The Dollar General project which will replace the Archway Frosty/Granite’s building on the southwest corner of Rio Linda Blvd. and M Street will go before the Rio Linda Elverta Community Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC) on Wednesday June 26th, 7pm at the Community Center.
The agenda says that this is an “early workshop” to “Solicit preliminary comments and suggestions from the community.”
The agenda also states that “No formal application has been filed…”. This is a curious statement because I see four application documents filed in January on the County’s Planning Project Viewer.
When this project was first announced nine months ago in October, it was a done deal. Dollar General had all the entitlements they needed from the county to start moving dirt, before ever having to come before the community advisory committee. The project got held up when DG decided they didn’t want to comply with the Downtown Rio Linda Special Planning Area requirements.
The Downtown Rio Linda SPA was enacted in November of 2015, not even four years ago. The document is intended to “guide the revitalization of Downtown Rio Linda according to the community’s vision of establishing an attractive and vibrant Downtown main street environment that draws people, activities, and commerce while maintaining the community’s historic small town charm.”
Section 3.2.2 of the SPA Design Guidelines states that “Building entrances should generally be oriented towards M Street and other primary streets to create a visually appealing and inviting pedestrian atmosphere.” and “Primary building entrances should overlook streets, plazas, or courtyards”
The initial design DG brought to the county was dated August 2nd 2018, and featured a large back wall facing M Street west of RLB. The front door was on the southeast corner of the building, facing Rio Linda Blvd. This plan was filed with the County on October 1st 2018. By December 21st, it had been withdrawn.
For reasons unknown, on April 29th, DG went back to the original plan, with the front door facing Rio Linda Blvd. and the parking lot to the south of the building.
The new project description worksheet filed on June 4th clearly shows that the developer is asking for a variance/deviation from the Rio Linda Downtown Special Planning Area requirements.
If Dollar General wants to build here they should be held to the requirements of the codes enacted just 3 1/2 years ago, and place the entrance of the building at the corner of M Street and Rio Linda Blvd. right underneath and facing the arch.
This is exactly why the SPA document was created. There should be no variance. If they don’t want to build to code, and don’t want to build with the intent of being a good community member and embracing the walkable downtown concept which WE decided we want to see in our downtown district, they should look elsewhere.
“Building entrances should generally be oriented towards M Street and other primary streets to create a visually appealing and inviting pedestrian atmosphere.”
Downtown Rio Linda Special Planning Area section 3.2.2
Dollar General offers a wide range of everyday items at low costs. Based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., and founded in 1939, Dollar General offers food, housewares, seasonal items, cleaning supplies, basic apparel and health/beauty products. Dollar General operates more than 11,000 stores, the majority of which are located in small towns.
