City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
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File ID: 2024-01565 3/11/2025 Consent Item 6.
102-Acre City-Owned Meadowview Site Overview and History (LR24-002) [Oral Report] File ID: 2024-01565
Location: District 8
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Contact: Elizabeth Boyd, Senior Planner, (916) 808-3540, [email protected]; Community Development Department
Presenters: Elizabeth Boyd, Senior Planner, (916) 808-3540, [email protected], Community Development Department
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: In January 2022, the City acquired 102 acres of vacant land (102-Acre Site or Site).
Over the last several years, City staff have conducted analyses of the Site’s development potential and other due diligence to ascertain the potential types and costs for development of the Site. Staff presented the findings of these analyses to Council on April 9, 2024. Following Council’s discussion in April, staff presented the findings to the public and held 10 engagement opportunities to ensure this knowledge was widely available and collected feedback from participants.
In April, staff stated they would return to Council for a recommendation on next steps; however, before that happens, staff will provide an overview of the process conducted to this point.
Attachment 2 provides a summary of the timeline and key decisions made regarding the Site and its development process.
Policy Considerations: The City’s 2040 General Plan includes a range of policies that promote the acquisition of underutilized lands and development of land for diverse housing opportunities, park and recreational facilities, and wetland habitat preservation to support housing, economic development, and environmental protection goals. These policies include:
File ID: 2024-01565 3/11/2025 Consent Item 6.
· SA-LUP-2 102-Acre Parcel. The City shall work with the community to develop a vision for future development of the new City-owned vacant parcel at 3100 Meadowview Road, studying a variety of uses such as housing, parks, a regional sports complex, and other community amenities.
· LUP-1.5 Surplus Land Disposition. The City shall periodically audit municipal land holdings and assess opportunities for more efficient use and management, using criteria including the provision of affordable housing and emergency shelter space, economic development and revitalization objectives, business operations, opportunities to create more park space or park connections, and applicable federal and state law to identify surplus properties and disposition strategies where appropriate.
· LUP-6.6 New Growth Neighborhoods. The City shall ensure that new residential growth areas include neighborhoods with a mix of residential types, sizes, and densities, such as single-, duplex-, and multi-unit dwellings.
Economic Impacts: The promotion of equitable economic development and investment, along with the availability of affordable housing, could foster opportunities for the residents and businesses within the area of the Site and citywide.
Environmental Considerations: This item is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because it is an activity that does not involve any commitment to a specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment, as contemplated by Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Sections 15378(b)(2) and is, therefore, not subject to CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3). Environmental review will be completed prior to any physical changes on the Site.
Sustainability: A sustainable community encompasses a diverse range of housing choices, recreational amenities, and employment opportunities for both present and future residents.
Developing the undeveloped site in a sustainable fashion promises advantages for residents, businesses, and the natural environment.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: Not applicable.
Financial Considerations: Decisions regarding the Site's development and the choice of land use mix will have varying financial impacts for the City, potentially involving either costs or revenue generation. This staff report does not include a funding request. Staff will return to City Council later for funding decisions.
File ID: 2024-01565 3/11/2025 Consent Item 6.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
Background: In January 2022, the City acquired 102 acres of vacant land from the federal government. The 102-Acre Site (Site) is located south of Meadowview Road, north of Consumnes River Road, east of the future 24th Street connection between these two roadways, and west of the Detroit Community adjacent to Susan B. Anthony Elementary School (Figure 1, below). The City- owned Site is currently landlocked with no public access available; however, it is contiguous to planned developments (Delta Shores to the west and Stone Beetland to the south) which include proposed rights-of-way that could be used to access the Site in the future.
Figure 1: 102-Acre Site Context
File ID: 2024-01565 3/11/2025 Consent Item 6.
Until the late 1970s, the Site was used as a testing track for the California Highway Patrol. It was then transferred to the U.S. Federal Government as an extension of the Job Corps facility located to the north, used by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Site has been vacant and unused since 1978.
Attachment 2 provides a summary of the timeline and key decisions made regarding the 102-acre site and its development process.
Attachment 2-102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences
102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences
January 5, 2021: City Council unanimously approved Resolution No. 2021-0004 directing the crafting of a programmatic siting, operations, and financing plan to address homelessness through a community-engaged process, committing to both short- and long-term homelessness solutions. This was discussed under Item 14 of the Discussion Calendar.
