Clearing CEQA: Study vindicates California environmental law

November 3, 2016

By Matt Kramer

Sacramento News & Review

CEQA gets a bad rap but it’s what allows people to provide feedback on plans for development in CA.

Many critics of CEQA [the California Environmental Quality Act] say that the it impedes business and ties projects up in litigation. However, a new Rose Foundation study places the percentage of projects that end up in litigation at only 0.7 percent. This helps shed light on a much-misunderstood law. “CEQA isn’t just about litigation; it’s also about having to do … reviews on projects that have a significant impact on the environment … It’s really the state’s bedrock environmental law.” says Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Change and Business Program at the UCLA and UC Berkeley schools of law. #CEQA helps us protect our environment by requiring “that state and local agencies assess the potential significant environmental impacts of proposed development projects and work to minimize such impacts when practical.”

Sacramento Railyards Plan Wins Approval, But Not Without School Concerns

October 24, 2016

By Steve Large

CBS13

The Sacramento Planning Commission unanimously approved the massive Sacramento railyards plan Monday night, but not without raising some new concerns.

[…]

The Sacramento Unified School District’s Chief Operating Officer testified that the district will need a new school site for hundreds of new children expected to move in.

“So 420 elementary, 140 middle and 140 high school at the low level,” Sacramento Unified School District COO Kathy Allen said. “And there’s not enough facilities around downtown for them right now? I will not have capacity by the time that first student arrives.”

Learn more here: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/10/24/sacramento-railyards-plan-approved/

Folsom annexation blues

October 20, 2016

By Scott Thomas Anderson

Sacramento News and Review

Showered by developer cash camouflaged through a political action committee, the Folsom City Council has quietly led an aggressive annexation campaign that could impact traffic, air quality and wildlife in northeast Sacramento County for decades to come.

[…]

The Environmental Council of Sacramento has raised concerns about the plan, including the impacts on smog and traffic, the effects on hawks and migratory birds and—most prominently—its seeming reliance on a nonexistent stable source of water: The city council voted in 2013 to supply thousands of future residents of the development with surplus water from conservation efforts within Folsom’s perilous local supply.

“They overallocated their water,” said Matt Baker, land use and conservation policy director at ECOS. “They’ve really not provided any kind of plan for an event that could drastically reduce their supply in an extremely dry year.”

Read the full article here: https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/folsom-annexation-blues/content?oid=22531569

James Corless Named Next CEO of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments

September 21, 2016

Sacramento, CA–The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) has unanimously selected James Corless to serve as its next chief executive officer. He will start April 3, 2017. The decision comes after SACOG’s current chief executive officer, Mike McKeever announced he will retire on December 31, 2016. Upon the announcement of McKeever’s retirement, the SACOG Board of Directors undertook a rigorous six-month national search that included input from SACOG’s member cities and counties, SACOG’s staff, and public and private stakeholders. To support the transition, Kirk Trost, SACOG’s chief operating officer/general counsel will serve as interim chief executive officer effective January 1, 2017.

Developers play big role in Sacramento County supervisor elections

September 3, 2016

By Brad Banan

The Sacramento Bee

Rob Burness, a local environmentalist [and ECOS board member] who worked in the county planning office for about three decades, said the contributions pay off for developers.

“When push comes to shove, the votes follow the money,” said Burness, a member of the Environmental Council of Sacramento. “If you were to look at the significant votes, and the campaign contributions made to supervisors, you would find that they very rarely vote against a contributor.”

City of West Sacramento General Plan 2035 Update

The Draft Environmental Impact Repopt (DEIR) for the 2035 update to the City of West Sacramento General Plan is open for comments through September 19th, 2016. The chapters are available on the City of West Sacramento’s website.