Sacramento City Council weighed the merits of a large industrial development in North Natomas on Tuesday as environmentalists, developers and laborers argued for or against the controversial project.
The development, known as Airport South Industrial, would annex approximately 450 acres of protected land for warehouses into the city of Sacramento, south of the Metro Air Parkway and west of the Westlake neighborhood in Natomas.
The project could bring thousands of jobs to the region, but would also develop on land that the city agreed to protect through the Natomas Basin Conservancy in 1997.
No decision was made during the four hour public hearing, as a final council vote won’t come until next month at the earliest. But council members probed applicant Northpoint Development on specific concerns surrounding proximity to the Westlake neighborhood, traffic, air pollution and utility rates for neighbors of the project.
Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes said at the meeting that she listened to the concerns of Natomas neighbors and asked questions on their behalf.
“Where in the city’s general plan and the North Natomas Conservation Plan does it call for 450 acres of large industrial warehouses to be built in residential neighborhoods and adjacent to schools?” Talamantes asked.
Site map of Airport South Industrial Project, a controversial project in the North Natomas Region, which would be annexed into the city if approved.Courtesy of City of Sacramento
District 1 Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, who represents the community, recused herself from the hearing because she lives in the Westlake neighborhood adjacent to the proposed development.
The council continued the discussion to its next meeting on Dec. 2, at which point they could take a vote on the project.
The Details
The project would include around 25 parcels, four of which would be major warehouses alongside some commercial properties such as a hotel and fast food restaurants, and a few smaller utility buildings.
Applicant renderings of warehouse designs for the Airport South Industrial Project proposed for North Natomas, which has divided developers, laborers and environmentalists.Courtesy of City of Sacramento
The applicant team told attendees the warehouses would likely be dedicated to shipping fulfillment centers and logistics and will be largely automated.
The developers touted the major economic benefits the project could bring to the city, including the creation of around 5,000 warehouse jobs and approximately 3,800 construction jobs as well as an estimated $784 million annual economic impact to the area.
According to the presentation, the project’s environmental impact report stated that some of the “unavoidable impacts” to the surrounding area of the development would include a conflict with the region’s air quality plan and an increase in pollutants.
The project’s application maintained that regardless of the environmental concerns, the location is next to a preexisting logistics hub and believes their project is consistent with the region’s conservation plan.
The Divide
Over 50 people spoke for and against the development. Some said the economic opportunity was too good to ignore, while others felt the project was too close to surrounding residential neighborhoods and posed environmental health risks.
Many blue collar workers spoke in support, noting that more construction projects in the area means more work closer to home.
“This is how we, the working class, feed our families,” said union electrician Shawn Graves during public comment.
Mackenzie Hollander, a junior at Natomas Charter School and regular bird watcher, told the council the project would threaten the endangered Swainson’s Hawk species that lives in the Natomas Basin.
“We as a city are known for being a place where people and nature coexist,” Hollander said. “Developing on land that fish and wildlife already spent decades forming an agreement to preserve for our nature is just not what the city of Sacramento stands for.”
Another concern brought to council’s attention was its proximity to Paso Verde School.
Doug Orr, Assistant Superintendent of Natomas Unified School District, told council the proposed 150-foot buffer between the project and the school was too small and would endanger students and faculty.
“Some of our staff spend their entire day on the field,” Orr said. “A lot of our kids are out there multiple days a day, playing, running around, doing physical education a couple 100 feet from where there could be potentially many diesel trucks.”
Should the council move forward with the project at its Dec. 2 meeting, city spokesperson Jennifer Singer said it would then need to be voted on by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and the Local Agency Formation Commission known as LAFCo.
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