Elk Grove Unified notifies Rancho Cordova of intent to acquire Sun Creek school site; planning commission directs staff to prepare report
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Summary
Elk Grove Unified School District notified Rancho Cordova of its intent to acquire an approximately 80‑acre Sun Creek site for a future middle and high school. Staff told the Planning Commission the site is designated in the Sun Creek specific plan for public/quasi-public school use; the commission voted 6‑0 to direct staff to prepare the formal
Rancho Cordova — The Elk Grove Unified School District has notified the City of Rancho Cordova of its intent to acquire an approximately 80‑acre parcel within the Sun Creek specific plan area for use as a future middle‑ and high‑school site, and the Planning Commission on Wednesday directed staff to prepare the formal report the district requested under state law.
City staff told commissioners the parcel lies east of Rancho Cordova Parkway, south of Chris Santee Boulevard, west of Americanos and immediately south of North Campus Road in the Sun Creek specific plan area. Staff said the site is identified in the adopted specific plan as public/quasi‑public school and that a middle‑and high‑school site is a permitted use on the property.
Why it matters: The notification is the required procedural step under state law for districts that intend to acquire property for school use; it starts a planning‑level coordination between the district and the city but does not require the district to disclose funding sources, construction timing or final design.
City staff explained that under the public‑resources and planning statutes the district must notify the city of intent to acquire the land but is not required at this stage to say when or how it will build. The city’s planning staff will prepare a report describing the site’s zoning, general‑plan designation and any city recommendations; the Planning Commission then may forward that report to the district.
Commission action: Commissioner Stevenson moved and a second was noted by Moselkant to direct staff to prepare the report to pass on to Elk Grove Unified School District. The motion passed on a 6‑0 roll call vote.
City staff cautioned that the notification begins a multi‑year process. “I suspect it’ll be a number of years before we actually see the new school. This is just the beginning of the process,” a city staff member said during the hearing.
Next steps: Staff will prepare the report required under state law (planning and zoning background, recommended considerations) and provide it to the school district; any formal school design, funding or entitlement actions would follow at later dates and would require specific notice and approvals.
