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During last Wednesday’s Elk Grove City Council meeting, three council members voted to remove the Cosumnes River floodplain from the city’s sphere of influence application.
In perhaps the most contentious issue to face the city since the proposal to build a Super Wal-Mart on Sheldon Road, the inclusion of the 100-year floodplain drew together a large coalition of community based organizations who mobilized their respective groups to oppose this portion of the SOI. One of the several group who mobilized a strong and vocal resistance to the move was the Wilton Action Group (WAG).
Organized in 2008, WAG’s sprang up after several members of the southeastern Sacramento County community came together upon learning that Elk Grove’s original SOI came across the Cosumnes River and included portions of Wilton.
In a press release issued earlier today, WAG took the opportunity to thank city council members Jim Cooper, Gary Davis and Vice Mayor Steve Detrick for their votes to exclude the 100-year Cosumnes River floodplain from the city’s SOI application.
The thank you acknowledgment also noted that “their forward-looking decision at the City Council meeting on April 14, 2010 will positively benefit not only the citizens of Elk Grove but also citizens in the immediate region including the City of Galt, the City of Sacramento and the rural communities of Wilton, Sloughhouse, Herald and Franklin.”
WAG also commented on one of the problems created by the city’s original SOI that even floodplain annexation proponent council member Pat Hume publicly acknowledged during Wednesday’s meeting and that was trust of the city intentions.
“In particular the rural community of Wilton sees the action taken by the City Council as a demonstration of good faith in considering the needs of the City’s neighbors and in joining with others toward being good stewards of agriculture and open space,” the WAG statement read.
The council member who was at the forefront of opposing the inclusion of the floodplain was council member Gary Davis who called the vote a “game changer” and said the annexing the area would have a “distraction” for the city.
"Wednesday’s vote was a game changer. Annexing flood land would have been a waste of time and a distraction. We can now get back to our focus of growing good, local, jobs and keeping our neighborhoods strong and safe,” Davis said. “Thank you to everyone who was part of making Wednesday’s vote a reality.”
