Builder - February 2009 - (Page 26) INSIDE STORY Grupe also did “a lot of outreach” with a local group known as Campaign for Common Ground, which until that point “had never supported a local project,” says Hart. This group has adopted smart-growth guidelines known as the Ahwahnee Principles, developed by forward-thinking architects in the early 1990s (see “Back to the Future,” right)—which Grupe agreed to where they are practical. Sanctuary will also be green: Its commercial construction will be built to LEED Silver standards, and its residential to Build It Green standards. Grupe plans to offer 20 home styles at Sanctuary, and Hart is confident that market conditions will turn by the time building begins. As for external factors out of Grupe’s control, he says Stockton “has done a good job staying ahead of development” by securing water rights.—J.C. Back to the Future Legislation gives new life to a smart-growth blueprint. T WALKABLE LIVING Sanctuary will spread over 1,728 acres of developable land that will include*: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 1,206 acres for single-family homes 67 acres for multifamily homes 30 acres for mixed-use construction 25 acres for 500,000 square feet of office space ▪ 10 acres for 200,000 square feet of retail space ▪ 111 acres for a levee walk (not included in the total acreage) ▪ 19 acres for various facilities including a yacht club, a winery, and a $1.5 million firehouse, which the developer must also equip and man ▪ 86 acres for schools ▪ 10 acres for churches ▪ 194 acres for parks and open space ▪ 96 acres for lakes ▪ 50 acres for roads and parkways ▪ 113 acres for greenery along roads JUGGLINGA CT: To get Sanctuary approved, The Grupe Co. had to meet the city of Stockton’s expectations about its economic impact and assuage an anti-sprawl group’s questions about the development’s environmental impact. Sources: City of Stockton; The Grupe Co. *Some uses overlap on the same acreage his spring, the nonprofit Local Government Commission (LGC), working with California’s Office of Planning and Research, will conduct workshops to help city planners comply with anti-sprawl legislation aimed at reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Sacramento-based LGC had a hand in crafting AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which establishes statewide emissions caps by 2020, regulations for which must be in place by January 2011. SB 375, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed last September, requires metros to include sustainable communities strategies in their regional transportation plans to lower emissions to AB 32 benchmarks. “I don’t see how municipalities can meet these standards,” says LGC’s executive director Judy Corbett, without subscribing to guidelines laid out in the Commission’s Ahwahnee Principles, which have served as the foundation for smart-growth initiatives in California and other states since a group of high-profile architects drew them up in the early 1990s. Corbett says many California cities have incorporated the principles into their general plans. The problem is that building codes often don’t keep pace. That’s why Corbett was pleasantly surprised by last September’s settlement between the city of Stockton, the state’s Attorney General’s office, and the Sierra Club, in which Stockton agreed to allow more public involvement in the development of greenhouse gas reduction policies for its General Plan. Authors of the Ahwahnee Principles include architects Peter Calthorpe, Andrés Duany, and Elizabeth Moule, cofounders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Stephen Filmanowicz, the Congress’ spokesman, sees the Ahwahnee Principles as being mostly California-centric now, and “a bit more accessible” to developers. That might be so, but with the stroke of Schwarzenegger’s pen, those principles suddenly became more relevant.—J.C. GOT AN INSIDE STORY? E-MAIL JOHN CAULFIELD AT: jcaulfield@hanleywood.com 26 ■ B U I LD E R f ebrua ry 2 0 0 9 W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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