SPNA News

June 2023 Neighborhood News

Hello Friends and Neighbors!

     This spring has me reminiscing of what the season was like in my childhood; spending time outside even in the middle of the day without having to protect ourselves from heatstroke. The blossoms around the pond are lovely. But summer is right around the corner, and we have a bunch of events coming up, and the temperature is sure to go up, too. I kept putting off this newsletter until I had one more flyer, so bear with me through all these announcements and  attachments - there's a lot of cool stuff.

Friday, June 9, 10 am

Union Job Fair

Hosted by Councilmember Katie Valenzuela and the Sacramento Central Labor Council

Sunday, June 11, 11 am

Pride March 

begins at Southside Park and goes to the Capitol https://sacramentopride.org/pride-march/

Sunday, June 11, 2-5 pm

Pride Picnic

by Midtown Neighborhood Association

Saturday, June 17 9-11 am

Southside Park Cleanup

with SPNA and the City of Sacramento

Saturday, June 17, 10-12

Inclusive Playdate

with YPCE 

Wednesday, June 21, 7:57 am

Summer Solstice!

Saturday, June 24, 10 am

Brown Beret National Gathering

 https://www.facebook.com/events/763697758629290

Sunday, June 25, 11-2

Family Fun Picnic / Summer Social

by SPNA and Councilmember Katie Valenzeula (flyer attached)

     I am especially excited to share that our city (and state!) leaders have really worked to piece together the necessary funds to complete phase 1 of refinishing Southside Pool. It should be repaired and safe to open next summer! As we had encouraged you all to reach out with your concerns about the pool, I'd like to also ask that you share any appreciation you might have for their work in these efforts. Jackie Beecham, with the Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment, and our D4 Councilmember Katie Valenzuela really listened to us when we told them how important this amenity is for our neighborhoods and our families. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty was able to make a large contribution toward these efforts, also. The work continues, as we raise funds for phase 2, to bring our pool up to industry standard, and address the underlying issues that lead to closures like this.

     This month we are not having a general meeting, but a social gathering. As listed in the events, we are hosting a picnic by the playground with our city council member's office. We want to enjoy spending time with our friends and neighbors, enjoy our park, and kick off our fundraising efforts to continue to help the pool. Donations can be made through our 501c3 through the city, at https://www.giftstoshareinc.org click on the purple "donate now" button, then the purple "make a donation" button, and select "Help Southside Pool HSH" from the dropdown. If you'd prefer to donate via check, it can be mailed or given to us to deposit.

     Our next general meeting will be on July 10, 6:30-8:00 pm. We'll be in person (yay!) again, at the Southside Clubhouse. Because of the quality issues we had with the zoom portion of the last meeting, I'm unsure if we'll attempt to stream it again. Please let me know if you have any ideas for how to work with that. Here are the notes from that meeting, for those who were unable to attend, or could not hear through zoom. May 08 meeting notes

We hope to see you at the Park Cleanup, or our Picnic, or just around the neighborhood. Please reach out with any thoughts or questions.

Thanks,

Sarah Cox (She/Her)

SPNA Board President

April 2023 Neighborhood News

Hello, Friends and Neighbors,

     We had an exciting weekend with the Park Cleanup (next one is Saturday, May 13 9-11am), Earth Day Festival, and TV coverage about Southside Pool staying closed this summer. I'm including links to media coverage at the end of this email. There's still a lot more going on.

     I want to reiterate that the Southside Park Neighborhood Association does not want anyone to swim in an unsafe pool; we’re really looking forward to it being refinished. Our concerns are with the initial lack of communication from the city, and that there is not a definitive timeline or a secured budget for the project. 

     The Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment Department (SRecreation@cityofsacramento.org) is working with our City Council-member (kvalenzuela@cityofsacramento.org) to secure funding. We’re happy to support their efforts in any way we can. 

     We’re going to be in this long, hot summer together, and I’m interested to see the creative ways we get through it. Fingers crossed that we’ll get to enjoy the pool for the summer of 2024.

     I hope to see some of you at our next Social gathering at Fox and Goose at 1001 R Street, this Thursday, April 27, from 6-8 pm.

  The next Neighborhood Meeting (we switched to bi-monthly meetings at the beginning of this year) is Monday, May 8, 6:30-8:00 pm. I'm still looking for somewhere to meet in person; if you know anywhere who is able to host us, please let me know.

https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-neighbors-frustrated-southside-pool-closed-again-this-summer/43675904

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/money-trouble-maintenance-to-keep-southside-park-pool-closed-another-summer/

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article274631246.html

Thanks,

Sarah Cox (She/Her)

SPNA Board President

Southside Park Neighborhood Association

PO Box 1421

Sacramento, CA  95812

(916) 542-2518 (voice/fax)

southsidepark@gmail.com

Join SPNA via Paypal ($15/yr per person, $50 business)

SPNA Facebook

Nextdoor Southside Park Group

Please email southsidepark@gmail.com if you would like to be added or removed from our mailing list. 

