Sacramento Audubon sits on the board of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS). Our friends at ECOS, led by Heather Fargo, have been busy responding to a new proposed development and service annexation in Natomas.

In Natomas, farmland is an essential habitat for threatened species. Farmland provides other benefits as well — food production, cleaner air, airport buffer, prevents urban storm water flooding, and habitat for a variety of birds within the Pacific Flyway. But now, a number of development projects are proposed on that farmland. Examples are: the Airport South Industrial Project, Upper West Side, Grandpark, and WattEV, as shown on the map.

The first three are located outside of Sacramento County’s Urban Services Boundary (USB) on land zoned agricultural in the County’s General Plan. Their total acreage outside the USB is over 8,000 acres.

Decades of public planning and policy documents call for the preservation of this land as farmland and habitat for the 22 species protected by the Natomas Habitat Conservation Plan (NBHCP). The County’s Urban Services Boundary was established in 1993; the NBHCP in 1997. Both the City’s and Sacramento County’s general plans and the North Natomas Community Plan show the acreage planned for development as remaining in agriculture. There is ample vacant land, already planned and zoned for warehouse uses in other parts of the City and County, in areas already served by roads, water and sewer, and where investment and jobs are needed. We do not think warehouse uses should be approved next to housing and schools and we believe the impacts from semi-truck traffic will be detrimental to the residents and students already existing next to the site for the proposed project. Homebuyers in Natomas based their decision to buy, on the plans at the time, and expected to be next to open space not a warehouse with 24/7 trucks generating road dust, heat, and particulates.    

If you are interested in learning more about this project and its potential impacts Heather Fargo and the ECOS team will give a brief presentation on the proposed projects, and the draft EIR for Airport South Industrial Project and give a preview of the significant issues in the EIR as well as how the project will affect Natomas residents.

July 10, 6:00 pm - Zoom Call

Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155

To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155

Officially comment on the EIR are due by July 17.

Link to EIR here — you have to scroll down to find it: 

· https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/community-development/planning/environmental/impact-reports

· Send your comments to the Senior City Planner: Scott Johnson, email - srjohnson@cityofsacramento.org

ECOS’ also recently updated their webpage for the Natomas Open Space Campaign: https://www.ecosacramento.net/about-us/committees/climate/land-use-natomas-team/