Sacramento Zoo will relocate to Elk Grove, as council votes in favor of move and expansion

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A state-of-the-art zoo is coming to Elk Grove after a marathon City Council session culminated in a 4-1 vote to approve construction of the $302 million project.

The Elk Grove City Council approved the proposal late Wednesday night, capping nearly four years of discussion, planning and negotiations to relocate the Sacramento Zoo from Land Park, where it has been since 1927. The approval came at the end of the five-hour meeting.

Councilman Kevin Speasewas the lone “no” vote, saying the project needed more taxpayer oversight.

Dozens of people filled the City Council chambers and cheered the historic vote for what the city projects could bring a million visitors per year to Elk Grove and generate an estimated $249 million in jobs to the region over the next five years.

The planned development of 103 acres will include a dedicated 65 acres for the zoo near Lotz Parkway and Kammerer Road, west of Highway 99 near Sky River Casino.

The move will allow growth for more animal exhibits and larger spaces for expanded habitats. Officials say the new zoo will become home to more than 400 different animals and will feature a 23-acre African savanna that will showcase rhinos, giraffes, lions and cheetahs.

The new zoo’s main facility would be larger than the Houston Zoo,, which comprises 55 acres, and the Fresno Chaffee Zoo at 45 acres. By comparison, the current Land Park location sits on 14.7 acres.

“People are excited about this,” Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said at Wednesday’s meeting. “There’s a lot of buzz out there ... I know I personally am committed to working with the Zoological Society to be successful. I’m investing in our city to say, ‘yes, we can. Yes, we will.’”

Community members chime in

Attendees gathered at the meeting with Sacramento Zoo swag such as headbands made from of paper and designed as animal ears, and stickers that read “I support a new zoo in Elk Grove.”

At least 40 people opted to speak during Wednesday’s council meeting about the zoo. Most were enthusiastic about the idea.

Maggie Ellis, a fifth-grade teacher at Carroll Elementary School, said she sent an email, surveying the interest in the new zoo, to numerous educators throughout the Elk Grove Unified School District.

She reported that more than 80% of educators responded that they would be interested in the zoo for educational reasons, and more than 85% were interested for personal reasons.

Randy Rojas said that when contemplating a zoo trip, he and his family would visit the San Francisco Zoo.

With the introduction of a new zoo in Elk Grove, Rojas said his family can begin a new chapter visiting a zoo in their home region.

Resident Michael Monasky spoke against the decision to begin construction.

“It’s poor land use resulting in loss of lands as well as open space for wildlife,” Monasky said. “It’s based upon a political economic policy which chooses to ignore the future... what I don’t want to have happen is that we get excited about the shiny new project that results in misprojected projections.”

The city would be on the hook for more than half — 57% — of the estimated $302 million in construction costs. Of that amount, 38% of the money would be financed by a bond; 31% would come from the city’s general fund. The rest, 26% and 5%, would come from community funding partnerships and developers’ fees, respectively.

Attendees held posters that read “vote yes”, “zoos are cool” and “WWAZ #WeWantAZoo”.

“We’re here to support the (more than) 2000 jobs that this project will create,” said Kevin Ferreira, of the Sacramento Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council.

Robert Churchill, an Elk Grove resident and a Sacramento Zoo employee, was hopeful that the city would make the decision to relocate the zoo from Land Park to Elk Grove.

“I think it would be a good project for the animals and for the community,” Churchill said.

Landing the zoo in Elk Grove

Sacramento Zoological Society CEO and Executive Director Jason Jacobs was euphoric about the decision because he knows that Elk Grove wasn’t always the destination for a much-needed upgrade to the region’s zoological park.

“The board voted unanimously in April 2018 to pursue a new zoo,” Jacobs said. “And by September of 2021 we signed our exclusive negotiating deal with the city of Elk Grove. Even before that negotiating, it took three years. We were looking at sites and when we would look at sites, the sites were removed or repurposed for other purposes and there were no other sites. So we reached out to the city of Elk Grove, they had some land and we’ve been working with them ever since. It’s been a great partnership.”

