The mayor of Elk Grove said Thursday he is now "open to the idea" of dropping a 100-year floodplain from the city's expansion bid.
"At this point, I'm very open to the idea of amending our application (to the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission) to excluding that floodplain," Mayor Gary Davis told The Bee.
Davis' comments came after residents of Wilton expressed fear that if Elk Grove expands onto the Cosumnes River and Deer Creek floodplains, their community could be next on the city's growth trail.
Resistance also has come from environmentalists and the city of Galt. Sacramento County has raised its own floodplain concerns.
At issue is Elk Grove's bid to Sacramento LAFCO to create a "sphere of influence" over 10,536 acres south of existing city boundaries at Kammerer and Grant Line roads. A sphere typically defines a city's area of probable 20-year growth. It often leads to annexation.
Elk Grove's proposal includes more than 2,400 acres of 100-year floodplain along Deer Creek and the Cosumnes River, an area now under Sacramento County control that will not be developed.
"Given the back and forth with Wilton and others, I'm not really seeing the value of keeping it in at this point," Davis said.
It was unclear Friday how receptive others on the council would be to Davis' suggestion.
Councilman Jim Cooper said backing down on the city's current plan would be premature. "There's no intent to build down there," Cooper said of the floodplain.
Councilman Michael Leary said it would be a shame for Elk Grove to drop the floodplain component since, unlike Sacramento County, the city has the funds to create and maintain recreation at the site.
But Leary said he would relent on the idea if it jeopardized the city's overall plan.
And Councilman Pat Hume, long a champion of studying the floodplain for passive recreation, noted mounting opposition may make it hard to explore all options.
Wilton residents from the start have been among the most vocal critics. They formed the Wilton Action Group in March and last week presented more than 2,700 signatures to Sacramento LAFCO opposing Elk Grove's inclusion of the Cosumnes River floodplain.
Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 478-2641.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.