RENEWING RIVER CITY
Homeowner Pride Mounts as Locals Spiff Up
Once-Scruffy Sacramento Streng Neighborhood

From the pages of CA-Modern magazine
By Jack Levitan

Despite her red hair, Pat Sandlin is no firebrand. In fact, she's rather folksy. But she's far from laissez-faire when it comes to protecting her neighborhood, the modern Streng Bros. enclave of River City Commons. Sandlin has lived there for 28 years, since it was new.

During that time she's seen the subdivision, in Sacramento's neighborhood of South Natomas, go from mustard fields to modern suburbia. She's seen the easy-going camaraderie of the early days, when most residents were young singles and neighborhood barbecues were common, shift, as singles were replaced by young families. It shifted again, as young families morphed into older couples and retirees.

She saw more and more homes fall into the hands of what she calls "non-resident owners" who let them slide. Sandlin refuses to blame renters, who make up 24 percent of her neighbors. But she saw more and more properties suffer from neglect.

So Sandlin acted. Recently retired herself, she joined the board of the River City Commons Association in 2004 determined to clean things up. The last thing she wanted to hear was this complaint voiced by several non-resident owners. "I don't know what the fuss is about," several told her. "This is just a rundown neighborhood."

"I took exception to that," she says. "Our homes weren't run down."

Sandlin, who's been president of the River City Association board since 2005, makes sure of that. The association has become far more active since she got involved -- re-involved, actually, as she had also served on the association's first board, way back in 1979. Back then a fellow board member was Jim Streng, who had developed the neighborhood with his brother Bill.

"One person certainly can't do this alone," Sandlin says, crediting the entire five-member board with working hard to improve the neighborhood. Board member Virginia Thomas, for example, helps inspect properties to determine which need better upkeep.

"I served as a catalyst to a board that wanted to do something but perhaps didn't have that impetus to move forward," Sandlin says. She notes that, as a federal court administrator, her expertise was "leading people into making changes."

Over the past decade or so, "Things had declined," says Denise Jerome, a member of the association's architectural committee. "We even had a few yards that were just dirt."

"There was a sense overall that the neighborhood was getting a little scruffy around the edges," says Harriet Kallemeyn, the board's secretary, a newcomer who arrived at River City in 2003. "It's a new board, and people are trying to bring up the entire area."

The board brought in a new property management firm, visually inspected every property in the neighborhood, and sent out notices ordering repairs to owners whose properties needed work. "People weren't used to that," Sandlin says. "That hadn't been done before."

One of those notices went to Sandlin herself. Her driveway was cracked, a "trip-and-fall hazard."

The board also took on the job of maintaining the privately owned street-side landscaping along Truxel Road, the main thoroughfare that runs past the neighborhood. The condition of the sidewalk strip wasn't adding to River City Commons' allure.

To pay for all this, dues were raised from $40 to $50 a month, then $60. "People thought that outrageous," Kallemeyn says, though she says it's a bargain compared with nearby home associations.

Now the board is updating its outdated 1978 homeowner covenants, and proposing a clause that would cap the number of renters at 25 percent. It is also strengthening architectural guidelines and plans to enforce them--something that didn't always happen in the past. The rules would give the board oversight over any changes to a home that can be seen from the street.

And River City Commons has plenty of architectural integrity to protect. Almost all of the homes retain, to a great extent, their original architectural look. Its architect, Carter Sparks, was one of Sacramento's leading modernists--and one of the few architects anywhere to succeed in fulfilling the modernist dream of designing entire neighborhoods of modern homes for working class and middle-income people.

A neighborhood of 196 homes, all but 20 or so of River City Commons' homes are 'half-plexes' -- two homes that share a party wall. One of their main draws has always been affordability. Homes originally sold in the mid-$50,000s, and today they go roughly for $250,000-$325,000.

But there is nothing cheap about the appearance of the neighborhood, or of the houses themselves.

Tall redwoods, palms, liquid amber, aspens, and sycamore trees create a heavily forested neighborhood -- too heavily forested in some cases, an arborist recently advised the board. The trees tower over low-slung homes. Homes are low gabled--with each half of the half-plex taking one half of the gable; or with flat or slightly sloping roofs.

Utility poles are non-existent, and owners of satellite dishes are encouraged to hide them in back yards, says Denise Jerome.

People appreciate the community park, with its two pools, a spa, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts, a playground, picnic areas, and lovely sycamores. To combat vandalism the association is hiring a 'resident manager' and, rather than banning it entirely, is setting up a smoking area off to the side.

Most homes are on cul-de-sac courts (some of whose names evoke a fishing trip: Paddle, Bobber, Cattail, Blue Heron) or on curving streets. Lots at the ends of courts are oddly shaped. Some homes are set so far back from the street they disappear. On City Court, some hide behind a forest of palms.

