Public meeting held in Elk Grove to address environmental impact of zoo project
ELK GROVE — Living too close to a zoo in Elk Grove? On Tuesday night, the public got the chance to sound off on the environmental impacts of what's set to be a 63-acre upgrade to the Sacramento Zoo.
The Sacramento Zoo currently sits smack dab in the middle of William Land Park, all 13 acres of it. The new zoo in Elk Grove would be nearly five times the size, providing more room for animals and exhibits but also more chances to impact the community around it.
Between the pages of a new environmental impact report is an analysis of building and operating a new zoo in Elk Grove.
Public comment Tuesday night was a step closer to the biggest question for the city: Will the zoo get approved?
The report outlines exactly where the zoo will sit on a 100-acre vacant site at the northwest intersection of Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway.
The part of the proposal that has received the most vocal concerns is the potential traffic noise.
We set out with our own question for residents in the city of Elk Grove: What do they think? Enthusiasm was all we heard like from the Sessions family who are eyeing season passes already.
"We have a newborn. He's 11 weeks old. It's exciting to know he's going to grow up with the zoo community, with animals," Jordan Session said.
"I want to see it in Elk Grove, considering it's going to be closer to me now," resident Mariah Leone said.
The report, we learned, offers three alternatives if the proposed site is no longer approved. The first is no project, no development. The second is to reduce development and decrease the size of the zoo. The third is to move the zoo to Elk Grove Park along Highway 99.
"I think we're all excited," Session said. "We know it's a major upgrade from the Land Park location."
Will the Sacramento Zoo name carry to Elk Grove? That's still in the works. It very well could, but right now, it's being called the new zoo in Elk Grove. Naming comes after the city approves it for good.