The NEWS index
Some items from The Rio Linda Elverta News, January 19, 2006:
When West is not West
Community services are expanded in North County
Elverta Specific Plan DEIR now available for comment
Published in Rio Linda Elverta News January 19, 2006 - Scroll for other articles
When West is not WestRio Linda/Elverta addresses
by Jay O'Brien
A concerned resident emailed Sacramento County's Department of Transportation (DOT) asking that West Elverta Road be identified as "West Elverta Road" on street signs, rather than "Elverta Road" as now shown on the signs. Sounds simple? Not according to DOT. Read on.
DOT's Civil Engineer Steve Stosich replied. He didn't answer just for Elverta Road, he added other streets to the discussion. In bold print that leaps off the page, he said, "First of all, there is no West Elverta Road---just Elverta Road." Continuing, now in regular non-bold print, "There is no West Delano Street nor East U Street nor West U Street."
For those not familiar with Rio Linda Elverta, address numbers on east-west streets increase with travel to the east; except "West" addresses increase with travel to the west. Adding to the confusion are our north-south streets with "W" or "West" in the name of the street, such as W. 2nd, W. 4th, and W. 6th Streets that are not part of this discussion.
Stosich next adds fuel to the fire, by attempting to explain the address numbers, "Because the county's address numbering grid for east and west runs through Rio Linda Boulevard, the numbers east of Rio Linda Boulevard are numbered 100 E, 200 E, 300 E, etc. The same holds true for west of Rio Linda and 100 W, 200 W, 300 W, etc. The letters 'E' and 'W' do not stand for East or West 'Street'."
Now in bold print again for emphasis, Stosich says, "They are part of the address NUMBER, not the street NAME." He concludes, in non-bold print, "The E and W letters that residents are encouraged to use simply make it easier for the post office, deliveries, fire dept., etc to determine which side of Rio Linda Boulevard to go to."
Fortunately the Fire District, Postal Service, and delivery trucks know where to go without using Stosich's directions.
Stosich is almost correct about the location where W Elverta Road addresses start. He says the W Elverta Road addresses start at Rio Linda Blvd. The "W" addresses actually start at Eloise Avenue, which intersects with Elverta Road a few feet west of Rio Linda Blvd. The actual point where "West" addresses start on the east-west streets is generally on a line continuing south from Eloise Avenue, half way between Second and West Second Streets, ending at Ascot Avenue.
Going south on Rio Linda Blvd, the line of demarcation where "West" addresses start is not at Rio Linda Blvd at all; it is actually 0.375 miles west of Rio Linda Blvd between U St. and Ascot Avenue. For example, the County Assessor's map shows 23 addresses on Q Street between Rio Linda Blvd. and where the "W Q St." addresses actually start.
Stosich may wish to speak to the Sacramento County Assessor, as it appears the Assessor's on-line maps follow a different drummer. The assessors maps show a clear difference between W Elverta Road and Elverta Road; likewise Delano St., U St., M St., Elkhorn Blvd., Withington Ave., Monticello Ave., and many others. The assessor's maps clearly show the "W" as part of the street name, not as part of the property addresses.
Go to this article, published January 19, 2006, on line at http://rlenews.com for a link to the assessors web page. (You are here! - see below)
Perhaps Stosich could have some "West Elverta Road" signs made as requested, or perhaps he should convince the Assessor to "correct" his maps and records. Shouldn't County officials agree on something as basic and simple as the name of a street?
Even long-time DOT engineers can make mistakes; however, it was the arrogance of the bold type in the DOT response email that reminded this writer again of our reasons to incorporate to gain control of our community. Our civil servants should be working with us to make things the way we want them to be, rather than contemptuously "laying down the law", imposing their views upon us. The signs can be changed; why not work with us to find the way to get it done?
Sacramento County Assessor's Parcel lookup and map is designed to work using Microsoft Internet Explorer as a browser. After you go to the web page, wait for the "loading" window to close. To demonstrate the "west" and "east" issue, type "W Q" (that's a W, a space, and a Q, without the quote marks) into the Address Search "Street Name" box and click on submit. You will then see the 19 addresses in the assessors database on "W Q" Street. Now click on the first parcel ID to see the map of that property, and to observe the name of the street (W Q ST). Scroll to the bottom of the right column to click on "Start new search". Now type in only the letter "Q" into the "Street Name" box to see the 1967 addresses that are on Q Street. Note these are not identified as "E Q" addresses.
