or we may want to begin exploring one or more alternatives. Whatever, it is up to the community. The intent of RCA is that we come together to inform ourselves as to our options; the pros, cons, and implications of any and all options; and ultimately decide as a community what we want. Regardless of the decision, the process of community deliberation should prove to be beneficial in bringing us together as a more desirable, engaged and vibrant community that cares about itself and the people in it.
