On June 9, 2025, the Sierra Club, ECOS, and Friends of the Swainsons’ Hawk filed a lawsuit challenging the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) actions to approve the Airport South Industrial Project (ASIP).
We did not want to file this lawsuit before the project came before the City, but the law only provides for a 30 day window to challenge the LAFCo decision made on May 7, 2025. We would have preferred to have waited for the City Council vote, but this was not possible.
LAFCo erred in its decision to approve the landowners’ request to expand the City Sphere of Influence to enable 6 million sq. ft. of industrial use of existing farmland. They did so without due consideration of the City’s commitment to the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (NBHCP).
Our three organizations strongly believe in the purpose of the NBHCP to balance development with habitat and farmland preservation. The NBHCP has worked well for 20 years, and we want the Natomas Basin Conservancy and the Natomas community to continue to thrive. Approval of the ASIP and other proposed developments threaten their future.
You may be wondering what we hope to accomplish with the lawsuit. We want local government to follow the rules and be fair to the public. Thirty years of agreements (USB, General Plan, NBHCP and more) are being set aside and, as some of you have personally experienced, the process has been stacked against the community and wildlife/habitat protections.
Finally, lawsuits are expensive and we need your help. Please donate to ECOS for our Natomas fund. None of us want to live with the traffic, air quality and other issues. Give generously.
Litigation Links:
A joint press release about the lawsuit from ECOS, Sierra Club and Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk is on ECOS’ can be read here.
A Business Journal article published on June 11, 2025 can be read here.
For Your Calendar
Please note the dates and, prior to the meetings, see the Natomas webpage for updates.
June 23 – 5:30 Sacramento County Supervisors Chambers at 700 H Street. Upper Westside will be heard at the County Planning Commission. The Commission will give a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The Final Environmental Impact Report was released today. You can find it here. There is an executive summary.
June 26 – 5:30 Sacramento City Council Chambers at New City Hall 915 I St. Airport South Industrial Project is the only item on the agenda. The City Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council for their final decision on annexation
August 12 – City Council meeting on the Airport South Industrial Project to approve or deny the annexation request and the warehouse project.
TBD – County Board of Supervisors meeting on Upper Westside to approve or deny the project.
Although a Notice of Preparation has been filed for GrandPark Southwest, no public meetings are scheduled
Actions
Sign the petitions – one concerns Upper Westside and is directed to the Board of Supervisors. The other concerns Airport South Industrial and is directed to LAFCo and the City Council. Sign the petitions here.
Let your elected representatives know how you feel by sending an email, making a call, or testifying at the hearings.
Donate to the ECOS Natomas fund.
Learn more on ECOS’s Natomas website.
Regards,
Heather Fargo
President of the ECOS Board of Directors, ECOS