Click here for the Sacramento County Assessor's parcel lookup and maps.
Published in Rio Linda Elverta News January 19, 2006 - Scroll for other articles
Community services are
expanded in North CountyThousands served during County Service Center's first year
submitted by Craig Moyle
Building permit assistance at the Sacramento County Community Service Center has taken a step closer to one-stop shopping with the addition of fire inspection and environmental permitting services.
The services were added to the roster of Community Service Center products through a partnership with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District and the Business Environmental Resource Center (BERC). The partnership is expected to build on the Center’s successful first year; through December 2005 more than 4,000 people visited the 6015 Watt Ave., Suite 105, North Highlands facility.
“These additional services provide a more broad-based, one-stop service,” said Service Center Manager and North County Service Area Manager Mark Manoff. “It’s in response to what residents and businesses want – more convenient access to government services.”
“Decentralization of our fire inspection services is something we’ve been working on in an effort to give our customers what they’re looking for – a fire inspector in their neighborhood,” added Deputy Fire Marshal Mike Stewart.
The Sacramento County Community Service Center was launched January 2005 by the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) as part of a County effort to decentralize many of its most popular services away from downtown Sacramento and place them closer to the communities it serves. Center services include transportation, building permits, business license services, planning, code compliance and a drop-off box for County utility payments. Up to three additional Centers are planned.
Fire Inspectors Curtis Banks and Andy Reiwitch will be available for plan review and building permits 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays, respectively. The inspection services began in early January. On-site inspections will be provided prior to or after their Service Center office hours, Stewart said.
The partnership extends to three the number of fire inspection offices in Sacramento County. Others include Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Prevention headquarters, 3012 Gold Canal Drive, Rancho Cordova, and the County of Sacramento Bradshaw Center, 4101 Branch Center Rd., Sacramento, Stewart said.
Environmental compliance and permitting consultation services by BERC is provided by appointment from noon to 4 p.m. Fridays, BERC Manager Ron White said.
In the 12 months ending in December, the Service Center has logged 4,046 visits and 2,074 phone calls from business and residential customers. The Center has collected $920,991 in fees for such things as building permits, building inspection and business licenses.
Building inspection is the most utilized resource at the center, accounting for 71 percent of all visits. Plan review is the next most popular at 10 percent of visits. Just 17 customers in 2005 were unable to have their needs fulfilled at the service center, Manoff said.
“2005 exceeded everyone’s expectations,” DNS Director Victor Morrison-Vega said. “We more than just quadrupled our original goal for fee collection – we have established a valued resource for the region.”
The Center is open to all County residents and businesses, but is centrally located to meet the needs of the communities Antelope, Foothill Farms, Natomas, North Highlands and Rio Linda/Elverta. The five-most served communities at the Center, in order, are North Highlands (19.2 percent), Rio Linda (11.6 percent), Carmichael (9.5 percent), Antelope (8.3 percent), and Foothill Farms (6.6 percent).
For more information about the Service Center, visit www.dns.saccounty.net.
Or contact Manoff at 916-874-5381 or email, manoffm@saccounty.net.Media inquiries should be directed to Craig Moyle at 916-875-4571 or moylec@saccounty.net.
The Department of Neighborhood Services is a department of the Municipal Services Agency, a customer service organization of the County of Sacramento to provide innovative, efficient and effective residential, business and environmental services to the region’s neighborhoods and communities and to engage residents in the decisions affecting their neighborhoods. Through its customer service model, the 11 departments that comprise the Municipal Services Agency are dedicated to protect, preserve and enhance the quality of life in our neighborhoods, business centers, recreation venues and wildlife corridors.
Municipal Services Agency: Keeping your community clean, safe and beautiful for today and tomorrow.
Published in Rio Linda Elverta News January 19, 2006 - Scroll for other articles
Elverta Specific Plan
DEIR now available for commentby Jay O'Brien
Chamber President Judy Garcia announced January 17, 2006, at the Chamber of Commerce meeting, that the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Elverta Specific Plan has been issued.
Comments are due by February 22, 2006.
This is a link to the Notice of availability of the DEIR: http://www.dera.saccounty.net/Docs/PublicNotices/Notices/990351NOARevised%20DEIR.pdf
The actual DEIR is available at this link. Volume 1 is 761 pages; Volume 2 is 931 pages.
http://www.dera.saccounty.net/99-0351%20Elverta/99-0351%20Elverta.htm