Supporters of Natomas Open Space, you have another opportunity to voice your concern. Despite a great showing of opposition at the LAFCO meeting, the Sphere of Influence was approved and the EIR was certified. The City of Sacramento can now consider annexation. We have two more chances to turn the City around on this project.
Thursday May 22, at 5:30, New City Hall, 915 I St., the City Planning and Design Review Commission will hear this project and make a recommendation to the City Council, who will hear the project after that.
Project Background
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 more. 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.
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.
Members of the public may participate in the meeting by submitting written comments electronically before and during the meeting via eComments, accessible through the City’s official website here.
Being there in person and offering your testimony can be very powerful. However, those who cannot attend may also watch the meeting live online. Instructions for accessing and participating in the meeting will be posted along with the meeting agenda.
To access this information, please visit this page on the City's website, choose “Upcoming Meetings,” and then select the appropriate meeting to access the agenda material.
There are many arguments against this project, and few to support it. Both the Planning Commission and City Council will be more receptive to the concerns of neighbors than LAFCO was. Remind the Planning Commission that:
This warehousing project is located next to a school, homes, and habitat.
Impacts to neighbors include noise, lighting, air pollution, traffic, and more trucks in the neighborhoods and on I-5.
Environmental impacts include loss of farmland, air pollution, and loss of carbon sequestration and ground water recharge due to pavement.
There will be regional impacts to I-5 and I-80, including the increase of air pollution and toxic air contaminants.
The Plan is inconsistent with the Natomas Habitat Conservation Plan, City General Plan, County General Plan, SACOG Blueprint, Urban Services Boundary, Air Quality Plan, Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
Only the property owner/developer benefit from this project; net revenue to the City has never been identified and $4 million estimated revenue hardly addresses the City's budget problems.
There are better, industrial-zoned locations for warehousing projects, and the warehousing jobs will follow the projects. The location does not determine the employment opportunities.
Use your own words, talk about the impacts you are most concerned about, and talk from your heart.
For more inspiration and information go to www.ecoscramento.net and browse the Natomas documents.
Continue to talk to friends and neighbors and have them sign our petition here. Over 1100 people have signed so far, but many more people are affected and can speak up. All those on the petition will get an alert from us about the City Council hearing.
To communicate directly with Planning Commissioners about your concerns, here are their emails:
Robert Blunt, Commissioner, email: rblunt.sac@gmail.com
Robert Chase, Vice Chair, email: rkutect@gmail.com
Nicolina Hernandez, Commissioner, email: nicolina@gmail.com
Dov Kadin, Commissioner, email: DovKadinPDC@gmail.com
Julio Lamas, Commissioner, email: lamas.pdc@gmail.com
Larry Lee, Commissioner, email: pdc.larrylee@gmail.com
Kendra Macias Reed, Commissioner, email: kreed.pdc@gmail.com
David Nybo, Commissioner, email: nybosacpdc@gmail.com
Deborah Ortiz, Commissioner, email: Commissiondeb@gmail.com
Erin Reschke, Commissioner, email: erinreschke.pdc@gmail.com
Ginger Thompson, Commissioner, email: ginjerthompson.pdc@gmail.com
Enoch Yeung, Chair, email: pdc.eyeung@gmail.com
—Cliff Feldheim, Conservation Chair, Sacramento Audubon Society