April 2023 Neighborhood News

Hello, Friends and Neighbors,

     We had an exciting weekend with the Park Cleanup (next one is Saturday, May 13 9-11am), Earth Day Festival, and TV coverage about Southside Pool staying closed this summer. I'm including links to media coverage at the end of this email. There's still a lot more going on.

     I want to reiterate that the Southside Park Neighborhood Association does not want anyone to swim in an unsafe pool; we’re really looking forward to it being refinished. Our concerns are with the initial lack of communication from the city, and that there is not a definitive timeline or a secured budget for the project. 

     The Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment Department (SRecreation@cityofsacramento.org) is working with our City Council-member (kvalenzuela@cityofsacramento.org) to secure funding. We’re happy to support their efforts in any way we can. 

     We’re going to be in this long, hot summer together, and I’m interested to see the creative ways we get through it. Fingers crossed that we’ll get to enjoy the pool for the summer of 2024.

     I hope to see some of you at our next Social gathering at Fox and Goose at 1001 R Street, this Thursday, April 27, from 6-8 pm.

  The next Neighborhood Meeting (we switched to bi-monthly meetings at the beginning of this year) is Monday, May 8, 6:30-8:00 pm. I'm still looking for somewhere to meet in person; if you know anywhere who is able to host us, please let me know.

https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-neighbors-frustrated-southside-pool-closed-again-this-summer/43675904

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/money-trouble-maintenance-to-keep-southside-park-pool-closed-another-summer/

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article274631246.html

Thanks,

Sarah Cox (She/Her)

SPNA Board President

Southside Park Neighborhood Association

PO Box 1421

Sacramento, CA  95812

(916) 542-2518 (voice/fax)

southsidepark@gmail.com

Join SPNA via Paypal ($15/yr per person, $50 business)

SPNA Facebook

Nextdoor Southside Park Group

Please email southsidepark@gmail.com if you would like to be added or removed from our mailing list. 

March 2023 Neighborhood News

Hello Neighbors and Friends,

Happy Spring! 

Tomorrow, Saturday March 25, is our next Park Volunteer Day, from 9-11 am. We’ll have coffee and donuts, as always. The city has delivered mulch for the new trees and will bring wheelbarrows to move it around; don’t forget your gloves! If mulching isn’t an option for you, there’s always lighter cleanup that we need help with—or you’re welcome to just come say Hi! Hope to see you there!

I have attached the minutes from our last meeting, which was on March 13. The vote did pass to adjust our bylaws to have “regular” meetings, so we’ll be able to alternate meetings and social gatherings. Does anyone have an idea for where to meet in April, or does a particular night work best for you? Please let us know. 

The biggest news, I thought, from the last meeting, was finding out that the Southside Pool will not be opening this summer. We’re all very upset about it. Keep an ear out for different ways to keep cool this summer, or any fundraising that might happen. 

If you want to provide feedback to the city, about the pool or anything else, you can contact our councilmember:

Katie Valenzuela’s office for District 4 - 916-808-7004 kvalenzuela@cityofsacramento.org

YPCE - 916-808-5200 aquatics@cityofsacramento.org

311 - 311 is great for all city feedback and service requests!

On a lighter note, we’re looking forward to a new Asian Deli at 921 V St. Southside Super will be in the location that LoFi was in. Also, Bueno Cafe (4th and T) has sandwiches, now! Am I missing any other neighborhood news? Please let me know. 

Again, I’m attaching the meeting minutes, and some information from Sac PD. Have a great weekend. 

Thanks,

Sarah Cox (She/Her)

SPNA Board President

Meeting notes 

Crime report 

May 2022 Neighborhood News

Dear Neighbors,

We met via Zoom on May 9th. Below are the topics that were discussed. We hope to see you at the next meeting on June 13th at 6:30 and consider joining (paypal is accepted).

• 5th street conversion to a 2-way street should be underway by 2023.

• Pool opens June 17th - however the opening could be delayed if schools remain open later due to school missed during the teachers strike.

• Caltrans will begin moving homeless people off of their property starting week of May 9th.

• The Farmer’s Market is still planning to return once Caltrans work has been completed, no updated timeline.

• Southside Park Clubhouse has not reopened (unlike other centers) due to lack of staff. It has several teen events and camps planned.

SPNA IS ALSO WORKING ON...

Special Event Monitoring in our Park

With summer coming we are seeing lots of festivals and events in Southside Park. We continue to monitor these events for compliance with the rules the City expects of event organizers. We continue to see that rules meant to protect the park and the safety of people in the park are not being followed. Next we are working with our council member's office to see how things can be improved.

