Aggie Square Environmental Review Update

September 18, 2020

The environmental review for Aggie Square Phase 1 is being done in a document called the “Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the University of California, Davis Sacramento Campus 2020 Long Range Development Plan Update.” For additional information and to access the Draft Supplemental EIR and Draft 2020 LRDP Update, click here.

Public comments on the Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental EIR were due on September 16, 2020. The Environmental Council of Sacramento and its partners submitted comment letters outlining our concerns with the document.

“Our primary concern is that the planned expansion of the UC Davis Sacramento Campus facilities does not cause displacement of low-income residents in the surrounding neighborhoods.”

Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS)

Click here to view the letter from the Environmental Council of Sacramento.

“We hope to see a version of Aggie Square that supports the health and livelihoods of existing and future Sacramento residents through the creation of affordable home and job opportunities for communities too often excluded from the economic prosperity and investments elsewhere in the City.”

Sacramento Investment Without Displacement

Click here to view the letter from the Sacramento Investment Without Displacement.


Learn More

Click here to learn more about this project, and our concerns.


Councilmembers back call for community benefit ‘commitments’ on Aggie Square

September 18, 2020 | By Felicia Alvarez | Sacramento Business Journal

Two Sacramento city councilmembers, Jay Schenirer and Eric Guerra, are backing a call to prevent gentrification near Aggie Square.

Aggie Square is the University of California Davis’ planned satellite campus in Sacramento. The $1.1 billion, 25-acre project would fill land the university owns near Stockton Boulevard and Broadway with over 1 million square feet of research, wet lab, commercial space and housing.

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2020/09/18/councilmembers-back-community-benefit-aggie-square.html

Click here to read the full article.

City of Sacramento Climate Action Plan/General Plan Questionnaire

Note new deadline: June 19, 2020

There is still time for city residents to participate in the 2040 General Plan update and Climate Action Plan’s virtual community questionnaire, as the deadline has been extended until June 19. The previous deadline for public input was June 5. Click here to learn more.

Sacramento City is updating their general plan, including the City’s Climate Action plan. We need Sacramento City residents to fill out this online community questionnaire to make sure everyone’s needs are represented. Participate by June 19, 2020 to help the City prioritize key proposed strategies around six general topics which will be part of the 2040 General Plan. You can choose to provide input on all six topics, or just one! You might be impressed by the ideas proposed; we were! 

The six general topics presented in this virtual workshop for public input are:

  • Livability
  • Mobility
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Justice
  • Economic Development
  • Sustainable Growth

Each of these general topics has specific questions for participants and opportunities for additional input. ECOS encourages all of our members and allies to spend approximately 30 minutes responding to this survey opportunity by June 5th, 2020. It is very important that our City government receives robust input and support from progressive, environmentally-conscious citizens.

Available in multiple languages.

Time commitment: approximately 30 minutes


Anti-gentrification effort aims to shape Aggie Square

By Felicia Alvarez, Staff Writer
February 18, 2020
Sacramento Business Journal

A group of residents under the name Sacramento Investment Without Displacement are calling for Aggie Square’s planners and developers to help protect the area against gentrification.

The group is advocating for a “community benefits agreement” that would make some of those protections legally enforceable, said Gabby Trejo, the group’s leader.

Sacramento Investment Without Displacement is working with a coalition[*] that includes the Sacramento Housing Alliance, the La Familia Counseling Center, Sacramento Area Congregations Together and Building Healthy Communities’ site in Oak Park, which is part of a $1 billion community development initiative by The California Endowment. Trejo is also the executive director of Sacramento ACT.

Click here to read this article.

*ECOS is proud to be a part of this coalition! Click here to learn more about Aggie Square and how ECOS is involved.

Image by Sri Harsha Gera from Pixabay

Jackson Township DEIR Comments

On October 31, 2019, Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS), Habitat 2020, 350 Sacramento, and Sierra Club provided comments on the Jackson Township Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Below are some excerpts from the letter, followed by a link to the letter in full.

Agricultural Resources

There is insufficient mitigation for farmland lost in the Jackson Township Specific Plan DEIR [Draft Environmental Impact Report]. By converting all this farmland to urban/suburban uses, the GHG emissions will increase due to the increased number of motor vehicle trips (more vehicle miles traveled). Moreover, loss of agricultural resources will reduce the potential for carbon sequestration in the soil by application of compost or regenerative agriculture methods, in addition to the natural processes of plant growth and soil microbial action from farming. There needs to be better mitigation measures to ensure carbon soil sequestration occurs at least as much as it would if the agricultural resources were preserved.

Biological Resources

Use of the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP) was offered as one of the options for dealing with California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) impacts, and it was clearly stated that the hardline preserves identified in the SSHCP conservation strategy would be provided. Since the SSHCP now has its permits and is in the implementation phase, we are assuming that the Jackson Township will be affected by and compliant with the SSHCP.

Climate Change

We appreciate the opportunity to comment on Chapter 9, “Climate Change”, of the County’s Jackson Township Specific Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). Our greenhouse gas (GHG)-related comments are presented in the following seven sections. We first discuss the County’s past GHG-reduction commitments, because the DEIR:
I. does not accurately describe County climate planning;
II. uses inappropriate baseline data based on past planning;
III. applies inappropriate thresholds of significance; and
IV. is inconsistent with the County’s 2011 General Plan Update, associated Final Environmental Report (GP/FEIR), and Phase 1 CAP.
We also present,
V. other DEIR-related concerns.
We conclude:
VI. the DEIR is legally insufficient
VII. the County’s failure to provide promised mitigation is contrary to the General Plan.

Click here to read the letter in full
Attachment 1
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Attachment 5

SACOG land use forecast 2019-09 sept

MTP/SCS 2020 Update – Comments due Nov 7, 2019

Posted September 29, 2019

Do you live in the County of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo or Yuba?

Is there some way your daily commute could improve? Wish you could take public transit, walk or bicycle?

There is a plan, and your input is welcome.

The Draft 2020 Update of the Sacramento Region Metropolitan Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy was recently issued by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) for a 45-day review period, ending November 7th, 2019.

The ECOS Transportation, Air Quality and Climate Change (TAQCC) Committee is planning to make comments.

The Draft MTP/SCS and the accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Report are available on the SACOG website.

The last comments submitted by ECOS on the plan can be read by clicking here.