Prioritizing Stakeholder Engagement to Advance Equity & Social Justice – This project seeks to address reinvestment in the Sunset neighborhood. Recognizing the community’s needs, the project team prioritized inclusive engagement, meaningful stakeholder participation, and a sensitivity to community needs throughout all phases of the project to foster more equitable project outcomes. From the outset, the project team identified and engaged all stakeholders to establish two-way communication, including hosting a variety of multilingual opportunities such as open-house meetings and ice cream socials. In this way, the city gathered input on existing neighborhood issues to help inform project planning and design. A community satisfaction survey indicated that stakeholders were ultimately very satisfied with the extent that their input influenced the design and outcome of this project. 

Improving Infrastructure Integration – The project’s new stormwater improvement systems work together to improve water quality and reduce the rate of stormwater runoff. The project’s bioretention and media filter units work together to capture and treat runoff. The pervious pavement increases the infiltration capacity of the project site to provide an additional exit for stormwater. This is especially important during heavy rainfall where the larger stormwater network may be overwhelmed. These local stormwater management systems can help relieve some of that network’s burden and mitigate the risk of stormwater infrastructure failure.

Protecting Surface & Groundwater Quality – To prioritize water quality, the project team identified and addressed the potential for surface and groundwater contamination throughout the project’s construction and operation phases. The new stormwater infrastructure upgrades now treat and/or infiltrate at least 91% of all runoff generated within the project site basin, thus mitigating 1.78 acres of pollution-generating impervious surfaces. Additionally, all the project’s landscaping features were intentionally chosen based on being native to the region, pest resistant, soil tolerant, and non-invasive so that no pesticides or fertilizers would be required for ongoing maintenance. This results in improved quality of the stormwater discharge, and therefore improved quality of the local receiving water bodies.

Planning for More Sustainable Communities – This project is part of a larger Sunset Area Master Plan which seeks to address neighborhood infrastructure improvements, water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and safe and vibrant community connections. In addition to improvements to water management and quality, this project added new sidewalks to increase pedestrian safety and overall walkability in the neighborhood. It has also improved access to public transportation while creating new green connections between community amenities and other services.

Enhancing Views & Local Character – In the Sunset community, much of the existing infrastructure along this project corridor needed improvements, and this project served to enhance both the infrastructure and aesthetics of the neighborhood. This was a key issue reported by residents from the area throughout the pre-planning phase – a desire to establish greater community character that encourages a more retail- and pedestrian-friendly atmosphere. In addition to upgrading stormwater infrastructure, this project introduced trees, planter strips, and other roadway improvements to increase community green spaces and connectivity to the Sunset Neighborhood Park and school. A community satisfaction survey revealed that residents are now very happy with the new local aesthetics.