Update - A day after we published this story Ethan Conrad pulled out of the deal to acquire 50 additional acres at Sunrise Mall.

Ethan Conrad, the commercial real estate company,  has become something of a household name in recent years, perhaps because of billboards and signs all over the place seeking new tenants, or maybe thanks to TV news about the multiple lawsuits against the company's owner. Now, at least in Citrus Heights, there is another reason: redevelopment of Sunrise Mall. Everyone knows the mall is down in the dumps. Ethan Conrad wants to fix it.

Ethan Conrad is no small player in the regional commercial real estate arena. The company acquired a chunk of the mall site and is on the verge of buying almost all of the rest of the property. As a big wheel in the real estate industry, the company wants to do what it wants to do at the site, not what the city wants. What does Ethan Conrad want to do there? Answer: build a Home Depot, an In-and-Out (with drive-through) and some other fast food places, along with an expansion of the current mall building to include a bowling alley and a dry cleaner. The City, however, wants the mall site remade as a vibrant, mixed-use "downtown" with offices, housing, retail and "people places".  As a city, Citrus Heights has structured the allowable land uses at the site to ensure it evolves according to the city's plan. The city isn't just using the land use "stick", it is also offering "carrots" to developers that can work towards implementation of the vision. To demonstrate it wants development aligned with the community’s vision and long-term economic goals, the city has undertaken an infrastructure financing study seeking funding options for the necessary improvements. The city has also received grants intended to accelerate the site's redevelopment and attract high-quality projects.

On April 22nd, Ethan Conrad took its concept of bigger mall+Home Depot+drive-through fast food to the Citrus Heights City Council. It did not go well for Ethan Conrad. You see, unlike our unincorporated no-place's approach of letting a developer do whatever the developer feels like doing at the moment, Citrus Heights has a community-based plan and it is standing up for its community. We have a plan that is 45 years out of date. Our plan was "updated" 19 years ago with an "action plan" appendix intended to increase community involvement in planning and service delivery. The 2006 document has laudable, but never implemented, citizen-driven goals. Here are some of them (warning - try not to gag when you read this):

• The County will be responsive to neighborhoods
• The County will more actively involve residents in the ongoing shaping of their
  community through different means of governance and community involvement.
• To improve the economic development in Arden Arcade
• To identify policies and strategies for using land use planning and decisions to
  positively affect the quality of life in Arden Arcade
• Encourage the re-use of vacant/run-down strip malls to allow a mix of
  residential, retail and commercial development
• To improve the safety and quality of life for the citizens of Arden Arcade

Look, we could go on about the outdated and fake policies the Board of Supervisors adopted for our "benefit", but we won't. Our reality is that our community has a worthless plan that was adopted by people whose actions did not respect our community and who no longer hold office on the Board of Supervisors. Yet it is still being implemented today. And that's a problem owned, not just by the current members of the Board of Supervisors, but also by those of us who live, work and/or have businesses here. Shame on us all. Most of you reading this know that we're stuck with that failed set of civic policies unless and until our community becomes a city. While we await tha day - which won't come unless people step up to make it happen - we can certainly learn from Citrus Heights' experience.

The Citrus Height's "Sunrise Tomorrow" plan, adopted by the Citrus Heights City Council unanimously in 2021, was driven by community input. It represents the community's vision of its future. It doesn't matter if someone else disagrees with the vision, it's what the people of Citrus Heights want. Our newsroom elves were blown away when Mr. Conrad's alternative proposal was rebuffed at the April 22nd meeting as follows:

Of course, the proof is in the pudding. The city has to find ways to bring the community's expectations into reality, a process that will be long and expensive. Importantly, though, the city doesn't want to go backwards. There is a big box DIY store (Lowe's) across the street from Sunrise Mall. The city already has plenty of choices for fast food and there is an overabundance of retail commercial space. It is unrealistic to expect the fate of Sunrise Mall to turn around on a dime, but with 100 acres surrounded by intense urban development, it can happen. Consider the thriving civic places at Capital Village in the City of Rancho Cordova and at the Town Center in El Dorado Hills. In those cases, beyond providing commercial space, the developments valued the community. We give Citrus Heights a round of applause for listening to its people, for having a vision for Sunrise Mall and for sticking with it.

Except we wonder why they haven't considered having drive-through chicken sandwich places on every corner at the heart of their community...