WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Some things, including the Washington district, get better with time.

Economic Development and Housing director Traci Michel details how the Washington District Development Project, in the notably older section of West Sacramento, is key to overall city growth.

“The Washington District is one of the oldest and culturally rich neighborhoods in West Sacramento,” Michael said. “With its prime location along the river, adjacent to the Bridge District and Downtown Sacramento, the Washington District presents a major opportunity to create a vibrant, eclectic, and connected riverfront transit-oriented development (TOD) district.”

The Washington Realized Sustainable Community Strategy, “Washington Realized,” approved in 2015, lays the groundwork by identifying solutions to infrastructure deficiencies, defining transportation system improvements, and isolating impediments to progress.

In 2016, the city’s 2035 General Plan was approved, serving “as the foundation for this effort by guiding how the city, including the Washington District, should be developed over time,” Michael said.

The Washington Specific Plan is a comprehensive update to the 1996 Specific Plan while identifying the long-term vision and strategy for redeveloping the Washington District. Michael said it also provides recommendations for refining district focus and is the foundational support underpinning this specific plan update.

“Based on these recommendations, the city, in 2017, embarked on a multimillion-dollar effort to improve infrastructure throughout the Washington District,” Michael said. “These include improvements to sewer, water, storm drain systems, and pedestrian, bicycle, and streetscape amenities.”

Additionally, the updated plan reflects and incorporates much of what the city completed for the Washington Realized effort, according to Michael, noting that it also offers a more detailed land use and urban design framework, historic architectural standards, and parking needs. 

Even a city has dreams according to economic development and housing director, who said West Sacramento has long desired to transform the riverfront into a hub and destination filled with opportunities to shop, dine, work, live, and play in a compact, mixed-use environment.

“The Washington District is one of only a few neighborhoods in the region with the potential to do so,” Michael said.

There are so many ways to preserve property, including Infill development, which creates less impact on city infrastructure and the environment while “helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve regional air quality,” according to Michael.

“By reducing the distance people need to travel for work and other activities, reduces the conversion of agricultural land and open space for new development, and it reduces the cost to build and maintain expensive infrastructure as the majority of infrastructure in infill areas is already in place,” Michael said.

Getting to and beyond West Sacramento’s Washington District is key, according to Michael, who said that as a transit-oriented development community, the region includes an urban design framework for streets and land uses that positions employment, homes, amenities, and services closer together to reduce driving and increase transit, bicycle and pedestrian travel.

“The result is a community that is connected, walkable, served by transit, within or adjacent to an urban core with large jobs centers, and offers easy access to retail, recreational, and cultural amenities,” Micheal said.