thedofd
Bench
Excluded group to fight arena-land swap
Mike McCarthy, Sacramento Business Journal, 1-10-05
Landowners who control about 1,100 acres in North Natomas say they'll fight Sheriff Lou Blanas' proposal to finance a new arena for the Sacramento Kings -- a plan that would speed the development of about 10,000 acres in another part of Natomas.
Their complaint: They're not part of the deal, which might mean their land becomes a permanently undeveloped buffer to offset development of the 10,000 acres.
The group threatens to mount a political campaign against an initiative that Blanas and associates have proposed for the Sacramento County ballot this year.
The initiative asks the public to approve the arena financing plan, which would speed approval to develop the 10,000 acres. In exchange, the owners would chip in 20 percent of the land-sales proceeds to pay for a new arena, plus support the arts and programs for children.
"We're making sure we're not going to sit there like ducks," said Joseph Brazil, who owns 120 acres in a region known as the "Boot." "We're not involved in the (Blanas) discussions, so we're understandably put on guard. We have some of the best property for development."
A spokesman for the larger group of Natomas landowners says it's been talking with the Boot group and might have neutralized its opposition. Brazil said nothing's been settled.
City/county deal also boxes the Boot
In an open letter to all Natomas landowners, six landowners in the Boot said they will vigorously oppose Blanas' plan if they don't get to take part in the development.
The fight could include a political campaign, said Marty Wilson, a principal in Wilson Miller Communications and a spokesman for the group.
"The letter speaks for itself," he said. "There's a group of landowners in North Natomas extremely concerned that the Blanas plan effectively condemns their land."
Blanas proposed in September that development be accelerated on roughly 10,000 acres east of Sacramento International Airport. The money raised would help build a new home for the Kings, and follows two stillborn plans since 2003 to build a new arena in downtown Sacramento.
Blanas owns no land in the Natomas area, but his relative and friend Angelo Tsakopoulos controls some 1,200 acres there. Tsakopoulos and other landowners have been laboring for most of a decade to win government approval to develop agricultural land east of the airport. Sacramento County and City have moved like cold molasses on the request.
In December 2002, the city and county signed a "joint vision" agreement for North Natomas in which the land east of the airport would ultimately be developed and annexed to the city.
But little has happened to persuade the landowners that the municipalities are making development there a priority.
The Boot landowners don't like the way the joint vision and Blanas plans call for a permanent preserve corridor along the Sacramento River and the Sutter/Sacramento county line. The Boot would continue as open space, farmland, and habitat for species like the Swainson's hawk and giant garter snake.
The Blanas plan sets aside one acre of preserve for every acre of developed land, virtually ensuring that the Boot would become a preserve corridor.
Financially, that would be a big hit. Many landowners bought North Natomas property long ago for less than $25,000 an acre. Rezoning it for homes could make it worth $600,000 an acre, observers said. The Booters would get zip of that appreciation.
Their land is good for development, Brazil said, because interstates 80 and 5 pass nearby and it's not far to downtown Sacramento, the region's largest job center.
The city's part of Natomas has boomed in recent years, becoming one of the fastest-growing housing areas in the region.
"They want us to continue farming," Brazil said. "It's not going to happen, because of the residential and retail development near here."
Agriculture requires crop-dusting and other activities that storekeepers and people who live nearby will surely oppose, he said.
They've talked
As open space, the Boot and the rest of the designated preserve corridor could be crucial to development of the Blanas area. Environmentalists and environmental laws will require a hefty amount of mitigation land to be set aside, say observers.
Jeff Raimundo, a spokesman for the Blanas-area landowners, said last month that up to 15,000 acres may be needed for mitigation, including the approximately 10,000 in the corridor.
Raimundo said this week the "ground has shifted" following talks between Boot landowners and the Blanas group.
"It's my belief they are no longer opposed," he said, "or may be neutral."
Brazil said no accord has been reached and the conflict continues. Wilson's comments bear that out.
A familiar tune since 2000
Environmentalists are watching the Boot's future closely. They're worried about the hawk and garter snake habitat in Natomas, said lawyer James Pachl, a spokesman for Friends of the Swainson's Hawk.
"The Boot's landowners have been beating their drums about their God-given right to develop their land since about 2000," he said. "They'll oppose anything that doesn't give them what they want."
The current habitat conservation plan that allows development in Natomas designates the Boot as a habitat area, he noted.
His own view of the Blanas plan, he added, is that the landowners want to use a private initiative to get the land approved for development, bypassing the municipal planning process and environmental requirements. Under state law, neither is required for a privately placed initiative.
If the Blanas-plan area took the municipal route to approval, the proposal would have to face environmental, drainage and flood issues, he said, as well as the potential conflict of building new homes near the airport.
