Environmental groups file lawsuits against 440-acre project near Sacramento airport
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Environmental groups filed two new lawsuits challenging Sacramento’s EIR approval.
- Plaintiffs cite traffic, farmland loss and school proximity; more suits if annexed.
- Suits challenge the EIR for the 450-acre Airport South development.
Opposition to a proposed 450-acre Sacramento development intensified this week as environmental groups filed two lawsuits against the city.
The lawsuits, filed on Dec. 30 and Monday against the city and developer NorthPoint Development, allege that the Sacramento City Council unlawfully approved the project’s environmental impact report last month. The development, known as the Airport South Industrial, would build warehouses, hotels and restaurants in an unincorporated area of Sacramento County.
The area — located southeast of the intersection of Powerline Road and Interstate 5 — is expected to be annexed, meaning the land will be brought into city limits.
The two new lawsuits mirror one filed in June against the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission.
Attorney Patrick Soluri, who is representing environmental groups in the June and Monday lawsuits, said the multiple lawsuits stem from a 2021 agreement between the city and commission that made them “co-lead agencies” for the project. Sacramento LAFCO is expected to vote on the land annexation in the next two months.
Soluri said another lawsuit by his firm will be filed if the commission approves the annexation. His firm is representing the Environmental Council of Sacramento, Friends of Swainson’s Hawk and Sierra Club.
“This is all just to preserve our rights,” Soluri said. “We don’t want to file three lawsuits. We would prefer not to file three lawsuits. It’s dumb to force us to file three lawsuits. But this is the ridiculous structure.”
City spokesperson Jennifer Singer declined to comment on Tuesday due to pending litigation. Nick Avdis, a Sacramento attorney representing NorthPoint Development, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorneys for Blum, Collins and Ho LL, a firm based in Los Angeles, also did not respond to a request for comment. That lawsuit, filed on behalf of Golden State Environmental Justice Alliance, alleges the city did not provide a detailed site plan and violated the environmental impact report requirement to “analyze a reasonable range of alternatives.”
Airport South Industrial has been debated since an application was submitted to the city in May 2021. As proposed, the project will feature acres designated for industrial, retail and hotel uses. The area has been routinely used for hay and rice fields since 1937.
Residents living in the area and local environmentalists have cited a litany of concerns, including traffic congestion, loss of farmland and proximity to Paso Verde, a public elementary school within the Natomas Unified School District. Supporters have pointed to the need for urban growth and the project’s economic benefits.
The Sacramento City Council approved the project’s environmental impact report in a 5-2 vote last month following two meetings of public debate.
“This is never easy, and in the end, there are those who will agree and those who will not…I will be supporting it in order to make a difference in our city, in the community and in our region,” said Councilmember Rick Jennings on Dec. 2.
