Citrus Heights council adopts Gateway Activation trail plan, approves mitigated negative declaration

The Citrus Heights City Council on May 14 adopted a resolution approving the Gateway Activation project, accepting a mitigated negative declaration and amending the city's bikeway and pedestrian master plans to incorporate the proposed trail connection.

Casey Kempenari, community development director, told the council the environmental review is complete and that adopting the mitigation monitoring plan and document will position the city to seek grant funding for construction. "The environmental review is now done, and we're taking it to you to get to the next step," Kempenari said.

City engineers described the project as a fill‑in of a regional trail gap that would link the Old Auburn multi‑use path, the Arcade/Cripple Creek trail and Roseville's Dry Creek Greenway to create a larger loop. City engineer Leslie Bloomquist said the preferred plan includes single‑lane roundabouts at three Old Auburn Road intersections and extends a Class I trail to meet the Dry Creek Greenway. "There's approximately 14,000 vehicles per day on this portion of Old Auburn Road between Wachtell and the city limits," Bloomquist said while explaining the traffic and pedestrian considerations the project addresses.

Allison Bermudez, senior planner, summarized the yearlong public‑engagement process, including workshops, pop‑up events along the trail and a planning commission review. She said residents prioritized safety, connectivity and traffic calming; staff concluded that mitigation measures would reduce potential construction impacts to less‑than‑significant levels.

At public comment, a nearby resident, Gerald, urged the council to reconsider roundabouts, citing concerns about driver confusion at the high‑volume Wachtell intersection and the risk of collisions. "I really oppose them," Gerald said. Staff and councilmembers responded that education and outreach would be part of implementation and that the chosen roundabouts are single‑lane designs similar to others in the region.

Councilmember Schaeffer moved to adopt the resolution; the motion was seconded and carried. Staff said the project is expected to be grant‑funded and that final design, NEPA (if required), and construction would likely occur over several years. Councilmember questions during deliberations included construction duration (staff estimated one construction season, roughly six to eight months, depending on contractor sequencing) and a clarification exchange about a figure in the resolution that produced confusion over decimal placement during the meeting record.

The council action authorizes staff to incorporate the Gateway Activation project into the city's regulatory documents, adopt the mitigation monitoring plan, and proceed with grant applications to fund design and construction.

Next steps: staff will advance the project through design and grant applications, with additional outreach and final design steps before any construction begins.