Woodland’s Main Street will continue to see more infrastructure, commercial and residential developments in the coming years, evidenced by the City Council’s continued commitment to invest in projects along the 5-mile stretch of road.

A city staff report noted that the former state-owned highway route was relinquished to the city in 1984 after the completion of the Interstate 5 freeway through Woodland. Since then, it has served as “the backbone” of the city’s roadway networks and “hosts a range of commercial, residential and civic uses.”

“The current construction activity occurring along Main Street is largely a result of the city’s ongoing commitment to promoting infill housing and economic development,” the report noted.

The report outlined several steps the City Council has taken towards revitalizing Main Street and connecting roads including:

• Streamlining the project approval process and permitting “by-right” new development.

• Creating more flexible zoning standards and lists of uses to meet current business needs and reduce parking demands.

• Increasing allowed densities and floor area ratios to expand allowable building area.

• Modifying development impact fees.

• Making investments to upgrade aging and/or inadequate roadways and utility infrastructure.

Erika Bumgardner, a principal planner for the city, attended the council’s meeting Tuesday night to deliver a presentation about private investments that the city has made along Main Street.

“A majority of these projects are infill, reinvestment or redevelopment projects, which can be quite challenging given their particular context,” Bumgardner told the council. “Some are dealing with irregularly shaped parcels, how to squeeze in between existing development, antiquated infrastructure that needs to be upgraded or repaired or totally replaced, or the fact that buildings just get older and need a lot of care.”

Housing

Bumgardner started by focusing on housing projects that the city has taken on including the building, renovation or redevelopment of residential buildings.

One project she touched on was the Vista del Robles project located in the northwest corner of West Main St. and Ashley Ave., which broke ground roughly a year ago in April 2022.

“The first 72 units of what will eventually be a 168-unit development are currently under construction,” she stated. “Rental rates of this project are restricted to low-income households earning not more than between 30% and 60% of the area median household income adjusted for household size.”

She also highlighted the construction of the Berretoni Residential Apartments, which will be three four-story buildings with a total of 83 new housing units.

Additionally, she covered residential redevelopment or renovation projects in downtown Woodland that provide the city with much-needed “‘middle housing’ with smaller per unit footprints and floor plans ideal for downtown infill development.”

“Interestingly, these units have attracted a variety of either owners or tenants including young professionals, empty nesters and even families with young children, all of them wanting or desiring to live in a walkable environment within the downtown to be able to take advantage or restaurants and shopping.”

Bumgardner listed several of these projects, including Downtown Suites at Third St. and Lincoln Ave., Cleveland Suites at 421 Cleveland St., Plaza Lofts at 702 Main St. and Winne Fourplex at 440 College St.

Lastly, Bumgardner explained that the city applied for a regional early action planning grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments to prepare a plan for the Armfield/Lemen neighborhood “for the purposes of evaluating multimodal accessibility, public improvement investments and future development in this project area.”

Commercial

Bumgardner noted several commercial projects along Main Street including the development of a Western Dental Office, four new hotel projects, a Sprouts Marketplace, a Woodland Ford relocation and the development of the Woodland Depot.

The depot, located at the I-5 exit onto East Main Street, is a four-acre project that “encompasses redevelopment of the entire former Woodland Motor Site.”

It includes an 86-room La Quinta Hotel, a 2,500 square foot fast casual restaurant or retail pad and a 4,700 square foot 7/11 and service station, according to her.

“This development will dramatically improve a long-standing nearly 10 years vacant and blighted site at a key gateway to the city.”

Public Infrastructure

Communications Manager Spencer Bowen quickly briefed the council on public infrastructure projects the city has completed and future projects.

“We recently completed a bunch of road projects that are super key to all of this development,” Bowen emphasized.

According to Bowen, these projects include improvements to Dog Gone Alley and West Main, Court and East Main streets.

“Many of these can be considered complete streets improvements that resurfaced, added bike lanes, improved bike lanes where there already were lanes, added sidewalks and ADA ramps,” he added.

He also brought attention to future roadway and infrastructure projects that he called the “last chunks of work” needed to complete the decades-long conversion of a state highway into a usable local roadway.

“We’re currently studying that missing chunk of West Main Street between Walnut and West to see what the options are there to improve that roadway,” he noted.“And as you heard recently, we’re actively and aggressively going after funding sources to finally complete the much-needed connectors between I-5 and SR 113.”

According to City Manager Ken Hiatt, the total investment will be $161.5 million with $28.4 million in public investment and $133.1 million in private investment.

Hiatt argued that the large private investment is in large part “because of the leadership that the city has demonstrated in trying to create a welcoming and business environment” while also “backing that up with investments in infrastructure.”

He also explained that the city committed $13 million in road investments on Main and Court Streets, “leveraging another $15.4 million in state and federal dollars.”

“So we thank the community members for supporting both Measure F and Measure E to give us the local match dollars necessary to go out and get those state and federal dollars,” Hiatt remarked.

Tom Stallard likened the progress on Main Street to a flower blooming, arguing that “our town is like a flower that’s been opened up and we all just get used to every little bit of incremental progress.”

“But not so long ago, driving through downtown was not such a pleasant experience. The streets were in terrible condition. It’s just really exciting to see the potential of this community realized. We’re not sacrificing our character, we’re enhancing it.”

The council took no action on this agenda item as it was only an update.