We have often written about our community lacking "the vision thing".  Arden Arcade's community plan, the blueprint for our "future", was issued in 1980. And, of course, it was based on needs and concepts of the 1970s. A few things have changed since that plan was adopted, right? Unfortunately, the only update to the plan happened in 2006 and that update was a fake out - it just contained some happy talk about the community being important and promised to give local citizens a say-so in land use decisions. No steps were ever taken to implement the promised empowerment, as there was never any sincerity to the happy talk statements in the text. The County continued to dismiss our community as irrelevant when some local folks had the audacity to propose local control via Measure D in 2010. The Measure went down in flames as a result. Bottom line: the 1980 plan is all we have and it's pretty much worthless. That's what we mean when we harp about the lack of vision for Arden Arcade.

Rancho Cordova used to have a similar problem. Before it became a city the County gave developers carte blanche there and then let looked away and the place deteriorate. By now that's ancient history. The City of Rancho Cordova has been clearly been successful since it incorporated 22 years ago. It is a rapidly-growing city that has won awards for smart planning and high-quality growth. The City's website has characterized Rancho Cordova as an emerging urban center with a small-town feel. Yet, while the city has done a good job transforming itself into a safe and desirable place, it still lacks a true downtown. In a way, the small-town  concept has relegated Rancho Cordova to being just another part of the region's backwater, a minor player in the grand scheme of things. That may be about to change, though.

The City of Rancho Cordova has long wanted to redefine itself and to build on its amenity-based reputation. It was no surprise, then, when earlier this week the City of Rancho Cordova City Council approved a large development intended to put Rancho Cordova on the map as a significant regional center. The City Council gave the nod to "Downtown Dova", a mixed-use, high-rise, sports-anchored entertainment district. The project is a $1 billion investment for 150,000 square feet of retail space and mixed-use residences on some 28 acres. It will include a $175 million sports and entertainment arena expected to be ready in 2027. The arena, a tourism draw, will host high school, college and professional sports (a major league arena soccer team has been announced), concerts, and community events. Downtown Dova is anticipated to bring in $4.5 billion in economic growth over 12 years, involving 37,000 new jobs. This is a very big deal for the region, one the developer intends as a second urbanized downtown city center, with buildings as tall as 18 stories. That's a model similar to San Diego, which has both downtown San Diego and University City. The City of Rancho Cordova is very enthusiastic about the project and the developer appears to be highly motivated to get it done. 

Having said all that, now consider our grossly underwhelming Country Club Center - with its Amazon Fresh ghost store and its otherwise defunct retail mall - and Country Club Plaza, the underperforming mall that is falling apart across Watt from Country Club Center. Together they amount to some  50 acres of valuable real estate going to rot  at Watt and El Camino. Then add in the large commercial property across from Country Club Plaza - it used to have vibrant stores (Sam's, Tower Books, Tower Records), but it still has a large bowling alley that's a significant piece of mid-century architecture. Suppose for a moment that the County is out of the picture, having been replaced by a new city driven to restore the community's quality of life, vibrant local economy, public safety and property values. Yes, we know that's a bit of a stretch, but let your mind wander a bit. OK? What would REAL community leaders do about so much valuable commercial land? What if they actually HAD a vision , one that went way, way beyond chicken sandwiches? What if they could dream big, like Rancho Cordova? How would you feel about that? 

Now bring it back to reality: changes like that require forming a new city. There are people out there who will fight tooth and nail so you cannot have nice things. But there are plenty more of you who want nice things than there are people who want to prevent you from having local control. Forming a new city is possible, but people (you) have to want to make it so. Where do you stand on that?