July 21, 2026

We wanted you to know about the lawsuits filed against Sacramento County since the disastrous vote by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on June 16, 2026, to approve the Upper Westside Project. And, we wanted to share some of the articles published in the local press.

Environmental Groups’ Lawsuit

ECOS, Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk and the Garden Highway Community Association filed a lawsuit against the County last week, supported by other environmental groups, including Bird Alliance and 350 Sacramento.  This lawsuit focuses primarily on requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act which requires public agencies in California to consider the environmental consequences of their actions before proceeding with projects in order to prevent significant, avoidable environmental damage.  Patrick Soluri, environmental attorney for Soluri Meserve, filed the suit in Sacramento Superior Court.

To learn more about the details of the lawsuit, read the Onsite Observer article below.

City of Sacramento Lawsuit

This lawsuit is primarily focused on the destructive impacts of the project to the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (NBHCP) and costs of the project to the City. The City argues that the County ignored City requests to abide by the NBHCP as well as City notifications that the project conflicts with the NBHCP. The NBHCP, signed in 2003 by the city, county, and state/federal wildlife agencies, includes a legally binding commitment to preserve a mile wide wildlife corridor along the Sacramento River and to balance future development with habitat conservation in the Natomas Basin. The City Attorney filed the lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court.

Several of the news articles below highlight how unusual it is for the City to sue the County and describe that lawsuit.

Make a Donation

Lawsuits have become an unfortunate last resort to getting elected officials to pay attention to the concerns of the public. The County Supervisors ignored their constituents. They ignored a petition of over 450 signatures, 150 hard copy letters, hundreds of comments on the EIR, PREIR or FEIR and numerous speakers at the (one, only) hearing on this huge project. To force the County to address our concerns, we have no choice but to present our case to a Sacramento Superior County Judge. Thank you for your support so far, and, please, could you give us $25? Or $250? Whatever your donation is, it will go towards our legal fees. Donate here. Thank you.

Local Press

TODAY:

Natomas planning is funded by Phil Serna’s developer friends. Time to rethink | Opinion

The Sacramento Bee

July 21, a Bee article highlights the close relationship between the County and developers. It also looks to the past when there was a clear separation between the County and City on development responsibilities (City) and ag land (County).

Click here to read the article.

LAST WEEK:

The following articles were published on July 16 and 17, 2026.  We were very heartened by the press response to both our lawsuit and the City’s.  We hope this signals the end of the era of rubber-stamping projects for developers in Sacramento.

Environmental groups sue Sacramento County over 9,356-home Upper Westside approval  

Onsite Observer

Environmental and neighborhood groups sued Sacramento County on Thursday over its approval of a 9,356-home community west of North Natomas, opening a legal fight over whether the region’s housing needs justify expanding urban development onto farmland in the Natomas Basin.

Provides an excellent summary of the lawsuit.

Click here to read the article.

Sacramento’s lawsuit against county ends rubber-stamp era for developers | Opinion

The Sacramento Bee

The rubber stamp era for big developments in Sacramento County is over. There is a new sheriff in town. The city of Sacramento, in a stunning repudiation of Sacramento County, is legally challenging the Board of Supervisors’ unanimous decision in June to approve a new 25,000-resident community in Natomas known as Upper Westside.

Click here to read the article.

City of Sacramento sues county over controversial Natomas housing project

The Sacramento Bee

In a rare move, the city of Sacramento has filed a lawsuit against Sacramento County challenging its approval of Upper Westside, a controversial housing project that could add 25,000 residents to the Natomas basin.

Click here to read the article.

City of Sacramento files own suit against Sac County over Upper Westside Plan approvals

Sacramento Business Journal

The city of Sacramento has filed its own lawsuit against Sacramento County over county supervisors’ June approvals of the Upper Westside Specific Plan. Filed Thursday in Sacramento County Superior Court, the city’s lawsuit contends the county’s environmental review of the project gave short shrift to potential impacts on the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan and undeveloped areas bordering the city.

Click here to read the article. (article protected by a pay wall)

Supported by former Sacramento mayor, groups file suit over Upper Westside project 

The Sacramento Bee

Three groups filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors’ approval of the Upper Westside project. The board voted 5-0 on June 16 to approve the project, which could add about 25,000 residents to a rural area along the Sacramento River in the Natomas basin west of the city of Sacramento.

Click here to read the article.

Environmental groups file suit challenging Upper Westside Plan approvals

Sacramento Business Journal

A group of environmental organizations filed a lawsuit opposing approvals for the Upper Westside Plan, the 9,300-home project proposed in unincorporated North Natomas. According to the announcement of the suit, groups such as the Environmental Council of Sacramento believe Sacramento County’s review of the project wasn’t adequate under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Click here to read the article. (article protected by a pay wall)

July 16, 2026

The Environmental Council of Sacramento, Garden Highway Community Association and Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk today filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court to require the County of Sacramento to comply with law governing environmental review (EIR) of a landowner-proposed development on farmland and habitat in the North Natomas unincorporated area. The attorney for plaintiffs is Patrick Soluri, Soluri Meserve.

Click here to read the press release.

Click the button below to donate to the ligation funds for this suit.

On June 16, 2026, the five members of the Sacramento Board of Supervisors voted to approve the Upper Westside Project.
With that vote, the land changes from agricultural to development and increases in paper value – much to the advantage of the developer and other land owners.

