May 11, 2018
Unfortunately, on May 2, 2018, Sacramento LAFCo voted against a reconsideration of their decision to allow Elk Grove to develop into 1,156 acres of farmland, despite the 4,000 acres they already have available for development. ECOS and fellow environmental groups are disappointed, but we are not giving up!
For the latest on opening up farmland on the outskirts of Elk Grove to development, please see the following summary from Judith Lamare, President of Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk and ECOS Board Member.
Dear Farmland and Wildlife Advocates,
Thank you for all your help on the May 2 Reconsideration hearing at LAFCo — no surprises there, the reconsideration was denied on recommendation of staff and legal counsel. You can review the hearing online at http://www.agendanet.saccounty.net/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=12340&doctype=AGENDA . Click on item 5. The video and supporting material are on the right, including the Executive Director’s report. It’s amazing what you can learn from reviewing the hearing. For example, at the May 2 hearing, Rob Burness of ECOS pointed out that County General Plan policy requires 4/5 Supervisors to approve a change in the Urban Services Boundary. But at LAFCo, two Supervisors voted to change that policy on a 4-3 vote.
So what can we do now? Here’s our recommendation.
1. Stay knowledgeable and remember who voted to approve the expansion. County Supervisors Susan Peters and Sue Frost, Carmichael Water District Board member Ron Greenwood and City of Elk Grove Councilman Pat Hume. Do they represent you? Voting against were Councilmember Angelique Ashby, Special District Member Gay Jones and Public Member Jack Harrison.
Here are a couple of links to articles:
2. Stay active
Especially if you live in Elk Grove, there are things you can do now to become more active to help prevent urban sprawl. You can go to the City of Elk Grove website (here: http://www.elkgrovecity.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=275657 ) and ask for notifications for all meetings regarding the update of the General Plan and participate in that process. The next step for the City is to adopt a new General Plan planning for growth outside its present boundary. Then it will need to do an annexation procedure, which will set off another battle at LAFCo sometime in the future.
Election time is here – a great time to talk to candidates about your desire to keep cities inside their current boundaries, protect farmland and habitat, and respect habitat protection plans. Find out who is running and talk to them.
3. Support litigation by Sierra Club and ECOS
Yes we will file a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court against LAFCo to address the errors in the legal process. Sierra Club and ECOS have retained attorney Don Mooney who is preparing to file. FOSH is helping to raise money to pay the costs of litigation. You can help by sending your donation to:
Green Incubator
C/o Lamare
Mark the check in the memo spot with “FOSH”. Green Incubator. – http://sacgreenincubator.org/donations/ – is Sacramento’s 501-c-3 “community bank for the environment” – and maintains a Fund to support conservation activities for the Swainson’s Hawk. It’s tax id is 68-0143852.
Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk
Judith Lamare
President
President
