A plan before the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission would allow development to spread to a specific site beyond the current city limits of Elk Grove.
Landowners tend to be for the plan, while environmentalists have spoken out against it.
The 1,156 acres are just outside of the county’s urban growth boundary, across Kammerer Road from a planned Indian casino and outlet mall. Including the acreage within city limits could greatly increase its value, the Sacramento Bee reports.
LAFCO Executive Officer Donald Lockhart recommended in a recent report to commissioners that the proposal be approved, since it would make room for more residential space that the city will need. He said as many as 46,000 new residents are forecast to move to Elk Grove in coming years.
Environmental group Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk President Judith Lamare countered by saying that Elk Grove can, and should, develop houses on land within the existing urban growth boundary. Growth outside of it represents sprawl, she said.
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