The meeting was lopsided to favor the developer. County staff presented the project and responded to supervisor questions. Then, the developer described the project and responded to supervisor questions. The presentations lasted about 2 and half hours. Members of the public were given ONE minute each to speak. The supervisors did not ask the public speakers any questions. There were about 70 speakers both in opposition and to approve.

In their questions and in the County Planning Staff presentations, requirements in the process were identified that could be show stoppers for the project. The developers and County made a number of assumptions such as that they can successfully navigate the many steps needed to provide water for the project. Another is that they will receive permits from the state and federal wildlife agencies.

The first obstacle will be lawsuits challenging the County’s environmental review. ECOS and allies have less than 30 days to file a petition to overturn the EIR. Donations to our legal fund can be made here.

ECOS and allies pointed out the many legal flaws in the development Plan and EIR and the harm the Upper Westside Project will do to the Habitat Conservation Plans in the Natomas Basin. ECOS also explained that far more land is zoned for housing than can be built in the next century, as detailed in a letter to the supervisors. The claim that the rezoning will benefit the housing crisis is a hoax.

We are, of course, very disappointed that the Supervisors chose to endorse such a bad plan. In future, we must elect leaders who will say no to business proposals that harm the public interest. We are grateful for the response to our outreach and the increased awareness about land use, in our community. We will not be discouraged and will continue to bring people together to protect climate, farmland, habitat and habitat conservation plans.

Community opposition will continue. The City and Natomas Basin Conservancy are strongly opposed to the project. A coalition of groups that include ECOS, 350 Sacramento, Sierra Club, Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk, Garden Highway Community Association, North Natomas Community Coalition, and others will continue to work together to oppose this project.

News and Links:

To see a recording of the meeting – go here. The video is about 9 hours long, so advance to 2:04 pm, 4 hours and 40 minutes into the video to see the Upper Westside Hearing.

The Sacramento Bee published an article on the front page, June 18,2026. You can Google “Supervisors Approve Controversial Upper Westside” or try one of these links:

• The front page of the Bee with photo and article
• The same Article, on MSN

An article in Abridged provides a good summary of project.

• Sacramento County greenlights controversial housing plan against city concerns https://www.abridged.org/news/sacramento-county-upper-westside-housing-plan/

We will continue to keep you updated and ask for your support. Please make a tax-deductible donation here.

The Board of Supervisors (BOS) has scheduled a vote on the Upper Westside project for Tuesday, June 16 at 2 pm. Plan to attend at 700 H St, Sacramento.

To confirm that the vote will be held, the morning of the 16th, check our webpage or social media pages.

Places where you can get updates include:

• The ECOS Natomas Campaign webpage – see the Important Update message
• Facebook, Instagram, X and Bluesky

You can also check the agenda on Board of Supervisors meeting webpage.

Background

The vote is to approve or deny this project which will rezone over 2,000 acres of farmland to enable residential and commercial development.

The fundamental reason to oppose this project is that the County should not build an unincorporated city, the size of Galt, in a flood zone, next to the Sacramento River. It will destroy valuable farmland and wildlife habitat. The project will add over 20,000 people to Natomas and will not improve main transportation arteries, resulting in increased traffic and congestion. This project also flouts long-standing agreements between the City and the County.

The City and the Natomas Basin Conservancy have retained counsel and sent strongly worded letters to the County explaining how proposed rezoning will destroy the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan. You should help us to oppose this project.

Submit a Comment to the Supervisors

Email a comment to BoardClerk[at]saccounty[dot]gov. Include “Upper Westside Specific Plan” Item #58, in the subject. Providing your contact information is optional. Or, you can mail a comment to the County Board of Supervisors at 700 H Street, Suite 2450, Sacramento, CA 95814

Ideas for your comments could include the following. You don’t need to use them all – use ones that reflect your reasons for opposition.

• The City’s opposition – The City Council passed a resolution against UWSP. The City’s excellent letter is here. 
• Habitat – There will be irreversible and fatal impacts to the Natomas Basin Conservancy, the Swainson’s Hawk and the Swainson’s Hawk Zone. Two excellent letters from NBC are here. There is total disregard for 3 decades of planning for habitat preservation. There are conflicts with the Urban Services Boundary (County’s ultimate boundary for growth) and the Natomas Basin Conservancy.  
• Traffic impacts – I-5 and I-80, West El Camino, and Garden Highway will be severely impacted by the addition of 20,000 residents.
• Water – There is no viable source of water. The urban water rights do not exist for these parcels and water reliability is diminishing with climate change. ECOS wrote a letter in response to the project’s recent proposal to use agricultural water.
• Fire & Police – Concern with the ability of the county to provide adequate protection for urban scale services typically handled by the city, not the county.
• Negative business impact – Millions of square feet of new commercial space will pull business from existing businesses in Natomas and downtown.
• Evacuation Risk – Increased congestion creates dangerous evacuation conditions in case of flooding or other emergencies.
• Air Quality Damage – Excessive and unhealthy air quality emissions are not sufficiently addressed. The EIR identifies significant air quality impacts that can’t be mitigated.
• Lack of Affordable Housing – This project does not address the region’s affordable housing need. Our housing need is for low and moderate income housing which is a minor part of this project. More importantly, plenty of land is already zoned for housing. See ECOS’ letter that argues against more SacCounty approvals of Greenfield projects including the Upper Westside proposal.

Please join us in opposing this project.  Attend the meeting, give a 2 minute spoken comment and/or, submit a written comment.

Thank you for taking action to demonstrate your opposition to this project.