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Traffic! Pollution! Noise! Where are we headed?
I have been watching the population of the Sacramento area climb dramatically over the past 6 years. I live in Rocklin and wondered how the projected population growth would be affecting my life and standard of living, so I did some research which follows.
According to SACOG ( The Sacramento Area Council of Governments) and the City of Rocklin, the projected population for Rocklin in 2035 is 75,714. With an area of 19.9 square miles, this projects a population density of 3804 per square mile. This is a higher population density than the current population densities of Atlanta(3690), Denver(3642), Dallas(3492), Columbus OH(3384), Houston(3333), and Phoenix(2749).
We aren't going to get to 75,000 right away, but the City projects 67,695 by 2013 (its currently 53,843) which is a density of 3401. The 20,000 population increase will bring with it about 15,000 vehicles domiciled in Rocklin. Just think what those cars will do to traffic, noise, pollution, and then think of the thousands and thousands of cars resulting from the growth of Roseville(+90,000), Lincoln(+75,000), and the huge development area just west of us straddling the proposed Placer Parkway(+150,000). I feel sorry for poor little Loomis as their larger neighbors inundate them with traffic.
Life will get interesting. The quality of life may/will deteriorate. Rocklin has BIG plans which will affect us all, and having recently attended the Rocklin General Plan Scoping Meeting, I don’t see much improvement in mass transit in the near future. We’ll still be joined at the hip to cars, roads, and traffic, only there will be a lot more of them.
Does Rocklin need a change in leadership?? You tell me.
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Diapera,
The reason that Rocklin is growing (or at least, was growing a year or two ago) is that the cost of living in Placer County is dramatically lower than San Jose, the Bay Area, LA, San Diego and even Sacramento.
Many baby-boomers are retiring and looking for a more cost-effective place to live. In addition, many of them were selling homes in much higher value areas, so they had cash to burn and saw the great buys and jumped on them without being too firm in their negotiation.
Rocklin has extremely poor soil and was lousy for agriculture, but well located near 80 and the Sierra recreation areas. Therefore, it was perfect for development of retirement communities.
With all the new retirees, and the homes, shopping, and services they require, came jobs which opened up more demand for homes.
This is called progress. If you don't like it, move to somewhere in the middle of Nevada and you will have a few decades before it gets to you. If you can accept it and want to make sure it happens in the proper way, get involved, but realize that without progress Rocklin will become more like North Highlands or Del Paso Heights.
So progress means we have to end up looking like Orange County? Does progress always have to be measured by an ever increasing population and all the problems associated with it.? Could Rocklin not survive with 70,000 residents, or 65,000? Couldn't the powers that be try to limit the City's maximum population. They keep talking about providing more "services", but some of that "more" comes because of the need created by the increased population. Won't we have enough shopping and jobs created by our ever growing neighbors, as well as all the empty commercial building in Rocklin when they fill up?
There is growth, and then there is "smart" growth, and I think we are getting beyond "smart" growth.
I
Unless one is willing to do something about overpopulation...... The impacts from people are the worst environmental disaster to the enviroment.
Funny thing about projections, the real world doesn't pay much attention to the people who make them.
Using SACOG figures from their web page as you must have done, Rocklin grew from 46,252 on 1/1/03 to 53,843 on 1/1/08. That is a total of 7,591 in those 5 years or an average of 1,518 each year. Using that average to project population growth between 1/1/08 and 1/1/13 would mean Rocklin would grow to 61,434 by 1/1/08, but we all know that the economy and the housing mess has slowed housing to almost a standstill and it doesn't look like it is going to end anytime soon, so it would make sense to think the growth will be smaller.
It is easy to conjure up a scary future with inflated numbers. That has been going on in Roseville, Rocklin, and Lincoln for years. Usually the last people to arrive are the loudest in crying "STOP" We all know growth will occur, you and your neighbors and all your cars wouldn't be living here if it didn't.
By the way, doesn't higher density help make transit work better?
georgedr . I agree that the population numbers may, over the short term, vary with the economic the situation but these numbers ( and I got similar numbers from the City ) are what they make their planning decisions on.The actual numbers may be delayed for a time, but they are what the City is planning on and I believe most of the zoning for the parcels is already in place.
You last comment about the last people yell STOP loudest is probably correct. Whe Rocklin had a population of 20,000 or 30,000 or 50,000 there was really no reason to yell STOP. There was plenty of undeveloped space and the traffic, pollution, noise problems were not major probelms. At a certain point, population, traffic, noise, etc. reach a critical mass point and need to be better controlled if the quality of life in Rocklin is to be maintained. Knowing that Rocklin's quality of life will be affected by Roseville, Lincoln, etc., make ir even more inportant to do all possible to compensate for these intrusions.
The City has never seen a development it didn't like, and has rarelymade a decision to reduce the numbers approved, even if a reduction would be better for the community. I know the City will throw Clover Valley at us as a better project, but the better plan was approved only because of the pressure applied by the public that forced the City and developer to make very necessary changes. There is nothing in the City Charter that say the Council has to ensure the developer maxes out his profit potential.
I sat through a hearing last week where the City just couldn't seem to ask the developer to reduce his plans by a few homes, out of 1400, to save a group of oaks trees .
What is to prevent a future City Council , when the population reaches 75,000, from deciding they could build some high rises to generate a larger tax base to provide additional services they wouldn't need if the population stabilzed. For some reason, everybody thinks "progress" is defined as more/bigger is better, even if it adversely affects the current resident's quality of life.
Rational thinker...are you a city development council member or Buzz Oates in a dress? The old "build it, dam it" mentality is really wearing thin. Come on...you had a really good run before the voters finally started catching on. I came here in '87 hoping for a medium town with medium and smart sprawl. (Stop calling it "growth". Cancer is a growth.) They talk of "achieving" build-out...like it comes with a trophy. Then they keep annexing more land putting the "achievement" further and further away. This cycle never has to end, I guess. I KNOW you don't care about the mess being made or the noise because it is lessened by the comforting sound of cha-ching, cha-ching. Let me guess...you came from Florida or Canada. Or you are local (Orange county Ca.) So your grandchildren will never have to endure this pig-sty ten or twenty years from now.
Rational thinker...are you a city development council member or Buzz Oates in a dress? The old "build it, dam it" mentality is really wearing thin. Come on...you had a really good run before the voters finally started catching on. I came here in '87 hoping for a medium town with medium and smart sprawl. (Stop calling it "growth". Cancer is a growth.) They talk of "achieving" build-out...like it comes with a trophy. Then they keep annexing more land putting the "achievement" further and further away. This cycle never has to end, I guess. I KNOW you don't care about the mess being made or the noise because it is lessened by the comforting sound of cha-ching, cha-ching. Let me guess...you came from Florida or Canada. Or you are local (Orange county Ca.) So your grandchildren will never have to endure this pig-sty ten or twenty years from now.