The saga over the Sacramento Zoo’s future home enters a new era this week. The city council will vote on signing a memorandum of understanding with the zoo to determine if the Land Park location can be expanded and serve the city’s next generation of visitors.
Sacramento zoo board president Elizabeth Stallard is spearheading the search for a permanent solution to the zoo’s small Land Park footprint.
The current proposal includes adding 20 acres of land around the boundary of the zoo to make room for more spacious exhibits.
“Obviously, it’s non-binding; it confirms that, it’s not committing the city to approve the plan, it’s not committing society to go forward with whatever the city identifies as appropriate space, but it’s our effort to show a commitment to working together,” Stallard said.
The zoo backed out of a plan to build a new location in Elk Grove last year when construction became too costly.
Stallard says the zoo must grow in size to avoid risking its accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“It’s not as though they have a specific zoo size requirement. Their focus is more on sizes of individual habitats, quality of life for the animals,” Stallard said.
The zoo is coming up on its 100-year anniversary next year at the Land Park location. The city council will vote on Tuesday on entering a six-month period of negotiations with the zoo.