Sacramento County officials cancelled a Board of Supervisors hearing that had been set for today on plans for a highly-debated 9,000 home development near Natomas. The move follows public backlash from residents and city leaders about the massive and controversial project.
The current Upper Westside Project is proposed to sit on 2,000 acres of farmland along the Garden Highway in a corner of Natomas that borders Interstates 5 and 80.
County documents include plans for a town center, multiple school sites, a network of parks, as well as a mix of commercial and residential buildings for an estimated population of 25,000.
In a statement to CapRadio, county spokesperson Kenneth Casparis said the number of concerns raised in the last week prompted county officials to cancel the meeting.
“It is important to take the necessary time to thoroughly review this input to ensure that, when the plan is finally presented for public discussion and Board consideration, it aligns with the County’s vision for exemplary, well-planned development,” he said in an email.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors had been scheduled to vote on whether to approve the project, which would take around 20 years to fully develop.
Many Natomas residents are at odds with the proposal. Over 50 community members holding signs advocating for their community gathered Tuesday evening to rally against the development just an hour after the county sent their meeting cancellation email.
Josh Harmatz has lived along the Garden Highway for 20 years and spoke against the project at the rally last night. He took the cancellation as a promising sign.
“It just means that they’re listening," Harmatz said. “They’ve heard not only how the city feels about it, who’s opposed to the project, but also the residents here.”
Many concerns expressed by city and community members surround conservancy of Natomas’s open space. City leaders said they’re also worried about the lack of planning for the estimated impact of the projected 25,000 new residents to the region.
The Sacramento City Council voted 8 to 1 on August 12 to send a formal letter of opposition to the project, which outlines many unanswered questions they have about the project.
The letter states that the council opposes the project over differing visions on that land, with the city prioritizing conservation of the Natomas Basin and the 22 listed species that live there, including the Swainson’s Hawk.
Outside of conservation, the city takes issue with what it calls a lack of traffic planning, the assumption that the city of Sacramento will provide public utilities like water, and the potential for flooding in the Natomas Basin.
The city’s letter also states that “Development on the periphery of the city threatens our infill development strategy and tax base.”
Sacramento City Councilmember Karina Talamantes, who represents Natomas on the council, attended the rally. She said the project, which could result in a new community the size of the city of Galt, is unacceptable.
“That’s where we have smart growth,” she said. “Let’s continue with in-fill development, let’s continue doing housing near transit lines, let’s continue to do housing where you can walk to work.”
According to the county’s website, the current project has been in the works since 2018 and the Sacramento County Planning Commission recommended the project for approval on June 23.
The county’s staff report finds the Upper Westside Project is consistent with the county’s general plan and helps meet housing stock goals set by the region’s Housing element, a state-required housing goal that each county must reach by a given year.
Between 2021 and 2029, the county must construct around 21,000 new units to meet housing needs in the region.
The project developer, listed under the company Upper Westside LLC in county documents, was not immediately available for comment at the time of publication.
Former Sacramento mayor and current president of Sacramento’s Environmental Council Heather Fargo said she isn’t convinced this project will help aid in reaching the region’s housing goals.
“There is a serious shortage of affordable housing, and almost everything we’re building is not affordable,” she said. “We should be investing in our existing neighborhoods."
The county has not yet set a date to revisit the future of the Upper Westside development, but those invested in the project’s progress will be carefully watching.
“The opposition is growing, not decreasing,” Fargo said. “People aren’t losing steam here.”
Contact CapRadio reporter Riley Palmer at [email protected]
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