Skip to main content

Elk Grove Citizen

Commenters Turn Out in Favor of Zoo's New Home

May 16, 2024 11:05AM ● By Matthew Malone

University of California at Davis veterinary student Rachel Hirota speaks to Elk Grove City Council in favor of the Sacramento Zoo coming to Elk Grove. Screenshot via city of Elk Grove

Commenters on the Zoo [3 Images] Click Any Image To Expand
ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - The public made its voice heard on the potential of the Sacramento Zoo moving to Elk Grove, as more than 40 citizens came to the podium during the May 8 Elk Grove City Council meeting. The speakers included Elk Grove and Sacramento residents, educators, veterinary medicine experts, local business owners, labor representatives and real estate agents. 
The majority voiced support for the zoo project. Some commenters said the zoo’s financial plan is unworkable or that it does not promote conservation.
Elk Grove resident Beth Weid, who also serves as a zoo docent, said she was raised in San Diego, enjoying that city’s well-regarded zoo. When she visited Sacramento, she was “pleasantly surprised by the lovely and high-quality” Sacramento Zoo. Weid said the Sacramento Zoo needs more space to maintain its quality.
Another Elk Grove resident, Walt Hess, described a fundraising effort that he and his neighbors at the Glenbrooke subdivision organized.
“In about two months, we raised just under $15,000 in hard cash for the new zoo,” Hess said, calling the sum a “testament” to their support. He commended City Council and the zoological society for their leadership.
Jocylyn Katzakian, who oversees animals such as giraffes, zebras and rhinoceroses at the zoo, said “to have a zoo in Elk Grove — the new facility would be just a dream and we can make that a reality, I think.” 
Labor groups represented included painters, pipe fitters and a construction training program. The speakers said the project would benefit their members and students.
Real estate agents, including the government affairs director for the Sacramento Association of Realtors, said the zoo would boost the local economy and strengthen community.
A few commenters cast doubt on the viability of the business plan or questioned the role of a zoo in the modern day.
Steve Lee, an Elk Grove resident, described the financing plan as “very speculative” and “smoke and mirrors.”
“I just don’t see any black and white that says we can afford this, we can do this. You can’t continue to raise taxes on every opportunity just to appease your egos in building the zoo. Citizens can and shouldn’t take it. Young people already cannot afford homes here,” Lee said, referencing the failure to move the zoo to the old Sleep Train Arena site.
The Sacramento Zoo is “anachronistic” and “an out-of-touch vestige of Victorian culture,” Elk Grove resident Michael Monasky said during general public comment.
“Sacramento Zoo is not a conservationist organization; it is a business which breeds, buys and sells its animals,” Minsaky said.
Several commenters in favor of the zoo highlighted possibilities for education.
Maggie Ellis, a fifth-grade teacher at Carroll Elementary School and a lead association director for the Elk Grove teachers’ union, said she sent out an informal survey of the union’s educators. Out of more than 1,000 responses, Ellis said, 81% had an educational interest in the zoo coming to Elk Grove, and 87% had a personal interest.
“We often say that educators plant seeds. The building of the zoo can plant seeds for thousands of children in ways that we haven’t even imagined yet,” Ellis said, by encouraging conservation and providing a range of educational opportunities.
Later in the comment period, Rachel Hirota, a veterinary student at University of California at Davis, said visiting the Sacramento Zoo as a child “really brought me to this field.” Hirota cited the zoo’s postgraduate study programs for “promoting zoological welfare, not only on a national but an international stage.”
“I was very lucky to be one of those children that was the seed that grew into what I am today, as many of our other educators and community members have been talking about,” Hirota said. “And ultimately, I want to see (the) Elk Grove community be able to push on the opportunity to the rest of the children … and hopefully in the future be able to call them my colleagues.”