Local power couple buy up one of last homes in new Citrus Heights subdivision

By Sara Beth Williams–
A local couple well-known in the Citrus Heights political and business scene last month purchased one of the final remaining homes in the new 260-unit Mitchell Village housing development.

After residing together in a home in Orangevale for the last ten years, Ray Riehle and his wife Diane Ebbitt closed on a property in Mitchell Village at the end of December, 2023. Riehle said the recent purchase was “a timely opportunity” and that he’d previously been searching two years prior for a place in Citrus Heights, but it wasn’t the right time.

“It’s time to downsize,” Riehle said in an interview with The Sentinel. “I’m running for congress, and I prefer to live in the district that I am attempting to serve in congress.” Riehle also said he wanted to live within the Citrus Heights city limits because he currently serves on the board of directors with the Citrus Heights Water District.

Both Ebbitt and Riehle have been active within Citrus Heights for multiple years. Ebbitt has served as the Executive Director for the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce for almost four years, according to her LinkedIn profile. Ebbitt also served as the Citrus Heights PAL events coordinator for nearly five years, has volunteered on the board with the Citrus Heights Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART) since 2019, and volunteered with the Citrus Heights Rotary Club for over 20 years.

Riehle grew up in Citrus Heights and recalls when the Mitchell Village housing development was still a golf course. Later in life, he became active in the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce, where he served on the Board of Directors for two terms and is now in the middle of his third stint on the board. While on the Chamber Board of Directors he served as the director of the Legislative Committee, Education Committee, and chair of the Commerce Political Action Committee (PAC). Riehle has also owned A-Applied Mailing Service, Inc, located in Citrus Heights on Antelope Road, for over 30 years.

According to Riehle’s website, in 2001, Riehle joined the Rotary Club of Citrus Heights, which focuses on giving back to the community. Riehle has also been involved in The Sayonara Center, which is an after-school program, along with a variety of other local school programs.

The previous home the couple occupied was on 2.5 acres of land, Riehle said.

“Between the two of us we were spending a lot of time cleaning,” Riehle said, adding that yard work also took up a significant amount of time. “This [new house] is going to have almost none in terms of yard work.”

Model homes first became available at Mitchell Village in 2020, according to previous Sentinel reports, and were nearly sold out within two years. The housing development is located near the Sunrise MarketPlace and has homes grouped into several “villages,” with differing layouts and sizes ranging from 1,400-square-feet to approximately 2,000-square-feet. Houses are designed to be energy efficient with solar power and offer various drought-tolerant landscaping options, according to Riehle.

“It’s a nice place to retire,” Ebbitt said, adding that she likes the open, grassy expanse of land located right off their front yard. A large swath of 23 acres of land running through the middle of the housing development has been transformed into Mitchell Village Park and is being maintained by the Sunrise Recreation and Park District.

“We are a part of the community and we want to see it succeed,” Riehle said.

KB Home’s website no longer shows homes as being available in the Mitchell Village housing community, and properties at all three villages within the housing development are no longer available, according to New Home Source.