In this opinion piece from today’s Bee Natomas development is discussed and a thoughtful argument is presented to accommodate it, while ensuring that the levees protecting it are capable of doing so.
Here is an excerpt.
A plan for levees in Natomas basin
By Doug Ose -- Special to The BeePublished 12:01 am PDT Tuesday, May 23, 2006
It's easy to identify a problem. The tough part is crafting a solution that works. My first day in Congress in 1999 included a discussion about how to improve the level of flood protection in my district in general and Sacramento in particular. That ultimately led me to understand that a timely solution requires cooperation among the federal, state and local governments. Each level of government has an interest and a role to play in reducing flood exposure. This is particularly true in the Natomas basin, where my family, as a significant landowner, has an obvious interest in the outcome.
The basin spans three local governmental jurisdictions - the city and county of Sacramento, and Sutter County. (The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors plans to discuss development in Natomas today.) Within the basin, about 65,000 people currently reside in the city of Sacramento. Sutter County is processing entitlements that would add another 35,000 residents to the area. Sacramento County has a $1 billion investment in the International Airport. The federal and state governments control the rivers that abut the area. The state government is responsible for the levees along the rivers.
The challenge in providing adequate flood protection is creating structurally sound levees in a timely fashion. Any plan that relies on the federal government or the voters in Los Angeles to support issuing state bonds to fund the improvements in Sacramento is a roll of the dice.
Fortunately, there is a way to achieve adequate timely flood protection for the Natomas basin. Aftermanyyears of hearings and deliberations, there is broad agreement among local elected officials that a substantial portion of the lands in Sacramento County east of the airport and north of Elkhorn Boulevard to the Sutter County line should urbanize. This area is called the Joint Vision Area. (Sacramento city and county signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2002 to proceed with urbanizing the area, with the city as the urbanizing entity.
Since then, the city has made no progress in implementing the memorandum.) In December 2004, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) unanimously approved a plan that also calls for urbanizing the area. SACOG comprises Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yuba, Sutter and Yolo counties.
Using the memorandum and SACOG's plan as a foundation, local government could adopt a plan to assess new development to contribute to the funding required to provide adequate levee construction and maintenance. This "levee levy" would be a part of the approval process for urbanization in this area.
