Two Years After Call Kurtis Investigation, Roseville Neighborhood Gets Their Park
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — Parents in Roseville's Primrose community say the builder promised a park when they moved in, but years later, a lack of a park forced kids to play in the street.
Nearly two years ago, it was time to call Kurtis to investigate the broken promise. After a relentless investigation, the ground was finally broken on the park in the community.
When we first met Fiona, she was three and confined to the swing set in her backyard because the closest park was two miles away. Her dad, Jacob Gerving, said that's just too far away.
Watch the original investigation:
Gerving said when they signed the contract for their new home in 2015, Pulte Homes said it would build a park a block away.
But more than two years later, the park was never built. Instead, all of the homes surround a field of weeds despite a sign insisting it was be a future neighborhood park.
READ THE ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION HERE: Call Kurtis Investigates: Planned Park In Roseville Neighborhood Still A Promise Years Later
"We're supposed to have lawn out here. There's supposed to be a playground, supposed to be a place for kids to have fun," Gerving said.
Gerving looked back to an email from a Pulte representative from before he bought the house in 2014, saying "4 neighborhood parks coming soon."
Consumer attorney Robert Buccola said "coming soon" should not mean years.
"The reasonable expectation of the purchaser is some time shortly after they take occupancy of their home, if not before that park would be developed," Buccola said.
In the fall, Pulte Homes told CBS13 the updated cost estimate for the park exceeded the available budget, so it was looking to trim. We repeatedly requested updates, but Pulte stopped responding.
The city of Roseville then said after Pulte provided the designs and got permits, the builder asked the city to take over building the park with $800,000 set aside. The city council agreed.
We kept checking back in on the progress, making sure Fiona would get her park.
"It's a great opportunity for Fiona to build more friends," Gerving said.
Gerving said CBS13's investigation sparked a sense of urgency and the city stepped up to build the park.
"She loves it, she could spend all day here," Gerving said.
The five-year-old showed off the ropes, play structure, picnic area, and lush lawn where she can run freely with her friends.
It's a big difference from how we found the lot when we started investigating two years ago.
"We see the stories on there and we said 'why can't it be us, why can't we call Kurtis?" Gerving said. "There was a lot of research done on channel 13's part. I really wanted to thank you guys, for the work you've done!"
Pulte did say in the fall it was going back and forth with the city to get approval on plans. Once approval happened, the city said Pulte asked them to finish the park because the builder was almost done building the neighborhood.