A 2020 study recommended the Sacramento Zoo move to North Natomas Regional Park.

In December 2020, the Sacramento City Council was scheduled to vote on that site and permit the zoo to begin fundraising efforts. However, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg delayed the vote so the city could consider other locations, such as the former site of Sleep Train Arena. Another site considered was the Bing Maloney Golf Course, which would have resulted in closure of the course.

Steinberg ultimately decided to focus on “urgent” priorities for the city, affordable housing and the development in downtown Sacramento’s railyards and along the city’s waterfront in Old Sacramento.

Instead of a state-of-the-art zoo, Elk Grove had discussions of developing a state-of-the-art hospital.

Around the same time, Sacramento shifted focus away from keeping the zoo in city limits and Elk Grove was in talks with California Northstate University to develop a 400-bed medical center.

The proposed hospital would have included a 13-story hospital tower east of Interstate 5, an outpatient clinic, a student dorm and two parking garages. The facilities would have neighbored the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and residential communities in the city’s southwest corner. The project was estimated to cost as much as $750 million.

Residents vehemently opposed the hospital and the plans were halted in early 2021 after a rejection by the city’s planning commission. Later that year, the city entered an “exclusive negotiation agreement” with the Sacramento Zoological Society to relocate the zoo from Land Park to Elk Grove.

With the CNU project turned away in Elk Grove, discussions opened to develop a the hospital and medical center complex in Natomas at the former Sleep Train Arena site. Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council unanimously approved a “non-binding term sheet” for a new financing district to build streets, drainage, and other backbone facilities needed to serve a teaching hospital and higher education campus planned for the site of the former Kings arena in Natomas.

What’s next for the zoo?

No opening date is set. According to the city’s website, Elk Grove and the Sacramento Zoological Society expect the zoo to open by 2029 barring any major delays.

The next steps include completing construction plans, construction time and securing community partnership funding.

Spease was reluctant to approve the project because he wanted to ensure that funding from partners and donors was sent to the city prior to any on-site construction. During Wednesday’s meeting, Spease said that he wants to see $50 million in the city’s accounts before any hard-hat work is done.

He requested an oversight committee that would protect the city — and taxpayers — from having to pay for development if the plans for the zoo came up short.

“This is a committee that provides oversight on our spending and it’s important,” Spease said. “It’s because of a very large bond that the five of us are making a decision on. We are the ones who ultimately are on the hook and all I’m asking for is an oversight committee similar to Measure E that provides oversight to our city spending because residents are involved...These are simple protections that we can provide to the taxpayer which I don’t believe put any unnecessary blockade in place.”

The Sacramento Zoological Society said it has already raised $15 million in commitments prior to the project’s approval.

Spease fears the possibility of their ideas not coming to life due to financial barriers, similar to the city’s “ghost mall” that sat for a decade before the city announced plans to demolish it and build a casino.

“Here’s my challenge. If somebody says, ‘oh we’re close, let’s get something out there so people can see it happening’ and then that doesn’t materialize. We now have a ghost mall,” Spease said. “That’s my very, very significant concern that I can’t get past...the money has to be in our account before we turn shovels.”

Singh-Allen said the city is committed to the success of the zoo project.

“I want this to be successful and I want to ensure donor confidence,” Singh-Allen said. “I want this to be a strong message that we are ready to fundraise and make this a reality that Elk Grove can dream big and we’re gonna build that zoo.”

Elk Grove Vice Mayor Rod Brewer said during Wednesday’s meeting the zoo is a beacon of light for Elk Grove.

“The support from the community, not just from Elk Grove, but from the greater Sacramento area and pretty much northern California, gives me goosebumps,” Brewer said. “It really makes you feel good that people have put that much faith in this city. This will be a very, very transparent project. It’s an investment in our community. It’s an investment in Northern California. It is a catalyst for all good things that will come after this.”

The city on its website said it is exploring options for a preview phase in 2027, but no final decisions have been made.

City and zoo officials expect to release their environmental impact report, finance plan and operating agreement later this year.