Park & Playground

A big success this past year has been the total revitalization of the playground at Southside Park, spearheaded by board member Marc Laver. The wheelchair accessible We-Go-Round installed last year has now been joined by a music making installation. Both are heavily used and we've seen a huge uptick in park visotors! The cushioned playground surfaces, which were getting pretty worn, have been replaced and look great. And the restrooms at the playground have been replaced and should be open soon.

Our neighborhood continues to host monthly park cleanups (see Facebook posting for details next one is in June) and watering tree events.

The tennis/pickleball courts are scheduled to get crack repairs and repainting in the near future-more details to come. An active pickleball community has been meeting 3 times a week (see playtimescheduler.com for times).

Building and Development in Southside Park

Sadly, we have lost Insight Coffee. As part of the new 72-unit apartment building (8th and T) part of the existing building has been demolished with 3 walls left standing. Last fall, the SPNA appealed the project because there will be very limited resident parking, but the City denied our appeal. We can expect to see parking become more of a problem for residents as well as Sunday church goers at the Presbytarian Church with the loss of the insight lot.

You may have noticed that the office building at 3rd and S has been torn down in preparation for a 5-story apartment building. The permit states 187 apartments are planned, with co/work space, also with limited parking. 

On S street east of Old Ironsides there are plans to tear down the complex of small buildings and build a 4-story apartment building with 23 units. 

Finally, 2 different developers are in the initial stages of planning a 8-story apartment building on the north side of S Street, between 4th and 5th Streets and between 9th and 10 Streets.

June 2022 Neighborhood News

Dear Neighbors,

SPNA met via Zoom on June 9th - Meeting minutes are attached. The following topics were discussed. We hope to see you at our next meeting August 8th at 6:30 and consider joining for $15/year to help support our initiatives (paypal accepted). If there are topics you want to hear about, please email us.

• Our next PARK CLEANUP is Saturday July 23rd, meet in the playground at 9:00am. Join us to help keep our park healthy. Photos below from the June cleanup where over a dozen people helped.

• Pool days July 17 and August 14th
  The pool opened June 17th and council member Valenzuela will be co-sponsoring two low-cost family days on July 17th and August 14th, the SPNA will be providing snacks and ice pops. Pool toys and fun for all!

• Our August meeting will be focused on updates to the 3 CalTrans projects near our community. All three project managers will join our meeting. Also, you may have noticed in mid-June CalTrans removed most of the unhoused people living under/near their projects. Please continue to use 311 to report (and document) ANY issues to the city. 

SPNA IS ALSO WORKING ON...

The Farmer’s Market is still planning to return once Caltrans work has been completed,

Southside Park Clubhouse has not reopened (unlike other centers) The SPNA continues to advocate to get our clubhouse open for events that were happening before the pandemic-they were Saturday Yoga, Children's story time, SPNA meetings, laptops and wifi for teens, etc.

Event Monitoring in our Park

Our board continues to monitor and advocate for the park when Special Events occur. We ask for your help as well, if you find anything at odds with respecting the park, please call, email or use the 311 app to report. Feel free to cc southsidepark@gmail.com and our councilmember Katie Valenzuela.

Monthly Park Cleanup Fall goals:

•  Replanting 4+ sakura trees (they were vandalized and cut down). 

•  Watering the new trees near the basketball court

•  Trash pickup

Park Improvements

The tennis/pickleball courts are scheduled to get crack repairs and repainting in the near future - one court will be restriped so that it can be used for tennis or set up as 4 pickleball courts when players bring pickleball nets. An active pickleball community has been meeting 3 times a week (see playtimescheduler.com for times). They are fundraising now

Building and Development in Southside Park

At June's meeting a presentation was made on a proposed 7-story apartment development on S Street between 4th and 5th Streets. Although this borders the Southside Historic District, the developers believe that the site is in the R Street Corridor zone and would meet the R Street zoning requirements.

The SPNA appreciates and supports the need for housing in our city and state but want developments to comply with zoning and historic district requirements. We continue to advocate for affordable housing, none of which has been included in any of the new buildings in our neighborhood.

Thank you everyone!

August 2022 Neighborhood News

CalTrans 

• At our August meeting, representatives updated us on the status of 3 active freeway projects around our neighborhood. 

• They hope to have the Farmers Market return this fall. The (temporary) Arden Arcade market has been so successful that a second market may be located there (in addition to the 6th / W street location.)

Sacramento Police 

• Lieutenant Jason Start and Captain Ethan Hanson were present and heard our concerns. 

• Graffiti in the park: most is created by a very small number of people. An officer is specifically trained to address it, they often know the style of people and can identify who is responsible. Residents are encouraged to use 311 to report any instances of graffiti - this helps the department track activity.

The Southside Pool closed two weeks early for fiberglass repairs.

