Uneasy Rhetoric

The Capital Area Development Authority (CADA) and the City of Sacramento are sponsoring a conference on high-rise living in Sacramento, or, as they put it, a meeting:

to encourage dialog concerning high-rise residential opportunities and challenges facing Sacramento. The workshop will give attendees a rare glimpse at what sky life is all about.

Sounds like something I might want to peek into doesn’t it? Sure, except that admission is a minimum of $55. I’d probably consider it even so, if I could get the day off from work.

I’m all about dialog. I think the city should be having a serious dialog about residential projects, high-rise and otherwise, in town, but this isn’t a dialog. It is a dog-and-pony show put on the by the City and sponsored by the Business Journal and the Chamber in the hopes of luring more big-money developers. It isn’t a “dialog,” it’s a sales job. The real dialog is going on in the General Plan meetings.

Not that we couldn’t use more investment in the downtown, but please, call it what it is. I hope there are a few journalists covering the deal - the Business Journal at least should give their spin. I’d love to hear about what happens.