August 10, 2021: City Council formally adopted the Comprehensive Siting Plan to Address Homelessness (Siting Plan), directing the City Manager to immediately begin implementation and manage funding for the most impactful sites and programs. The Siting Plan had a list of 16 priority sites to address uses like safe parking, tiny homes, hospice, and permanent housing. The Comprehensive Siting Plan did not include the 102-acre site. This was discussed under Item 1 of the Discussion Calendar. Attachment 3 of the staff report contains the presented Siting Plan. September 6, 2021: United States Department of General Services posted an announcement that the 102-acre site being available for disposal through The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (FASTA).
o The federal government determined the property to be a high value asset and disposed it through the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act. o The FASTA process was comprised of registered bidders placing bids on the property, with a minimum opening bid of $2.2 million. The bidding opened on September 6th.
o The bidding process was scheduled to close on September 27th or when a bid had not been made for a 24-hour period.
o The auction required bidding in $100k increments.
o FASTA properties are not subject to 40 USC 550, Public Benefit Conveyances. As such, the site could not be acquired by the City for a discounted price. o The property was offered “as-is”, with no opportunity for site investigation. o Registration to bid required a $50k deposit that would be refunded if the bidder did not win.
o The federal government provided very little information and did not allow for site visits as part of the auction; however, the federal government did provide a Phase 1 environmental site assessment which indicated that there was a low probability of hazardous materials to be present on the site. September 28, 2021: City Council held a special meeting to provide the City Manager with authority to bid on the 102-acre site.
o Mayor Steinberg provided a preamble stating that the site could assist with implementing the Comprehensive Siting Plan as well as be available for other purposes.
o City Council adopted Resolution #2021-0299, authorizing the City Manager to negotiate property acquisitions for homeless services using ARPA Fund 2705.
Attachment 2-102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences
o At the time, the exact location and nature of the site was not made available to the public because this was a competitive bidding process. September 29, 2021: The City placed its first bid for the property for $7,000,000. The previous bid was $6,900,000.
o During the bidding period, there were six bidders on the property, including the City.
October 19, 2021: Resolution #2021-0313 was passed to allocate ARPA funds for government services, budgeting resources into the ARPA Reinvestment Fund (Fund 1003). This was moved as Item 4 as part of the Consent Calendar. November 8, 2021: The City emerged as the high bidder for the 102-acre site with a bid of $12.3 million.
o The City believes the next lowest bid was $12.2 million. November 16, 2021: City Council rescinded Resolution #2021-0299 and adopted a new resolution (Resolution #2021-0339) authorizing the City Manager to establish the budget for property acquisition costs using the ARPA Reinvestment Fund (Fund 1003).
This was moved as Item 17 as part of the Consent Calendar. November 29, 2021: The Visit Sacramento Sports Commission received a “Facility Audit and Recommendations” report prepared by a consultant. The report found that Sacramento lacks a multi-sport flat field complex that could serve as an anchor facility for local and national tournaments. Existing facilities are aging and in need of upgrades, and without investment, the city risks losing events to better-equipped destinations.
The report stated that a new venue could generate significant economic benefits, including millions in visitor spending and thousands of hotel room nights annually. December 14, 2021: Department of Community Response (DCR) staff provided an update to Council on the Siting Plan. The Siting Plan did not yet include the 102-acre site. This was discussed under Item 36 of the Discussion Calendar. January 10, 2022: The City acquired the 102-acre site from the Federal government. January 2022: City staff began negotiations with the Federal Department of Labor (DOL) for a temporary easement to access the site.
February 2022: Congresswoman Doris Matsui intervened on the City’s behalf, asking the DOL to grant the City a temporary easement over part of the DOL Sacramento Jobs Corp Center property “to advance Sacramento’s efforts to support those experiencing housing instability”.
March 1, 2022: DCR and Department of Public Works (DPW) staff provided an oral report to City Council on the Siting Plan, to which several new sites had been added since the Mayor’s original roll out. One of the new sites was the 102-acre site. At the time, this site was considered one of the “high priority” sites, meaning there was extensive engagement from staff to investigate future uses of this site. The cost discussed in the presentation to make this available for temporary safe parking was estimated at $8-10 million. It was also mentioned that this site could be used for other future uses, such as affordable housing. This was discussed under Item 20 of the Discussion Calendar.