The streetscape is surprisingly varied. Often, one half of a half-plex is staggered several feet back from its mate, making them seem to be separate houses. On some streets, homes are arrayed to the street at a diagonal, adding a lively touch.

Architect Carter Sparks, who designed all the Strengs' modern homes, created street facades that are remarkably reserved, even puzzling. Those of his atrium-style homes, for example, are nothing but vertical wooden boards with no evidence even of a front door. The door is hidden along the side of the house.

"I just thought it was odd," Kallemeyn says of the first time she saw the blank facades, which she has come to appreciate.

Another popular siding was 'raked stucco,' with rough-hewn ribs that were created by running a rake against the wet material. The raked stucco was "available in place of siding at a reduced price," the Strengs' brochure announced.

With such a simple a façade, tiny details become all-important. Sparks kept details simple as well, but made them elegant in their laid-back way. The only décor for Sparks' facades were a globe-shaped lamp atop a metal standard attached to the garage, and a small, distinctive garage-door pull. Many homes have lost these details.

The ones that suffer most are those that replaced the original, fold-up garage doors whose siding matched that of the house. Colonial-style fanlight doors add a spurious liveliness but ruin the intended effect of a uniform facade.

Other Sparks touches include door-like windows that start at the base of the floor and rise door-high, often paired at the corners of the house; clerestory windows in gables, to bring in light and views; skylights over kitchens, bathrooms and utility rooms; and the famous Streng 'atrium,' a concrete-aggregate floored interior garden, open to the house but with planted areas.

In developing the guidelines. Sandlin and members of the architectural committee have talked to Jim Streng and to their counterparts in Fairgrove, an Eichler neighborhood in Cupertino whose guidelines may serve as a model. The rules will specify materials, colors, and styles. "Some people get it, and others are always trying to convert it to something else," Kallemeyn says of the architecture. "One contentious issue," she adds, "has been cottage-style windows, with divided panes."

The homes may have party walls, but inside they're quiet. Back yards are heavily used and often forested. Marcia Virago's yard is dominated by three 90-foot pines and she regards the yard as her haven. "I live in my backyard five to six months of the year," she says.

Sandlin's backyard affords a sense of seclusion but, she says, "We are close enough that the neighbors look out for each other."

When David Heitz, a realtor who specializes in Strengs, first moved to River City Commons, a neighbor brought him home-baked bread. He's come to appreciate the benefits of half-plex life. "When you're in a closer knit community it brings us together a little bit more," he says. "You almost become like family."

By car, downtown Sacramento is only ten minutes away, so River City Commons has always appealed to people who work for the state of California or at other downtown offices. Schools are good in the area; there are libraries, a community center, and new shopping plazas. Sandlin, who enjoys walking, often trudges 15 minutes to the trail that runs along the American River. The neighborhood is ethnically mixed; "a little United Nations," Kallemeyn calls it.

When Susan Helmer came to River City in 1995, buying her half-plex through a foreclosure, the attraction was price more than architecture. "When I moved in here, I didn't know what I was moving into," she says. She'd never heard of the Strengs or Sparks -- or of their atrium model, even though she was living in one. The planting areas had been filled in with concrete.

Later she learned from neighbors about the significance of her architecture -- after she had removed some of the original lighting fixtures. "Oh gosh," she says, regretfully, "maybe I should have done a little more research."

Today, appreciation is growing for Streng homes. Helmer found a recent profile of River City Commons in 'Sacramento' magazine gratifying. Ordinary people are paying attention too. "A friend came in and said, 'Oh! You're in a Streng home!' "

One of her neighbors watched and waited for two years until a suitable house hit the market. "People who know the architecture and understand it look for the houses to come on sale," Helmer says.

Owners are starting to renovate their homes, playing up their modern lines without fully restoring the original look, says Heitz, who transformed the interior of his atrium model into something "more European modern than mid-century." The kitchen has been transformed, and the planted areas of the atrium filled with black pebbles, a few rocks, cactus, and hints of moss.

"People love the functionality of the floor plan. It's a floor plan for today's lifestyle. That's what people have taken hold of now," he says. "But their appreciation is not on a purist level."

Newcomers Krystal Amante and Angela Torres are just starting their own renovation. Amante, who served with the Marines in Japan, immediately saw the connection between Japanese and modern Californian architecture. Both fell in love with the atrium. They've done a bit of painting, and are contemplating glass-fronted cabinets, and bamboo or hardwood floors, all in keeping with the original architecture.

"We want to create our own space. We're not interested in instant modernism," Amante says. "Because for us, modernism is not a trend."

Photos: David Toerge

River City Commons is located in Sacramento's South Natomas neighborhood. Its houses are arrayed on several streets west of Truxel Road, including Blue Heron Court, Paddle Court, Bobber Court, and River City Way.