Mike McCarthy, Sacramento Business Journal, 1-10-05
Landowners who control about 1,100 acres in North Natomas say they'll fight Sheriff Lou Blanas' proposal to finance a new arena for the Sacramento Kings -- a plan that would speed the development of about 10,000 acres in another part of Natomas.
Their complaint: They're not part of the deal, which might mean their land becomes a permanently undeveloped buffer to offset development of the 10,000 acres.
The group threatens to mount a political campaign against an initiative that Blanas and associates have proposed for the Sacramento County ballot this year.
The initiative asks the public to approve the arena financing plan, which would speed approval to develop the 10,000 acres. In exchange, the owners would chip in 20 percent of the land-sales proceeds to pay for a new arena, plus support the arts and programs for children.
"We're making sure we're not going to sit there like ducks," said Joseph Brazil, who owns 120 acres in a region known as the "Boot." "We're not involved in the (Blanas) discussions, so we're understandably put on guard. We have some of the best property for development."
A spokesman for the larger group of Natomas landowners says it's been talking with the Boot group and might have neutralized its opposition. Brazil said nothing's been settled.
City/county deal also boxes the Boot
In an open letter to all Natomas landowners, six landowners in the Boot said they will vigorously oppose Blanas' plan if they don't get to take part in the development.
The fight could include a political campaign, said Marty Wilson, a principal in Wilson Miller Communications and a spokesman for the group.
"The letter speaks for itself," he said. "There's a group of landowners in North Natomas extremely concerned that the Blanas plan effectively condemns their land."
Blanas proposed in September that development be accelerated on roughly 10,000 acres east of Sacramento International Airport. The money raised would help build a new home for the Kings, and follows two stillborn plans since 2003 to build a new arena in downtown Sacramento.
Blanas owns no land in the Natomas area, but his relative and friend Angelo Tsakopoulos controls some 1,200 acres there. Tsakopoulos and other landowners have been laboring for most of a decade to win government approval to develop agricultural land east of the airport. Sacramento County and City have moved like cold molasses on the request.
In December 2002, the city and county signed a "joint vision" agreement for North Natomas in which the land east of the airport would ultimately be developed and annexed to the city.
But little has happened to persuade the landowners that the municipalities are making development there a priority.
The Boot landowners don't like the way the joint vision and Blanas plans call for a permanent preserve corridor along the Sacramento River and the Sutter/Sacramento county line. The Boot would continue as open space, farmland, and habitat for species like the Swainson's hawk and giant garter snake.
The Blanas plan sets aside one acre of preserve for every acre of developed land, virtually ensuring that the Boot would become a preserve corridor.
Financially, that would be a big hit. Many landowners bought North Natomas property long ago for less than $25,000 an acre. Rezoning it for homes could make it worth $600,000 an acre, observers said. The Booters would get zip of that appreciation.
Their land is good for development, Brazil said, because interstates 80 and 5 pass nearby and it's not far to downtown Sacramento, the region's largest job center.
The city's part of Natomas has boomed in recent years, becoming one of the fastest-growing housing areas in the region.
"They want us to continue farming," Brazil said. "It's not going to happen, because of the residential and retail development near here."
Agriculture requires crop-dusting and other activities that storekeepers and people who live nearby will surely oppose, he said.
They've talked
As open space, the Boot and the rest of the designated preserve corridor could be crucial to development of the Blanas area. Environmentalists and environmental laws will require a hefty amount of mitigation land to be set aside, say observers.
Jeff Raimundo, a spokesman for the Blanas-area landowners, said last month that up to 15,000 acres may be needed for mitigation, including the approximately 10,000 in the corridor.
Raimundo said this week the "ground has shifted" following talks between Boot landowners and the Blanas group.
"It's my belief they are no longer opposed," he said, "or may be neutral."
Brazil said no accord has been reached and the conflict continues. Wilson's comments bear that out.
A familiar tune since 2000
Environmentalists are watching the Boot's future closely. They're worried about the hawk and garter snake habitat in Natomas, said lawyer James Pachl, a spokesman for Friends of the Swainson's Hawk.
"The Boot's landowners have been beating their drums about their God-given right to develop their land since about 2000," he said. "They'll oppose anything that doesn't give them what they want."
The current habitat conservation plan that allows development in Natomas designates the Boot as a habitat area, he noted.
His own view of the Blanas plan, he added, is that the landowners want to use a private initiative to get the land approved for development, bypassing the municipal planning process and environmental requirements. Under state law, neither is required for a privately placed initiative.
If the Blanas-plan area took the municipal route to approval, the proposal would have to face environmental, drainage and flood issues, he said, as well as the potential conflict of building new homes near the airport.