Vacaville's Opportunity Hill plan for review

Opportunity Hill plan for review
By Jennifer Gentile, The Reporter
Article Launched: 03/16/2008 07:45:05 AM PDT

A master plan, which was prepared to guide development of Vacaville's Opportunity Hill area, is completed and ready for review by the Planning Commission.

The commission may approve the plan at a meeting Tuesday night, and its vote acts as a recommendation to the City Council. In June, the Council approved a contract with EDAW, Inc., a planning and design firm, to draft an Opportunity Hill master plan.

The city started buying property in the East Main and Bush Street areas at least five or six years ago - envisioning a mixed-use extension of downtown. To date, it has acquired about five acres in what commonly is known as the Opportunity Hill area.

EDAW has spent several months gathering ideas through meetings with the public, the Downtown Business Improvement District, and developers. The finished plan has several goals, according to city staff, like providing affordable housing, improving signage, and improving linkages and connections.

"The completed master plan and design guidelines sets the vision for the revitalization of the East Main Street and Bush Street areas in a manner that builds on the plans, traditions and collective energy that have boosted the downtown's vitality,"

Housing and Redevelopment Director Cyndi Johnston added, "The plan itself has design guidelines that actually complement what exists in downtown already. It provides guidance on streetscape, lighting - all of those things."

The plan's land-use recommendations include specialty retail, office, housing, entertainment, restaurant, and heritage tourism. The residential component includes live/work units and affordable housing, according to staff.

The plan calls for high-density residential, or up to 65 units per acre, "on East Main/Wilson/Catherine/Mas-on street sites, with the ground floor commer-

cial/ retail along Main Street ..." staff's report explained. Meanwhile, "The Bush Street/McClellan Street sites are envisioned as

high-density residential, with ground-floor commercial/retail uses facing McClellan Street and an office use at Mason/Wilson streets."

Last month, City Council agreed to exclusive negotiations with local businessman Greg Banks, who wants to build an office building at the intersection of Mason and Wilson Streets.

According to Johnston, the city has no developer in mind for the remainder of the project. Staff said some changes would have to be made to city code to implement the master plan, such as an amendment to allow a greater residential density.

Overall, Johnston said, "We're very happy with (the plan). We think it's in keeping with what the community expressed."

The planning commission meets at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall.