Tag Archives: Community

ECOS Climate Committee Meeting – Remi Mendoza, City General Plan Update 6/22

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LINK to join: ECOS ZOOM 6656164155 or call: 1 669 900 6833, Mtg ID: 665 616 4155

6:00 Welcome and Introductions

6:10 City of Sacramento Draft General Plan Update (GPU)
Remi Mendoza, Senior Planner and Project Manager for the City of Sacramento, will share information on the City’s new draft General Plan Update (GPU). The General Plan Update includes goals for promoting the development of a wider variety of housing types and this plan also envisages interconnected centers and corridors, so that future growth is sustainable and equitable. sac2040gpu[at]cityofsacramento[dot]org
The City will host a webinar June 29 on CAAP + General Plan Update — https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Community-Development/Planning/Major-Projects/General-Plan).

6:40 Discussion/Q&A (GPU)

7:05 Updates and Announcements

  • Sacramento County’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force – status update
  • Measure A redux – 2024 ballot measure to fund transit, etc.
  • SACOG Blueprint
  • I-80 lanes to be added between Davis and Sacramento – draft EIR expected soon
  • Community Benefits Ordinance for Sacramento City
  • Proposed development projects jeopardizing the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan
  • Regional Climate Action Plan for 7 counties, by Sacramento Metro Air District (SMAQMD)
  • Others …

This meeting is open to everyone interested in addressing some of our region’s most pressing challenges.

Click here to view the agenda in PDF.

Grant Opportunity: Del Paso Heights Neighborhood Fund

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Grant Opportunity – Applications due Monday, June 19, at 5 p.m.

Del Paso Heights Neighborhood Fund

The Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s Del Paso Heights Neighborhood Fund is now accepting proposals for funding. This grant opportunity was created from one Foundation fundholder’s desire to support organizations providing critical services in Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights neighborhood. We will award grants between $2,500-7,500, with at least $50,000 distributed this year. Visit the Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s website for information and to apply.

AB 1052 Sacramento Regional Transit District’s Ballot Authority (Support)

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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.

Click here to read the letter in PDF.

Help Fight Urban Displacement

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Sacramento Investment Without Displacement (SIWD) is a coalition of social justice organizations, neighborhood associations, labor groups, residents, and community partners organized to support building healthy communities and affordable housing, preserving cultural traditions, and the stability of neighborhoods impacted by big developments. ECOS helped start SIWD and continues to support its work.

Our request to you is for you and/or your organization is to sign on to our letter via this link to our Google Form.

SIWD has been working with the City of Sacramento for over two years to draft a citywide Community Benefits Agreement Ordinance (CBAO) to address the negative impacts of large developments on diverse communities going forward.

Since 2022, SIWD and the City have met weekly in an attempt to come to a compromise in developing the ordinance, however, we disagree on some major components included and not included in the City’s draft of the CBAO which was presented on April 18th. The Law & Legislation Committee will review the final and proposed ordinance language at their 1pm May 16th meeting. We want amendments to be made to the City’s ordinance before it comes before the full City Council.

Deadline to sign-on: 11:45AM, Tuesday May 16th, 2023

Youth Action Alert: Community Benefits Agreement Ordinance 5/9

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Date & Time: TOMORROW May 9, 2023 06:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Location: via Zoom, register here

Sacramento Investment Without Displacement (SIWD) is a coalition of social justice organizations, neighborhood associations, labor groups, residents, and community partners organized to support building healthy communities and affordable housing, preserving cultural traditions, and the stability of neighborhoods impacted by big developments. You’re invited to a youth action alert session to learn how to make your voice heard on behalf of your community. We will share more about the CBAO background, SIWD’s process, and why the youth voice is so important. We’ll also do a letter-writing workshop to help you submit your thoughts to the City by the May 16th Deadline.

The first 10 youth registrants will receive $20 Door Dash gift cards to support with dinner for the evening**. ** must be a youth (age 13-24), must be in attendance, and must live in the City of Sacramento to qualify.

You can learn more about our stance here: https://bit.ly/3nlLlEd.

Get a head start and download the letter template here: bit.ly/3AQ4Jwb

Big Day of Giving 2023!

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Sacramento’s Big Day of Giving is right around the corner and ECOS would like to engage you!

The Environmental Council of Sacramento has been a powerful advocacy organization in the Sacramento region for over 50 years. We advocate for aggressive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We support green building practices such as using recycled materials and electrification of all buildings and vehicles. We argue for new parks, transit, and “complete streets” in environmentally impacted urban areas, especially near freeways and heavy industry, and in historically red-lined areas. With the climate crisis growing and affordable housing a critical need, our advocacy efforts are needed more than ever.

It’s easy to make a difference in the Sacramento region during Big Day of Giving. Donations as small as $15 add up to make a big impact!

Between now and Thursday, May 4, please donate to keep ECOS advocacy vibrant!

Donate Now