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frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How to submit a question.

This area is intended to answer questions of common interest concerning West Sacramento growth issues. To submit a question, go to the contact page and submit your question. You can also contact me by telephone at 371-0661.

Mark Johannessen


Why do we need more houses in West Sac?		posted: November 21, 2005

Q. It isn't clear why some people are supporting high density housing and development. It seems that it will only add to the infrastructure problems in the city, including traffic. Why don't the developers scale back their plans to build high rise office/residential buildings. What are the reasons the City Council supports this strategy? A. The City is going through a transformation now. The big questions are what is it becoming and what do we want it to become. On one hand, our residents want amenities such as retail shopping, a downtown and others so they don’t have to go to Sacramento for those things. On the other hand, they do not want to deal with increased densities and the problems that those densities bring, such as increase traffic. The dilemma is that in order for retail and other customer-driven development to occur, there needs to be a certain amount of people to support the services those developments offer, whether those people live in West Sacramento or work here. If all residential development is stopped, it is doubtful that the retail West Sacramento wants within its borders will happen. And if the retail doesn’t come, we will continue to rely on Sacramento for those amenities leaving West Sacramento as little more than a bedroom community of Sacramento. There is a balancing act here - you need a certain amount of density to support the retail and other amenities, yet too much density will decrease the quality of life for West Sacramento residents.

How are city priorities developed?		posted: October 4, 2005

Q. How are priorities developed in regard to new infrastructure vs. maintenance or growth of old, such as potable water, drainage, sewage and or traffic control or roads and sidewalks? A. In short, policy decisions (including setting fiscal priorities) are the realm of City Council. The implementation of those policy decisions is the realm of City staff. In most cases City staff, who generally have a better handle on detailed infrastructure needs of the City, will prepare an analysis of what is needed (such as the items mentioned), determine cost estimates, and make recommendations to the City Council. The City Council can then either accept those recommendations without change, propose modifications to the recommendations, or come up with their own recommendations (that may need further refinement by the City staff for presentation to the Council at a later date). An example of a decision that would be addressed by the City Council would be “do we want taxpayer money spent on new infrastructure or do we want to spend that money repairing and/or replacing existing infrastructure?”.

City contact for growth issues		posted: September 27, 2005

Q. Who is the City staff person designated to take telephone calls and answer questions on growth issues? A. Steve Patek, Director of the Community Development Department, telephone 617-4645, email: STEVEP@cityofwestsacramento.org