Riverbank, California

pen, you need to be flexible, because every project is different and you may just attract something that some other communitymay not be able to attract because they’re not flexible.We’re aware that it’s a competitive marketplace. If it’s not easy to get something done here, those opportunities go someplace where it is.” “One thing that sets us apart from surrounding cities is that we’re into specific plans and devel- opment agreements to get all the details down, so there’s less public hearings later,” says Donna Kenney, Riverbank’s Planning Manager.“For ex- ample, our Crossroads West project–every time a new building came in, the architecture was staff- approved, based on the design guidelines that had been approved by Council, previously. So, it makes us more of an attractive place for businesses to lo- cate.They see they can go to Riverbank, and within just two or three months, have all the architecture done and infrastructure approved and start build- ing and move right in,when in one of our neigh- boring cities, they would approve the development and then every time a new building would come in, they would have to go back to public hearings to get the architecture done. So, that’s one incentive we can offer.” “We would rather process projects under the spe- cific plan model because we think that you create themes within areas of the community that are consistent versus parcel to parcel development, where you might end up with a hodgepodge that doesn’t feel cohesive,”Scullymaintains.“Riverbank has done a really good job in having themed areas; the city is split up into different themed projects. It makes it easier for the developer because there’s a specific plan of what we’d like it to look like and all of the details that might otherwise be pushed down the road are, at least in concept, already agreed to.” In addition to the market rate housing that the City already has, and will continue to add to at Cross- roads West, as well as in the Bruinville area in the east side of town, Riverbank also has two afford- able housing projects.“The newest one has 72 units and a community center,”Kenney notes.“When they opened up,we had over 1,300 applications.They’re