The 2003 Natomas development plan, in compliance with the Endangered Species Act, earmarked this farm, at the end of W. El Camino Ave., to be a wildlife preserve. When the owner is ready to sell, The Natomas Basin Conservancy is ready to buy.

However, Supervisor Serna is advocating to his four Supervisor colleagues that they should flout the Endangered Species Act and change the zoning to residential.

The reason Supervisor Serna is making this bold move is profit for two band buddies. Supervisor Serna plays bass guitar for Unsupervised. The trumpet player and lead guitar player are insiders in the Upper Westside developer's organization.

Twenty-three years ago, in 2002, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution which said, "The City, rather than the County, is the appropriate agent for planning new growth in Natomas. The County is the appropriate agent for preserving open space, agricultural and rural land uses."

A year later, in 2003, the City finished its Natomas development plan. However, the plan needed to pass the Endangered Species Act, because the Natomas basin is home to 22 threatened species. Therefore, the plan shifts wildlife habitats from the Natomas interior to the Natomas edge. Within the Natomas basin, a mile-wide, wildlife corridor now runs along the east bank of the Sacramento River. The corridor is called the (Swainson's) Hawk Zone.

The Conservancy is purchasing farms within the Hawk Zone when the owners are ready to sell. The lands will be restored to their natural habitat to attract wildlife. To pay for the purchases, interior Natomas farms sold to developers incur a 50% mitigation tax. A Federal Court ruled the plan is legally binding.

The Upper Westside development is egregiously located in the Hawk Zone. Most importantly, the 2003 development plan's implementation agreement contains a poison pill on page 30. Any development in the Hawk Zone, "will trigger a reevaluation of impacts[.]" Any development in the Hawk Zone will put at risk the entire structure that enables Natomas farms to become Natomas neighborhoods.

The sinister component of the Upper Westside development is its location. Because it is located west of the Natomas interior, there is no 50% mitigation tax.