On September 7, 2023, Habitat 2020 (the Habitat Committee of ECOS) and several other organizations submitted a comment letter on the Coyote Creek Agrivoltaic Ranch Project.
Category Archives: ECOS comment letters
ECOS Letter re City of Sacramento Draft Climate Action & Adaptation Plan
On August 23, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter regarding the City of Sacramento Draft Climate Action & Adaptation Plan.
Our main comments are as follows:
- The Plan should be upfront about its financial cost and clearly prioritize City actions according to cost-effectiveness in terms of emissions reductions per dollar.
- The Plan should address funding for underground infrastructure needed for infill development.
- The Plan should commit to preserving the Sacramento County Urban Services Boundary, which was put into place in 1993 to prevent greenfield development.
You can view our complete comments in our letter. Click here to read the letter.
We look forward to engaging with the City of Sacramento as the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan advances, in order to help make this plan the best as it can be for the present and future residents of the City of Sacramento.
I-Street Bridge Support Letter
On June 12, 2023, ECOS submitted letters of support for the I-Street Bridge Project.
Below is an excerpt.
The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) strongly supports the I Street Bridge Replacement Project for the infrastructure improvements at the Sacramento Valley Station which are only possible through this project. Quick action is needed to secure full funding for the bridge construction. Replacing the existing bridge is a longstanding regional priority for the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento which will support more sustainable and equitable mobility that will foster sustainable growth transit-focused growth for the cities and the greater region, moreover, it directly benefits the state’s investment in our passenger rail service.
AB 1052 Sacramento Regional Transit District’s Ballot Authority (Support)
On May 30, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter of support for AB 1052, Sacramento Regional Transit District’s Ballot Authority.
Below is the text of our letter.
On behalf of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS), we thank you for authoring AB 1052 and express our support for the bill as it moves through the legislative process.
Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) continues to face reduced ridership and higher costs originally driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those negative impacts continue today, along with the lasting societal changes the pandemic caused.
We strongly believe that a robust, efficient, and cost-effective SacRT transit system benefits all people within its service area, but some projects provide more benefits to a subset of the residents living within that service area. However, if SacRT wants to place a measure on the ballot to increase a sales or use tax, or property tax, that measure must cover its entire service area.
In the wake of these changes and the ongoing financial uncertainty, AB 1052 would give SacRT the authority to ask a subset of its service area to support paying for projects that would more directly benefit that area. Many much-needed community and SacRT projects are more localized, impacting and delivering the most benefits to a geographically specific region as opposed to the entire widespread, 440-square mile SacRT service area.
We know that efficient public transit provides tremendous regional benefits. SacRT services reduce traffic, improve air quality, boost regional economic growth, create jobs, and connect neighborhoods. It also offers residents a cost-effective way to get to and from school, work, medical appointments, and essential services. In addition, it provides mobility equity, by providing greater access to opportunities and services so all members of our community can connect, thrive, and prosper.
ECOS was founded in 1971 as a visionary and action-oriented coalition for our region.
Today the organizational and individual members of ECOS work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, promote smart growth land use and transportation principles, promote equity in housing, promote sustainable regional water supply for all users, public health and opportunities, and promote regional habitat conservation.
We are pleased to offer our support for AB 1052 and I thank you again for carrying the bill.
ECOS Comments on City of Sacramento Groundwater Master Plan Well Replacement Program (DEIR)
On May 25, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter of our Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report, City of Sacramento Groundwater Master Plan Well Replacement Program (DEIR).
ECOS Letter to State Legislators against use of trailer bills for policy issues
On May 21, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter to State Legislators in opposition to trailer bills as a means of moving important policy issues forward.
