Rancho Cordova History
Happy Birthday to the City of Rancho Cordova!
Incorporation
The City of Rancho Cordova recently celebrated its 12th year of incorporation. It took members of the community two decades to reach its goal of incorporation.
Why Incorporate?
The area to be incorporated was located east of Sacramento County. That community decided to incorporate so that it could have an improved sense of identity. The members of the community desired a better quality of life. Of equal importance was to add representation and access to a local government. They needed control over land use and planning and things of a regulatory nature. Finally, the community deeply desired an increase in levels of service to be made available to them.
Did You Know?
- Rancho Cordova is the spot of the first 12 miles of a railroad in State of California.
- Rancho Cordova was the home of a thriving military base in its formative years.
- Rancho Cordova is the home of a very successful aerospace company.
A Community Votes
On November 5, 2002, voters came out in incredible support for the incorporation measure on the ballot. Over 75 percent were in favor of incorporating.
City Council Formed
That day the city’s first Council members were elected. They included Mayor David Roberts, Robert McGarvey, Linda Budge, David Sander and Kenneth Cooley. These individuals were active leaders and long term residents in the community.
Calming Traffic
City officials took to the streets almost immediately by launching a group of citizens to draft a neighborhood traffic management plan. This community effort resulted in safer streets within the City of Rancho Cordova.
Police Department
Reducing crime was just as important as calming traffic. In 2004, the city council voted that police services were to be provided through Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. The first police chief was a Captain, George Anderson. Community policing techniques were unveiled along with Rancho Cordova Police Department’s cruiser prototype. Also, implemented was motorcycle traffic enforcement. As police began issuing citations and towing away vehicles the community began to see improvement in long-standing issues they once had in their community.
Driving Under the Influence of alcohol and/or drugs (DUI) arrests were being made on a regular basis. Law-breakers were finally dealt with appropriately and crime rates in Rancho Cordova began to steadily decrease. Even with its rising population, Rancho Cordova Police Department has maintained a consistent reduction in crime. This has been an achievement that brings great pride to the city and especially to those who pushed for incorporation for so long. They finally received the increased services that were so desperately needed.
Annexation
In 2010 a little piece of land located south of Highway 50 at Sunrise and Hazel Avenue was included into the city. That land contained businesses that were also in need of increased representation and services. This area brought good business revenue into the city limits.
City Government
There are five individuals elected to the Council. One of them serves as mayor for a one-year term. The Mayor’s post is a “chef among equals for a time.” Currently, Councilmember Robert J. McGarvey is serving as our Mayor. Council Member David Sander is serving as Vice Mayor. The remaining Council Members are Linda Budge, Dan Skoglund and Donald Terry. In Rancho Cordova, each Council Member serves the City at large rather than representing wards or designated areas.
This little walk down memory lane along with the Ranch Cordova History has been brought to you by the Edward A Smith Law Offices.
I’m Ed Smith, a Rancho Cordova Personal Injury Attorney. I have the most authoritative auto accident information site on the world wide web: www.autoaccident.com
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