The saga of the Cordova Hills mega development project in the Sacramento region continues. In February, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved an 8,000 unit subdivision in Cordova Hills, a sprawling development that, if built, will threaten Sacramento’s economic and environmental future. Last week, a group of commercial developers called Region Builders recommended that the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) silence its staff from offering opinions on development projects. Executive Director of SACOG Mike McKeever offered critical testimony of Cordova Hills at a supervisors hearing in January, and after that, the Region Builders sent a letter to SACOG expressing concern about SACOG’s opposition to projects. Now, they are recommending that SACOG staff only provide technical data to local governments on projects, not opinions.

If you’re in the Sacramento area, please attend the SACOG hearing on Thursday, May 2 at 1:00 PM and express your concerns about the recommendation from the Region Builders. Location and agenda here. Suggested talking points:

– SACOG and the Sacramento region are seen as national leaders in sustainable regional planning.
– For a regional plan to be effective, cities and counties and SACOG need to work together.
– SACOG needs to speak freely when asked to show where and how local decisions do not support the agreed-upon regional plan.
– Technical assistance and perspectives offered by SACOG show the true cost of local land use project decision in terms of federal funding and other consequences. This information is needed to support good regional planning, and SACOG should continue to offer that.
– Land use and project decisions will continue to be made by local governments, as the Cordova Hills decision itself shows.

If you’re not in Sacramento or can’t make the hearing, please consider:

– Writing a letter to SACOG (refer to above talking points)
– Sharing the SACOG editorial on Facebook, Twitter, your organization’s blog, or newsletter

If you  have any questions, please contact Terry Preston, Walk Sacramento or Matt  Baker, Environmental Council of Sacramento.