Future projects in Roseville highlighted at State of the City speech

Not only has Roseville seen immense growth over the last decade, there will soon be more to look forward to in the city known for its national achievements. Mayor Bruce Houdesheldt highlighted the achievements and future projects at the State of the City speech on Aug. 25 at the Westfield Galleria Mall. According to Houdesheldt, Roseville was ranked in numerous US city lists in 2022 and 2023, including 21st among the top 100 best cities to live, 18th among the top 100 economic growth cities, seventh among cities with the happiest residents and second in the nation in 2022 for one-way U-Haul rentals, all of which were not outbound trips. "These accolades are impressive, and they really lend credibility to what we all experience in our daily lives – we live in one of the best cities in the country," Mayor Houdesheltt said. The city is also a candidate for the National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal for its parks, recreation and libraries, according to Houdesheldt. One aspect the city has always prided itself on is its safety to "maintain a safe and healthy community," Houdesheldt said. The city aims to maintain safety in the community in many ways, such as making improvements to law enforcement. Not only did Roseville hire 10 new police officers in 2022, it also began implementation of a real-time crime center. According to the Roseville fiscal 2023-24 budget, the real-time crime center includes "license plate reader cameras, additional staff, and monitors to leverage the use of technology to reduce crime in Roseville." "We're also continuing to determine how to best address the challenges of homelessness in partnership with local nonprofits," Houdesheldt said. "Roseville's multi-department homelessness task force works to determine needs of the homeless and connect them with appropriate resources for emergency shelter, seniors, veterans, mental health and substance disorders, suicide prevention and a variety of government resources." To further prevent homelessness, the city has ensured 10 percent of new development includes affordable housing. Housing developments in Roseville are already underway to keep up with the "high demand" of neighborhoods like Sierra Vista, Fiddyment Ranch, Amoruso and Creekview. Junction Crossing, located in Historic Old Town Roseville, is under construction. At completion, the complex will have 80 affordable apartments. In addition, $7.5 million from the Local Housing Trust Fund will go toward new affordable housing developments, including Prospera at Fiddyment Ranch, Bridge Housing's Royer Apartments and Mercy Housing. Houdesheldt said funding and building affordable and workforce housing will be easier for private developers thanks to the California Department of Housing and Community Development giving Roseville a Prohousing designation. "The designation makes private affordable housing projects planned in Roseville much more competitive for limited state and federal funding and could accelerate the timeline for future projects," he said. Developments aside from housing are also occurring. "Here's something I know you'll all be excited for: Costco," Houdesheldt said enthusiastically. A new Costco has been proposed at the corner of Baseline and Fiddyment roads. It's set to include a warehouse and gas station. According to Houdesheldt, the Costco expects to create 600 jobs. Costco is one of numerous projects expanding the west side of the city's retail. "Grocery Outlet, a new Safeway, Raley's O-N-E, Nugget, Dutch Bros and 24-Hour Fitness are part of the evolving landscape," Houdesheldt said. Developmental growth isn't the only aspect bringing new residents to Roseville. According to Houdesheldt, the city's education continues "attracting families to Roseville." One of the major projects regarding education is the upcoming Sacramento State and Sierra College Center campus. According to a previous Gold Mountain News article, the campus broke ground in October 2022 and is expected to open in about four years. The campus is designed for Sierra College students to make a streamlined transfer to Sacramento State, according to Sierra College Superintendent Willy Duncan. Local colleges, Sierra College and Jessup University "continue to experience increases in enrollment," Houdesheldt said. Houdesheldt attributes the city's popularity to its "top-notch" utilities also. "I think we can all agree that Roseville Electric is the envy of the region," he said. "In fact, during the late fall and winter's extremely severe storm and cold weather season, the team responded to nearly 550 outages, and none of those customers experienced extended outages like so many other homes in the capital region did. In fact, Roseville Electric sent its own field crews to help SMUD restore power to 400,000 non-Roseville residents while still providing service to its own customers." Houdesheldt said the city is on track to achieving its many goals, according to results from the city's February 2021 National Community Survey. Another round of surveys are coming up this fall. In the survey, Roseville received some of the "highest marks" among 500 cities in the nation in areas such as quality of life, utility infrastructure, city services and economic health. The mayor concluded his speech by saying, "As we wrap up our journey today, I hope I have left you and the Roseville community with the understanding that we might be growing but we are not changing. We got this! … A generation from now, when the new mayor delivers the State of the City and reflects on our words today, 'We got this!', they'll say, 'They sure did.' "