Decision time for Elk Grove: Should the city pay big to acquire the Sacramento Zoo? | Opinion

The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board
·3 min read
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Elk Grove is ready to expand. The city of more than 177,000 is already a thriving community contemplating the addition of a zoo — the Sacramento Zoo — as an amenity for the enjoyment of its residents and the broader Sacramento region.

It’s a big step for a city that has grown from a bedroom community to a regional force having only incorporated in 2000. On Wednesday, the Elk Grove City Council will present and presumably debate a financing plan that could result in the Sacramento Zoo relocating to the southern tip of Elk Grove from its current home of nearly a century in Land Park.

Opinion

In 2021, the Sacramento Zoo Society approached Elk Grove about such a move. After studying the issue, the city acquired a 100-acre lot near Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway in early 2022.

“This is a game changer. I see this as an opportunity for our city,” Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said about the potential zoo deal. “This sort of investment invites more investments. This opportunity sends out to the business world ‘look at all the great things happening at Elk Grove.’”

When a zoo expansion failed to materialize in Sacramento, Elk Grove presented an attractive alternative that would keep a beloved institution in the Sacramento region. But now we’ve come to the hard part of paying for it all and the cost is considerable and will be shouldered mostly by Elk Grove, though the zoo is a regional attraction.

Will the zoo overextend Elk Grove?

A $302 million price tag to be paid by the city via different avenues is sizable enough to require exhaustive debate among Elk Grove leaders and citizens.

Previous reporting from the Bee shows that the city would be responsible for 57% of the estimated $302 million needed for the zoo to be built. Of that amount, 38% of the money would be financed by a bond while 31% would come from the city’s general fund. The rest, 26% and 5%, would come from community funding partnerships and developers’ fees respectively.

“It’s been a very transparent process for the community to weigh in,” Singh-Allen said about communicating with the public on the deal. “We’ve had workshops, we’ve had forums. We’ve included the community every step of the way. As Mayor, I can count on one hand how many emails I’ve received that oppose this. There’s no organized opposition.”

Mayor Singh Allen’s enthusiasm and desire for the project are evident, but it’s too soon to rule out opposition because, on Wednesday, the concept of a “New Zoo” in Elk Grove will cease to become more real than it has ever been.

Elk Grove has the land and has a partner in the Sacramento Zoo Society.

They will need to raise $50 million, a part of their Zoological Society Partnership before construction begins. The city told The Bee Editorial Board on Monday that they raised $15 million toward the fund.

What does the road map ahead look like for fundraising the other 35 million? If they don’t get the funds in time before the to be announced construction start date? will they have to push back?

A more than 65-acre zoo would be an upgrade from the 14-acre Sacramento location. Zoo Director Jason Jacobs said a new zoo structure could mean larger areas for the animals to roam.

One piece at a time

Some Elk Grove leaders, such as Mayor Singh-Allen, view the addition of a zoo as a transformative project for their city. They view the zoo as an attraction and potentially a booster for the economy.

The project could be a great move for a vibrant city, provided Singh-Allen and others prove that the cost of a new zoo is worth the sizable investment.