Sacramento LAFCO leaves Airport South EIR and sphere-of-influence amendments open after hours of testimony

The Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission on Thursday left open a public hearing on the Airport South Industrial Project’s environmental impact report and on requests to expand the spheres of influence for the City of Sacramento and the Sacramento Area Sewer District, continuing the matter to its next meeting on May 7.

The commission held a lengthy staff presentation and heard more than 70 public speakers before taking the procedural step to keep the hearing open. The applicant and city representatives described the site as a logical place to extend city services; neighborhood and environmental groups urged LAFCO to deny certification of the final environmental impact report (EIR) and the sphere amendments, citing health, habitat and planning concerns.

The item concerns a roughly 472.4-acre area in the Natomas Basin south of Interstate 5 near the Metro Airpark interchange sometimes described in the staff report as “Airport South.” City and LAFCO staff said the EIR and a targeted municipal services review were prepared jointly and that LAFCO is being asked to certify the EIR under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and then decide whether expanding the spheres of influence for the City of Sacramento and the Sacramento Area Sewer District is an appropriate planning action.

Why it matters: certification of the EIR is a major discretionary step under CEQA. LAFCO’s legal duty requires commissioners to consider both municipal service capacity and the likely uses of land. If LAFCO certifies the EIR and adopts a Statement of Overriding Considerations (as the staff report anticipates may be required), the city would still need to take its own land-use approvals before development could occur. Opponents say certification here would effectively green-light development outside the county’s urban services boundary and threaten farmland, habitat and the health of nearby residents and schoolchildren. Proponents say the site is surrounded on three sides by urban development and by existing logistics uses at Metro Airpark, making it a practical location for industrial uses and…