Proposed Building Developments

• In August SPNA submitted a letter to the Associate Planner in opposition to the excessive height of the 7-story apartment building at 905 S Street. His response stated that since the project is located outside of the Southside Historic District. Because of this, the project is subject to policies and regulations from the Central City Specific Plan and Central City Urban Design Guidelines, but not the Southside Historic District Plan.

• Also, we are in the process of engaging with the developer of another 7-story apartment building on the 900 block of S Street. We will be asking about the project height.

Southside Park Updates

• The playground concrete was repainted (as well as the relief words around the edge). Sherwin Williams provided paint and volunteers painted.

• The tennis/pickleball court cracks were patched and repainted - the east court will be restriped for 4 pickleball courts (players bring pickleball nets). Pickleball players meet Tues, Thurs 5-8 and Sun 9-11 (see playtimescheduler.com for times).

• The permanent waste bin installations have been pushed back to October.

• We continue to document parks special events (and share with the Special Events Department) to identify organizer non-compliance of event rules.

Neighborhood Social

• As part of our support of local businesses neighbors gathered at Buffalo Pizza on Saturday, August 27th. Very good pizza! Check them out! Actually, 2 businesses share space at the corner of 10th and U Streets. Doughbot Donuts is open mornings and Buffalo Pizza is open afternoons/evenings.

About SPNA

SPNA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the community of Southside Park in Sacramento, California, USA; to enhancing the livability of the area by establishing and maintaining open lines of communication with various government agencies and other neighborhoods, to acting as the liaison for the neighborhood with various agencies and associations, and to providing an open process by which all members of the neighborhood may involve themselves in the affairs of the neighborhood.

September/October 2022 Neighborhood News

Special Events in Southside Park

• Looking back, we had a large number of city sponsored special events in the park this summer. Unfortunately, members of the SPNA board documented an ongoing pattern of event organizers failing to follow rules established by the City to protect the park and people in the park during event setup and takedown. The most egregious violations were seen during the Crawfish and Catfish Festival on Sept 10-11. We continue to work with the City to come up with solutions for ensuring that event organizers follow the rules.

Development Proposals

• There have been some development proposals on S Street that are concerning. Developers are proposing large apartment buildings on the blocks between 5th and 6th Streets, and between 9th and 10th Streets. Both proposed developments are 7 story buildings which will loom over the houses on South side of S street. Because the City actively discourages developers from providing adequate parking it is likely that these developments will greatly impact parking in the adjacent Southside Park Historic District. 

• At our October Neighborhood Association we had representatives from the City Planning Department to discuss the proposed developments and to give us an opportunity for us to ask about the criteria they use in judging projects within the neighborhood, especially projects within or immediately adjacent to the Historic District.

• Sean de Courcy, Preservation Director, Community Development Department, and Karlo Feliz, Central City Planning Applications, represented the Planning Department. They explained some of the considerations in approving new developments, including conformity with the city wide general plans, “specific district” and historic plans (Southside Park is in the Central City district). There are different guidelines for areas that are in historic districts. 

• District Specific standards are guidelines to assure adherence to general principals. Variances can be granted if the project still supports the general principals.

• The general plan calls for increased density; historic and residential areas can have less density

• Of variances requested within historic boundaries, only 2 projects have been granted; the Ironsides Project (1008 S St, exceeds the 45ft height guideline) and the Kind Project (1901 8th St, does not meet parking guidelines). 

Park Capital Improvements

• Approximately $5,000 is available for capital improvements from the impact fees associated with park special events. This money must be spent by June 2023 or it returns to the general budget. The park committee sent a list of projects, and met with Shawn Aylesworth, Parks Maintenance Manager, to discuss their feasibility. Among the list items were, adding picnic tables on empty cement pads was discussed, however those pads are not adequate for the weight of the tables, so that may be a more expensive project. The priority may be blocking the driveways into the park from 6th and 8th streets, to decrease the damage caused by people driving in the park. 

Park Cleanups

• Next Park Cleanups are Nov 26 and Dec 17, from 9-11AM. Volunteers are always needed, we meet near the Children’s Playground.

Clubhouse News

• Senior Social Hours are being scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9am. Storytime for kids will be starting, although we don’t have that schedule info yet.

Upcoming Meetings

• Our next meeting will be the second Monday in November, November 14th, 6:30pm, at the same Zoom address. There will not be a meeting in December, and then in January we will be nominating/electing new board members for the next year. We always welcome new board members! You can self nominate. Please speak to a board member or email your interest to southsidepark@email.com

About SPNA

SPNA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the community of Southside Park in Sacramento, California, USA; to enhancing the livability of the area by establishing and maintaining open lines of communication with various government agencies and other neighborhoods, to acting as the liaison for the neighborhood with various agencies and associations, and to providing an open process by which all members of the neighborhood may involve themselves in the affairs of the neighborhood.