Category Archives: ECOS Updates

Climate Action Plan Presentations

Climate Action Plans: What’s the Latest? How Can We Help?

At the ECOS board meeting on Tuesday, Nov 24 at 6pm, we heard the latest about the Climate Action Plans of Sacramento City, West Sacramento City, and the County of Sacramento.

Click here to download a recording of this meeting.

Cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento

How has Sacramento been following up on these recommendations?

Anne Stausboll, Chair of the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change, presented. The Commission presented its recommendations to Sacramento and West Sacramento this summer.

Resources from Anne

Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change Report, and the supporting Technical report, are both here: https://www.lgc.org/climatecommission/

Sacramento City Council voted on ten preliminary “first year” actions: https://engagesac.org/blog-civic-engagement/2020/8/26/sacramento-city-council-embraces-slow-streets-electrified-buildings-to-fight-climate-change

Sacramento City staff update on Nov 10 to Council on the “first year” actions: https://sacramento.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=22&clip_id=4764&meta_id=605234

Sacramento City staff update on the city CAP to the Planning Commission on Nov 12: https://sacramento.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=34&clip_id=4765&meta_id=605782

County of Sacramento

Todd Smith, Principal Planner, Sacramento County, discussed the status of the County’s Community-wide Climate Action Plan. This month, the County’s Stakeholder Committee heard a presentation on an early draft.

Presentations were followed by a Questions and Answer session.

Join us at our next board meeting!

Board Meetings of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) happen at 6:00 pm on the 4th Tuesday of odd-numbered months.
Zoom Meeting ID: 818 6537 7865
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81865377865
Call-in: 1-669-900-6833 | Same Zoom info every board meeting

Click here for the agenda, and links to the supplemental materials for this meeting.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Preserve the Kassis Property Open Space

One of the last wildlife sanctuaries along the Lower American River is in danger of disappearing forever.

The Kassis property in Rancho Cordova is one of the last sizable areas of open space along the American River Parkway. This land is home to the river’s bald eagles, deer, bobcats, foxes, hawks, owls, and many more of the Parkway’s wild residents. Endangered Swainson’s Hawk have been spotted in the vicinity. Fisherman routinely find their way to the base of this property to stand quietly in the pursuit of steelhead. Here is where the wildlife escapes to when the river floods their homes on the American River Parkway.

The City is poised to let Trumark, an out-of-town developer, wipe out a critical refuge for wildlife to build 24 million dollar homes with river views.

The upper 21 acres of the Kassis property adjacent to Folsom Boulevard should be developed, but the lower 20 acres of wildlife habitat along the Lower American River is in the floodplain and must be preserved.

Sign the petition.

 

Image Source: Summer M. Tribble (daughter of David R. Tribble), CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Letter to UC Regents re Aggie Square

October 10, 2020

Sacramento Investment Without Displacement, of which ECOS is a member, sent a letter to UC Regents regarding our concerns about Aggie Square.

Below is an excerpt from the letter.

We are writing this letter to appeal to you and the Board of Regents to request that UC Davis and its developer Wexford Science and Technology commit to signing a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with our broad coalition. We believe that this project could bring great possibility and promise for the future of Oak Park and other nearby neighborhoods, the City of Sacramento and UC Davis Medical Center, if the benefits are shared widely and equity and inclusion are embraced as core values.

Before this project’s Environmental Impact Report is approved, it is a moral imperative that the UC system consider our community coalition and the impacted community we represent. The leaders of our coalition are requesting a meaningful conversation with UC Davis and its developer to address inequities and unintended consequences of this project.

The Oak park community is mostly made up of people of color, low-income people and immigrants who have carried a heavy burden for generations in the history of the development of this region. Unfortunately, deep poverty, violence, inadequate affordable and safe housing, employment discrimination and the many subtle actions of hate have deeply wounded countless promising young and old souls alike. Residents have a list of concerns about how the build-out and operation of Aggie Square will impact their neighborhoods.

Click here to read the letter in full.

Creek Week 2020

Creek Week 2020 was cancelled because of COVID-19, but…

You can still help clean our creeks and other natural areas this fall and beyond! Whether you want to venture out with a small team on your own or join in an organized clean-up, please read and follow the clean-up guidance.

Join an Organized Clean-Up

A few organized clean-ups are offered in October. Check dates and locations on the Creek Week website. Registration for these organized clean-ups is open. Receive your Creek Week thank you memento at the clean-up location.

Random Acts of Clean-Up

Dates: Any morning in October you choose. Check creekweek.net pages for suggested creek spots or choose somewhere near your home that could use some trash clean-up. Registration not required. Report your clean-up results and receive a Creek Week thank you!

City of Sacramento Parks Master Plan Update 2040

October 9, 2020

New deadline: October 25, 2020

The City of Sacramento is asking residents to provide their thoughts on a plan that will outline how parks and related services will grow over the next 20 years.

The Parks Master Plan 2040 will be created by the City’s department of Youth, Parks & Community Enrichment (YPCE) and guide planners in building new parks and recreation facilities, and youth and recreation programs.

“Beautiful parks, robust recreation and enriching programs are critical to our City’s future,” said Park Planning, Design, and Development Manager Raymond Costantino. “We want residents to dream big and feel empowered to help us develop services and facilities that will give Sacramentans a better quality of life for generations to come.”

The City’s department of Youth, Parks & Community Enrichment is asking residents to take an online survey, called a “Maptionnaire,” which is a map-based survey tool that allows people to share their opinions about parks and programs within various Sacramento neighborhoods. The survey is available in English, Hmong, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Public outreach for the plan will continue over the next several months and will include a youth workshop and a photo contest with prizes.

“Another key outreach component will be virtual panels geared toward underrepresented and underserved communities,” Costantino said.

A Parks Master Plan for Sacramento was last updated in 2009. Since then, the department of Youth, Parks & Community Enrichment has undergone many changes – including a name change – to better prioritize Sacramento’s youth services and life-enriching programs for residents of all ages.

The City of Sacramento Parks Master Plan 2040 is expected to be finalized in 2021.

Take the Survey
More info