Dear Mayor Cabaldon and West Sacramento City Council Members: 

Our family has called West Sacramento home for nearly fifteen years and we have loved how the city has grown while protecting the sense of community. 

As parents of an Our Lady of Grace School student, we were deeply disappointed to learn about the Nest Project that is proposed to be built right next to the school playground. While the Nest Project has merits, the amenities provided by the project may also invite trouble.  Once the retail stores in the Southport Town Center shoo away transients, those individuals will naturally gravitate to the Nest. The project is so close to the playground that someone could easily have a conversation with a student.  As you may already know, there is a transitional kindergarten program so there are four year old students at the campus. It is an extreme public safety risk to have our children so close to a spot that may invite loitering and all of the negative accompanying impacts such as graffiti, fights, profane conversations and lewd acts. 

We have heard that the project proponents have suggested a barrier, but that’s simply unacceptable especially since Our Lady of Grace would be tasked with maintaining the visual barrier. We did not ask for this project near our school and our small school already has limited resources. Therefore, it is not fair that our school community would be forced to bear the financial and physical burdens of maintaining the barrier. 

Many residents feel that this project has not received the public input it deserves.  A growing group of parents will make their voices louder in opposition to the Nest’s proposed location.  

Additionally, we have blind copied the sponsors of Assemble Sacramento on this note. They have contributed financially to this project and we think they would be disappointed to lose customers because of their support of this project. Our family will not patronize these businesses until the location of the Nest moves. If our voices aren’t heard, we will be sure to use the power of our spending to help make our point. 

We have also included the local newspapers because more members of our community should be informed about what’s happening in our city. 

Again, we support the idea of Nest, but we are adamantly opposed to the current proposed location of the Nest.  We simply ask that you consider the health and safety of the children, teachers, and families who call Our Lady of Grace School and West Sacramento home and move this project to somewhere else along the bike trail.

Thank you for your consideration, Jeff and Sabrina Lockhart

cc:

Oscar Villegas, Yolo County District 1 Supervisor

Cindy Tuttle, Director West Sacramento Parks and Recreation

Laura Macdonald, Principal, Our Lady of Grace School

Sarah Kirby Gonzalez, Board Member, Washington Unified School Board District

Marianne Estes, Yolo County District 1 Deputy Supervisor

Carol Strunk, Yolo County District 1 Assistant Deputy Supervisor

Clark Pacific

Emily Begay, Teichert Foundation Grants Manager

Fred Teichert, Teichert Foundation  

Chuck Cunningham, CEO, Cunningham Engineering

Wood Rogers

Tim Harris, CEO, Insight Public Relations

Bridgeway Play

Village Nurseries

Old Sugar Mill

Bike Dog Brewing Company

Tumber Law Firm

Ridge Capital Real Estate Investment, Inc.

Matt Morrow, CEO, Morrow Surveying

West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce

Gil Torres, Owner, Exclusive Realty

Saara Torres, Owner, Exclusive Realty

Jim Brown, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates

Andrew Sturmfels, Founder, Sacramento Assemble

Clarksburg Wine Co.

Bogle Winery

West Sac News Ledger

West Sac Web

West Sac Sun