ECOS Letter to Sac County Planning Commissioners re Upper Westside, June 20, 2025

On June 20, 2025, ECOS submitted a letter to the Sacramento County Planning Commissioners regarding the proposed Upper Westside project.

The Final Environmental Impact Report does not address many of the issues raised by the Environmental Council of Sacramento or by a number of other agencies in their comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report. It is important that you are familiar with the many and varied issues that have not been addressed. While the proponent wants you to overlook the extremely problematic nature of this project, many others do not. Because of the project’s location, the developer and project supporters hope that you will overlook the extremely problematic nature of this project. The list of Significant and Unavoidable and Cannot be Mitigated indicates that this project is not ready to be voted on.

Click here to read the letter in full.

Sierra Club, ECOS file suit opposing step toward Airport South project annexation, June 9, 2025, The Sacramento Business Journal

By Ben van der Meer | June 9, 2025 | The Sacramento Business Journal

Local environmental groups have filed a lawsuit opposing a sphere-of-influence amendment to the city of Sacramento that would enable an industrial project called Airport South to move forward.
The Environmental Council of Sacramento, Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter and Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk are plaintiffs in the suit filed Monday in Sacramento County Superior Court, contending an environmental impact report for Airport South didn’t take a full accounting of possible impacts.

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Hella construction on Sacramento’s Hwy. 50 promises little long-term relief, June 7, 2025, The Sacramento Bee

By The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board | June 7, 2025 | The Sacramento Bee

The perpetual roadwork on Sacramento’s highways is a never-ending story of surprise detours, dangerous lane splits, metal-smeared K-rails and tragic fatal accidents — all in the futile pursuit of a solution to relieve congestive traffic. A “solution” that will be obsolete in less than a decade.
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Sac County’s Grandpark project, now two projects, continues on development track, May 29, 2025, The Sacramento Business Journal

By Ben van der Meer | May 29, 2025 | The Sacramento Business Journal

Story Highlights

Sacramento County released notice for 1,871-acre Grandpark Southwest project.
Grandpark Southwest plans 8,500 residential units and mixed-use development.
Separate Grandpark Brookfield project proposes 16,000 units on 3,484 acres.
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Sacramento commission approves annexing 472 acres. Residents are concerned, May 9, 2025, The Sacramento Bee

By Emma Hall | May 9, 2025 | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento residents, including former Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, were against the project altogether, saying it’s too close to schools and other residential areas. Residents were concerned about construction and the annex will have environmentally, especially with the Natomas Basin Conservation habitat plan.

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Sacramento LAFCO approves step toward Airport South project near Metro Air Park, May 9, 2025, Sacramento Business Journal

By Ben van der Meer | May 9, 2025 | Sacramento Business Journal

“I think our main concern is it crosses the urban services boundary,” said Heather Fargo, the current ECOS board president and a former mayor of Sacramento. She added the land is also active farmland, and developing it violates the spirit of the Natomas Basin Conservancy Plan, first approved by local governments in 1997. “It starts to unravel the conservancy plan.”
Click here to read the article in full.