The couple looks at the booming construction around them and worries. Some local officials also expressed concern. Bob Thomas, Sacramento's new city manager, said the rapid growth heightens the need for more regional planning on transportation, air quality and land use management issues. The boom is making for a vibrant regional economy, boosting everything from jobs to sales of appliances and paint, said Robert Smiley, dean of the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis. In the city of Sacramento, the boom was especially dramatic, hitting a historic high this month, and sending officials reeling, unable to keep up with demand.
People are waiting in lines up to two hours to get building permits, city officials say.
South Placer County, where growth has been strong throughout the 1990s, also is seeing more construction. Now it goes all year around. One local car dealership owner said she is building practically by demand of the automaker. Maggie Tadlock, co-owner of South City Honda on Franklin Boulevard in Sacramento, just got her permits to build a new Elk Grove Honda in Elk Grove Auto Mall, and move her business down there. It's an awesome time to be in business.