Attachment 2-102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences
Spring 2022: Councilmember Vang’s office conducted seven listening sessions on how the community would like to see this site used. Common land uses cited by attendees included outdoor recreation facilities, open space (trails), employment/career training centers, and a grocery store. The summary report was released in January 2023. April 12, 2022: PW staff provided an oral report on the Siting Plan. At the time, there were eight sites included on the work plan that were continuing to be analyzed for use.
Some of the other sites had been removed after determining they were infeasible. The 102-acre site was included on the list of sites for which staff was continuing to investigate. At the time, the City did not have access to the site to provide for homeless services or development. It was mentioned that District 8 Councilmember Vang was engaging the community on what longer-term uses could be developed at the site. This was discussed under Item 9 of the Discussion Calendar.
June 2022: The City secured an easement from the DOL to build an access corridor from the Meadowview City Service Complex to the 102-Acre Site for safe parking or a similar use.
o The temporary easement was valid until March 31, 2027, under several stipulations: the City must provide fencing along the easement and along the 102-acre site to ensure that people would not access the Job Corps site, the City would be fully responsible for any improvements and would not have access to those improvements once the easement was expired, and the easement may be terminated early if the City did not use it within two years. o In September 2023, the DOL clarified that they would not require the easement to terminate early for non-use.
June 8, 2022: City Council adopted the Sacramento Local Homeless Action Plan under Resolution 2022-0211 which included directing staff to return with further recommendations on how to integrate the Local Homeless Action Plan with the Siting Plan. This was discussed under Item 4 of the Discussion Calendar. June/July 2022: Planning staff in the Community Development Department (CDD) worked with an intern program, using the 102-acre site as a study area. The interns spent two weeks touring the site, reviewing the engagement conducted by Councilmember Vang, conducting interviews, and analyzing existing conditions in order to produce a conceptual site plan and environment checklist showing potential impacts related to their plan. This information was presented to Mayor Steinberg and City staff on July 1, 2022, and to the Planning and Design Commission on July 28, 2022. This was discussed under Item 8 of the Discussion Calendar.
January – October 2022: PW staff examined the feasibility of a temporary homelessness/safe parking site situated away from wetlands and other environmental concerns. For a temporary 6- to 10-acre area, without water or sewer utilities, and minimal electrical service, the estimated costs—including site grading, interior roadways, fencing, portable on-site toilet facilities, site lighting, and a temporary access easement—ranged between $8 million and $11 million, which included an estimated $4.5 million cost to improve the temporary easement. The study included a topographic Attachment 2-102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences
survey, preliminary wetland delineation, and some initial environmental analysis. Some initial findings included:
o The site contains Swainson’s hawk habitat, a special status species for which environmental permits would be needed.
o The site contains 10 acres of scattered wetlands which were found to be difficult to avoid.
October 25, 2022: Assistant City Manager (ACM) Mario Lara and OIED staff provided an update to City Council on the status and cost of providing homeless services and beds.
Staff found that the per unit cost of temporary shelters, including safe parking sites, was very expensive. City Council received updates to the Siting Plan to align it with the adopted regional Local Homeless Action Plan and adopted Resolution #2022-0328 which shifted resources towards “implementation of homeless prevention and the production of more permanent affordable housing”. This shift to prioritize permanent affordable housing over temporary homelessness siting redirected staff efforts and led to the discontinuation of the study of a safe parking use at the 102-Acre Site. This was discussed under Item 14 of the Discussion Calendar.
November 2022: CDD staff released a Request for Proposals for the 102-Acre Site Opportunities and Constraints Analysis which sought consultant support to:
o Collect existing conditions information.
o Understand the market for potential land uses.
o Test feasibility of land use scenarios, including potential costs and revenues. November 2022: City voters pass Measure N which expanded the eligible uses of TOT funds to include “[e]conomic development projects to create local jobs;” “visitor-serving facilities that promote tourism, economic development, and other activities that bolster the local economy;” and “theatre and arts venues.” This measure allowed TOT funds to be used to support eligible uses outside of the central city.
