Sacramento Zoo's planned move to Elk Grove faces critical vote this week
SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento Zoo's move to Elk Grove is heading for a critical vote by the Elk Grove city council.
Ahead of that vote, zoo officials on Monday will be showcasing the latest about the planned new zoo's design.
Back in February, officials started reviewing the environmental impacts of the new 63-acre site near Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway in Elk Grove.
Different renderings of the planned new zoo have been released over the past months.
The Sacramento Zoo's current site in William Land Park occupies just 13 acres. Zoo officials have argued that they need more room for animals and exhibits.
Monday's press conference is set to happen at 11 a.m. at the Sacramento Zoo.
The project to move the zoo has been in the works since September 2021, and the early renderings of the proposed plan show the fully green campus would be nearly five times the size it is now, including more parking.
"The big focus of the new zoo is conservation, education, recreation," said executive director at the Sacramento Zoo Jason Jacobs.
The move to Elk Grove would make room for over a million visitors a year.
The expansion is also to take care of the animals. For example, at the new site, the giraffes would be in a yard about 10 times the size they have in Sacramento.
"Over the past 20 years, we've had to send away our chimpanzees, our tigers, our bears, our hippopotamus," Jacobs said.
More space would mean a comeback for many of these animals.
"I know nobody wants to see it move at all, but when you need more room for more animals, you got to do what you got to do," said Luis Padilla, who works at the Sac Zoo.
The big move will come with a big cost, a $302 million price tag. The City of Elk Grove's total share of the project costs will be 57%.
The four primary funding sources for the zoo will be coming from:
- 5% Developer Impact Fees collected by the city to pay for new infrastructure
- 31% City of Elk Grove Reserve Funds, not including "rainy day fund" but reserve accounts set aside for this type of capital project
- 26% Community Partnerships- funds secured through zero emissions partnerships including state and federal grants, animal care program partners and the city's partnership with the Sacramento Zoological Society, private donations and corporate sponsorships
- 38% Bond financing- financing secured utilizing tax-exempt bond financing.
"Elk Grove, the second largest city in the region, has a role to play in many regards and this is potential for us to serve in that capacity," said Christopher Jordan, the City of Elk Grove's director of strategic planning and innovation.
The design is far from complete, awaiting the green light from Elk Grove City Council to decide the future of the Sac Zoo.
"It will be a little further for us, but that's OK. We'll just make a day out of it," said Sac Zoo visitor Jessica Sawyer.
Jacobs said that the new zoo at Elk Grove does not have a name yet, but it is modeling its design off of the Houston Zoo and Fresno Chaffee Zoo.
"It doesn't make sense to operate two zoos," Jacobs said. "We are going to focus on one zoo and it will be the zoo we are building in Elk Grove."
The City of Sacramento will decide what happens to the land where the current zoo sits if the move to Elk Grove is approved. The city gave us this statement:
"The City of Sacramento is committed to supporting the Zoo's efforts to establish a secure future. If and when the time comes to plan for the redevelopment of the current zoo site, the City will engage with broader stakeholders and the surrounding community to ensure their involvement in determining the land's future use."
The Elk Grove City Council meeting is set to happen Wednesday evening.
