Sacramento Zoo structures officially designated as city landmark

By Lance Armstrong vcneditor@gmail.com

The Sacramento City Council, on Feb. 21, unanimously passed a motion to officially designate the Sacramento Zoo entrance structures as a landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources.

That vote was preceded by the city Preservation Commission’s unanimous vote, last November, to recommend to the council that the zoo entrance structures receive this official designation.

The urgency of this designation proposal was associated with the proposed plan to relocate the 95-year-old zoo from its current site in William Land Park to a designated 70-acre portion of a 100-acre Elk Grove city-owned site at the northwest corner of Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway in Elk Grove.

Last year, a six-month feasibility study between the city of Elk Grove and the Sacramento Zoological Society identified a potential relocation of the Sac- ramento Zoo to Elk Grove as a viable option.

Th at study was followed by the adoption of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the city of Elk Grove and the zoological society. The MOU outlines steps involved in the planning process and potential development of the project in Elk Grove.

Prior to the council’s vote on the zoo structures’ historic landmark designation, the city’s staff determined that the nomination aligned with the city’s 2035 General Plan goal to provide for the identification and preservation of historical and cultural resources.

According to a city staff report, the historic designation of these structures ensures that future development on the site will “undergo preservation review as part of the city’s site plan and

See LANDMARK on page 6