January 2023: Councilmember Vang held a community meeting to discuss the outcomes of the listening sessions and provide an overview of next steps, including the potential use of transient occupancy tax (TOT) use at the site.
March 2023: The City developed a task order with Economic & Planning System, Inc. (EPS) to conduct an Opportunities and Constraints Analysis. April 12, 2023: The Opportunities and Constraints Analysis consultant team, in collaboration with CDD staff, facilitated a planning charrette with key stakeholders, including Councilmember Vang, Mayor Steinberg, community representatives, and technical City staff. The session focused on discussing the 102-acre site’s existing conditions and exploring potential land use concepts. When discussing potential economic development drivers, multiple groups suggested exploring a sports complex.
There were also discussions of providing additional access points, restoring some wetland features, and providing housing, including permanent supportive housing. Summer 2023: Staff reviewed the Site’s land use designation under the 2040 General Plan to maximize opportunities in light of the Surplus Lands Act. November 8, 2023: Councilmember Vang assembled a 102 Acres Advisory Committee that consisted of community members, City staff, and representatives from Visit Attachment 2-102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences
Sacramento and Urban Land Institute (ULI). She has convened this group multiple times since an initial meeting in November 2023.
February 27, 2024: City Council adopted the 2040 General Plan, which designated the 102-acre site as Parks and Recreation. Under the prior 2035 General Plan, the site had been designated as Public/Quasi-Public. The General Plan adoption was discussed under Item 22 of Public Hearings.
April 9, 2024: CDD staff presented the Opportunities and Constraints Analysis findings to City Council on April 9, 2024, for discussion. This was discussed under Item 20 of the Discussion Calendar. Staff presented a spectrum of potential costs related to four development scenarios to represent the potential range of costs and/or revenues. This analysis was for illustrative purposes only as it relied on several assumptions that may not be feasible (such as the City developing backbone infrastructure necessary to support residentially-zoned land before any future land sales). While each land use scenario was different, all identified a 3.5-acre area for an interim homelessness use that could accommodate a 200 bed non-congregate shelter once the Site was graded with utilities and roadway access. City Council discussed the findings and provided comments that indicated a preference for looking at a mix of uses that could include housing, an economic driver, and some protection of resources for the enjoyment of future residents.
June – August 2024: During the summer of 2024, CDD staff led 10 community engagement opportunities, with physical opportunities focused within District 8, as well as an ongoing online workshop, to educate and inform residents about the opportunities and constraints analysis findings and gather their feedback. September 17, 2024: City Council approved an amendment to the Delta Shores Development Agreement. Under this amendment, the Delta Shores landowner agreed to provide a 71-foot-wide minor collector roadway between planned 24th Street extensions and the western property boundary of the 102-Acre Site, enabling a roadway connection between the two properties. In exchange, the City agreed to relocate a 1.65- acre future water tank site from the Delta Shoes property to the 102-Acre Site.
Additionally, once the land uses on the 102-Acre Site are determined, the City has agreed to participate in the Delta Shores Finance Plan to share in the costs for additional capacity for backbone infrastructure required due to development on the Site. September – November 2024: District 8 Councilmember Vang’s Office held four community advocacy sessions, including two community conversations, a youth-led session, and a developer’s roundtable.
January 28, 2025: City Council passed Motion 2025-0029, authorizing the submittal of two grant applications, one of which could potentially benefit the 102-acre site. This was passed as part of Item 5 on the Consent Calendar.
February 2, 2025: CDD and OIED staff applied for a grant from Valley Vision for up to $500,000 to be used for pre-development activities related to the 102-acre site. If awarded, this grant could be used to aid the City in developing a funding strategy and solicitation package for future development partners.
Attachment 2-102-Acre Site: Timeline of Key Decisions and Influences
October 2023 – Spring 2025 (expected): A biological consultant was brought on to conduct wet and dry season surveys at the Site to determine the presence of federally protected species. These surveys, required over two consecutive years, are necessary to confirm whether any protected species are present. The findings will inform the environmental review process, development feasibility, and mitigation requirements.
The survey work is expected to conclude in spring 2025. The findings of this report are essential to determining a buffer zone, ranging from 50 to 250 feet, outside of which development would not be considered to negatively impact the wetlands.