SacRT to modernize light rail system, increase train frequency to Folsom

August 14, 2019
Emily Hamann
Sacramento Business Journal

“Sacramento Regional Transit District is in the beginning stages of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar project to upgrade its light rail system, which will include more frequent service to Folsom.
Most of SacRT’s current light rail cars are reaching the end of their useful life, and will start costing SacRT more money in maintenance and repair costs. So SacRT is upgrading to new low-floor cars. The doors on low-floor cars are level with the street, which eliminates the need for elevated platforms at light rail stops.
Most of the state funding for the project is directed toward upgrading the Folsom line, which is aimed at reducing traffic congested corridors. Some of the funding is also coming from the settlement of a lawsuit between Caltrans and the Environmental Council of Sacramento. The environmentalist group had sued Caltrans over a plan to add carpool lanes on Highway 50. As part of an out-of-court settlement, Caltrans agreed to pay $7 million toward improving the Gold Line, which parallels the freeway. “

Read the full article here.

ECOS in the News!

May 16, 2019

Check out the Sacramento News and Review article about what Sacramento residents think about the climate crisis, transitioning to clean energy, the growing number of green jobs and more. Alexandra Reagan, Director of Operations for ECOS, says that the premise of clean energy killing jobs is false.

“Environmentalists are often portrayed as being anti-growth, but most of us, except for a few extremists, are perfectly aware that the population is growing and that building is going to happen, so it’s just about how we do it,” she said.

“I think the environmental waves of the last 150 years have left behind social justice, and we’re trying not to do that this time. We want fair jobs and living wages for everybody. …We can address the environmental crisis and economic issues by creating green jobs.”

Climate change consensus

Residential downsizing

Some residents say the property near planned Aggie Square is suited for infill development

By Dylan Svoboda
March 21, 2019
Sacramento News and Review

Amid a worsening housing shortage, a Manhattan Beach-based property management company is seeking to sharply reduce the number of homes it would need to build on a key property in an up-and-coming neighborhood.
Located on the former State Fair site near Tahoe Park, the undeveloped 8.68-acre lot at 325 Fairgrounds Drive would be down-zoned from multi-unit zoning—requiring at least 18 units per acre, or nearly 160 units—to single-unit zoning for future construction of 68 single-family homes.
The property is blocks from economic hubs in the UC Davis Medical Center and planned Aggie Square, the highly-anticipated technology and innovation campus. The move toward less future residential development has some nearby residents concerned.
“This is a prime infill opportunity,” said Tahoe Park resident Zach Miller. “If we want to avoid gentrification effects from Aggie Square, we should be looking at building more homes, not less.”
Nestled between newly-built single-family homes to the north and townhouses to the south, a multi-family development on the property would make for an awkward fit, says City Councilman Eric Guerra.
“There’s no question we need more housing,” Guerra said. “But I would like to look at places like Stockton Boulevard—higher transit frequency spots—for multi-family construction. Trying to squeeze a couple hundred units [at 325 Fairgrounds] wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it just doesn’t fit.”
Alex Kelter of the Environmental Council of Sacramento took the opposite view, noting the lot’s central location, along with its proximity to two light-rail stations and multiple bus lines running up and down Broadway and Stockton Boulevard.
“This not Roseville or Rancho Cordova,” Kelter said. “It’s the middle of our metropolitan area. If we don’t put density here, where are we going to put it? It just doesn’t make sense for this property, especially with the current housing market.”
Jim Perley of Western American Properties, the listed applicant, didn’t respond to written and phone inquiries from SN&R.
Svoboda, Dylan. “Residential Downsizing – Beats – Local Stories – March 21, 2019.” Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento News & Review, 21 Mar. 2019, www.newsreview.com/sacramento/residential-downsizing/content?oid=27883568.

Click here to view this article online.

Click here to view the letter about this property, co-signed by ECOS.

Use the Surplus Land Act to Build More Affordable Housing

By Scott Thomas Anderson

November 1, 2018

Sacramento News and Review

Housing advocates tell mayor his administration is skirting the California Surplus Land Act

One thing is certain: Sacramento’s wheeling and dealing of public land to market-rate developers happened during a crisis that hurts low-income renters more than anyone.
The controversial land sales were brought to Steinberg’s attention in July when the Sacramento Housing Alliance and the Environmental Council of Sacramento sent him a joint letter* expressing concern. Specifically, the two organizations questioned whether the city is in compliance with the Surplus Land Act, a law that requires prioritizing surplus government land for affordable housing. One case that the nonprofits found particularly “alarming” was the city’s sale of 4722 Ninth Avenue and 4601-4625 10th Avenue, near Stockton Boulevard.

This week, Steinberg said his office is looking into the issue Sacramento Housing Alliance and ECOS raised.

“The Surplus Land Act is an important law and the city should absolutely comply with it,” the mayor told SN&R.

Click here to read the full article.

*The letter to the Mayor Steinberg from the Sacramento Housing Alliance and the Environmental Council of Sacramento that is referenced in this article was sent on July 9, 2018.

Click here to read the letter.