Keeping people safe and getting them out of their cars,” Guererro said. “That has always been the plan is to get people out of their cars, especially in the Bridge District and to keep people safe.” Photo courtesy of City of West Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – The City Council has authorized staff to move ahead with spending $9.6 million to acquire property for future development at two separate locations in West Sacramento.

The move came during the May 6 meeting’s Consent Agenda — a regular item where city business such as small works contracts, mutual use agreements, capital facilities projects awards and other matters are combined and voted upon by council members as one item. The public is given the opportunity to comment on items in the Consent Agenda and council members can request one or more items be pulled for separate discussion — which was the case with one of the property purchases on Riske Lane in the Bridge District.

Mayor Martha Guerrero requested the item delegating authority to the City Manager to purchase the former Sac Stucco property at 860-870 Riske Lane be pulled for questions and “clarification.” The city has agreed to a letter of intent to purchase the 2.9-acre site for $3.2 million, receiving $300,000 credit to help alleviate future environmental cleanup costs.

“Long term, it does have the development potential for mixed use development consistent with the Bridge District plans,” City Manager Aaron Laurel said.

At approximately $25 a square foot, the property’s purchase price is lower than nearby properties appraised between $30 to $71 per square foot. Its purchase will enable West Sacramento to continue work on its Bridge District Plan that includes extending Grant Street and Ballpark Drive into the District, further widening of 5th Street for pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic from Cabaldon Parkway to 15th Street and additional public parking.

“To date, only portions of 5th Street have been improved/widened, and bicycle/pedestrian access is limited to the east side of 5th Street due to a lack of property control, which is not consistent with complete streets policy in the Mobility Element of the General Plan,” economic development and housing department staff wrote in the council report.

Councilwoman Quirina Orozco said the purchase further enabled the city’s long-time vision of creating an urban environment where people can enjoy local amenities without getting into their cars and add to traffic congestion. It will provide easier and safer access to businesses in the Bridge District along with giving baseball fans the opportunity to walk to Sutter Field “without putting their livelihood in peril.”

Guererro said she felt it was a good strategic move by the city administration.

“Keeping people safe and getting them out of their cars,” she added. “That has always been the plan is to get people out of their cars, especially in the Bridge District and to keep people safe.”

The Riske Lane purchase is funded by revenue from the Bridge District IFD (Infrastructure Financing District). The funding is not city revenue but revenue from bond issuances and sales authorized by City Council in May 2025.

Repayment of these bonds will rely on a portion of tax increment revenues paid to the city by commercial property owners in two infrastructure financing districts created by City Council — IFD No. 1 (Bridge District) and the larger Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District No. 1. The money pledged by the city for bond repayments would normally be used in the city’s General Fund.

The EIFD was created by council in 2016, while the IFD was created in 2014.

Council also authorized at the May 6 meeting the purchase of properties at 817 and 829-849 Jefferson Boulevard for $6.4 million. The properties, totaling 1.87 acres, are located at the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Merkley Avenue and almost adjacent to city-owned property on West Capitol Avenue and currently used for overflow parking for Civic Center events.

The property is currently home to two tenants, NorCal Safe & Vault and Engstrom Property Management, who will lease the land for up to five years. After two years the city has the right to terminate the agreement for development purposes.

Revitalization of West Capitol Avenue has been identified as a council priority in its strategic planning process. This past April, the council used a $2.5 million Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) grant to award an over $1.75 million contract to Kimley-Horn and Associates for advanced planning, engineering, design and project development work to “address barrier transportation facilities” as part of the US-50/Interstate 80 Business Connectivity project — a project that includes “evaluating mixed-use, transit-oriented development options at the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Merkley Avenue.”

While it will take several years to complete the project design work, purchasing the Jefferson Boulevard properties now will enable the city to begin work on improvements consistent with the Connectivity Project including evaluating “obsolete decommissioned freeway structures on Cabaldon Parkway and Jefferson Boulevard

and design alternatives for local use” while incorporating “complete street elements and proposed local streets to connect communities.”

It will also assist with planned expansion of light rail connections to downtown Sacramento and support local mixed-use projects that are planned or underway.