ELK GROVE, Calif. — Last week, the Elk Grove City Council partnered with the Sacramento Zoological Society and Project Elevate to purchase a 100-acre parcel of land, located off of Highway 99 in Elk Grove near Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway.
According to Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, those 100 acres would be extremely beneficial to the animals since they would be in a larger living environment and could lead to an increase of more animals and could further benefit the zoo overall.
"It's a great location because we have the space," Singh-Allen said. "One hundred acres is significantly larger from the current space that the Sacramento Zoo is located in."
The Sacramento Zoo opened on June 2, 1927, with just 40 animals occupying 4.2 acres. It then expanded in the early 1960s to its current 14.3 acres.
"We actually have great land for animals and their species to thrive and this will be able to really help with the conservation and education of those animals. It's a great opportunity for the animals to truly thrive in a new habitat," Singh-Allen said.
There will be a virtual town hall meeting on at 6 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 10, for those within the community to ask questions or concerns before the council decides whether it's something that the city of Elk Grove wants to invest in.
"It is really important for a project of this scale to have the entire community participate," Singh-Allen said. "We want to be comfortable in our decision-making process, that we know that the community is either behind us or raises those concerns, where we maybe need to re-examine, but it's important for the community to raise their voices, and March 10th is their opportunity to ask those important questions and really leave no question unanswered."
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: Sacramento Zoo in negotiations to relocate to Elk Grove