A Sacramento park plaque with a big mistake was finally removed. When will the park open?
A city park that has been delayed for years and mired in controversy still has no clear date to open, even though it has appeared finished for months.
Last year, a plaque commemorating the accomplishments of Bronze Star recipient Alexander Petrovich for leading his troops during the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp in Poland was placed at the entrance of the still unfinished park in Crocker Village. The Park is called the Petrovich Family Playfields.
There was just one problem: Dachau is not in Poland. It’s in Germany — more than 500 miles from the Polish border.
The embarrassing mistake about the Holocaust, originally made by the developer Paul Petrovich, with the language approved by the city, traces back to the settlement of a lawsuit.
Despite the city’s acknowledgment of the error, the mistake remained for nine months. Then, one day, the plaque was replaced with a corrected version.
But days later, the second plaque vanished.
The plaque mistake is connected to years of tension between the Petrovich and the city. Last year the city paid the developer $26 million to settle a lawsuit over how the city handled Petrovich’s request to place a gas station in Crocker Village.
The fine print of the settlement contained evidence that the city reversed course on another issue: the park’s name. What is now Petrovich Family Playfields was slated to be named for the iconic woman designer Ray Eames, who grew up in Curtis Park. As part of the settlement agreement, the name was changed to Petrovich Family Playfields. The city also agreed to specific language for the plaque, which contained the error.
Although the plaque was removed, the park, which is years behind schedule, appears ready to open. It features a large lush grass field surrounded by native grass and colorful benches strewn along a path.
So what is the holdup?
Despite repeated questions from The Bee, the city has only officially said that it has yet to accept the park from the developer. Under the terms of the city’s original development agreement with Petrovich, the developer is responsible for the construction of the park, which doubles as a flood basin.
“There are a lot of frustrated residents,” said Curtis Park resident and real estate agent Steffan Brown,“ Especially those who bought houses along the park expecting it to open years ago,” he added.
A city staffer, who asked not to be quoted directly because of the fragile relationship with Petrovich, said that the city is close—likely weeks away—from accepting the park from Petrovich.
According to the staffer, the delay at this point is due to the fact that the park doubles as a flood basin. The city had concerns about the drainage work that had been performed by the developer, and hired a consultant who had recommendations for additional work — which Petrovich performed.
A painful and expensive dispute
Petrovich Playfields is hardly the most expensive part of a settlement that has cost the city nearly $30 million. But the mistake on the plaque and the opaque status of when the park will open is a reminder of a bitter dispute between Petrovich and the city.
Although the park, by all appearances, seemed ready to open by this fall, it remained padlocked with residents forlornly walking dogs around the perimeter of a fenced-off park.
On September 28, there seemed to be some progress. The plaque with the glaring mistake was replaced with a new, correct one.
But five days later the new plaque mysteriously vanished.
City spokesperson Gabby Miller offered an explanation, “The plaque was installed on Sept. 26 and was removed today as it should be installed on the fence not on a pole. It will be replaced when the park is accepted.”
As part of the original agreement between the developer and the city, Petrovich is responsible for constructing the 6.5-acre park and turning it over to the city.
The city said that even though the developer made the mistake about the Holocaust, taxpayers are on the hook to pay $7,500 to pay for the new plaque.
“The City believes it bears some responsibility for the error as City staff reviews all language before it is posted at City facilities,” Miller, the spokesperson, said, adding, “In the spirit of fairness, and with the desire to keep the project moving forward toward completion, the City agreed to replace the plaque.”
Petrovich did not respond to recent messages. Last year he said in a phone interview that the Poland error was an unfortunate mistake and that the underlying story was true and accurate. Responding to questions about the Poland mistake, Petrovich said, “the text and the typo, I don’t know how that happened. Maybe the sign guy did it.”
In 2019, over Petrovich’s objections, the City Council voted to name the park for Eames. Under the settlement, the majority of the park, was changed to be named for Petrovich’s family, with a small playground named for Eames, largely out of public view.
The playground finally opened this summer. When the larger and adjoining Petrovich Family Playfields will actually open is anybody’s guess.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
