SACRAMENTO – A school district and a home builder who haggled for years over a piece of land in North Natomas have finally reached a deal.
The Rio Linda Union School District is buying 11 vacant acres on Greg Thatch Circle from DR Horton at $420,000 an acre, the parties said. The district is selling 1.8 acres of it to the city of Sacramento.
The district will build an elementary school on the property, and the city will develop a park.
DR Horton no longer planned to build homes on the site, said attorney Greg Thatch, who represents the developer.
The deal ends acrimony between the parties and keeps them from going into eminent domain proceedings.
It also puts an end to years of frustration for residents of Terrace Park who bought their homes believing a school and park would be built on the site. With the district and the developer unable to make a deal, the lot became a blight on the neighborhood.
Rio Linda Superintendent Debra LaVoi called the arrangement "a win for all parties."
– Laurel Rosenhall
