The city council chambers will likely be packed tonight with supporters of two different breeds – those rallying to keep the Kings in Sacramento, and those fighting to keep medical marijuana dispensaries in the central city. Catch our live coverge below:  On tap is a public hearing to amend the city's zoning code as it relates to medical marijuana dispensaries. In keeping with federal law, Councilman Darrell Fong wants to extend the distance dispensaries can operate from schools and parks, from the current requirement of 600 feet, to 1,000 feet.  This new requirement would force the roughly 10 remaining dispensaries located in the central city to move, said Councilman Steve Cohn. The

Even as the Sacramento Kings’ owners backpedal on a deal struck with the city and arena operator AEG, Mayor Kevin Johnson and the City Council voted 7-2 in favor of spending nearly $13 million on pre-development work associated with the new arena – $200,000 of that advanced from the NBA on behalf of the Maloofs. Less than one month after Johnson returned from Orlando announcing a deal had been struck, the Kings’ owners, the Maloof family, started balking at paying a share of the pre-development costs, which include development of the site plan for the arena and preparing for environmental reviews. In a March 20 letter to the city, the Maloofs expressed doubts about the city’s ability to

A town hall discussion of the new arena Thursday sparked debate between audience members and City Councilman Jay Schenirer about parking issues and the use of public funds to finance the arena project. Schenirer and Assistant City Manager John Dangberg fielded questions from the nearly 30 people in attendance after presenting an outline of project details, including an overview of the term sheet and financing framework. Schenirer said he held the town hall meeting for neighbors in his district because he wanted to make sure they had direct access to him to talk about whatever concerns they have about the arena project. Dangberg was included, Schenirer said, because he is one city staff m

With a triumphant shout, Mayor Kevin Johnson cast the final vote in a 7-2 decision in favor of a financing plan to build a new entertainment and sports complex and keep the Sacramento Kings in town for another 30 years. Cheers, applause and chants of “SAC-RA-MEN-TO” broke out among the more than 250 people in council chambers Tuesday at the end of a four-hour-long City Council meeting that culminated in what Johnson called “a historic vote.” “Every one of you in the community did not give up,” Johnson said. “People far and wide all played a role and came together. I think we met every milestone along the way, and we made every minute count.” Johnson and City Council members Angelique As

As the city pursues a potential lessee for the city’s parking inventory, there is an important question to ask: Could the city parking validation program end? If it does, is there a risk of damaging existing businesses – some of which have struggled in the downtown area for years? According to city parking services manager Howard Chan, Sacramento currently validates parking at city-owned garages for many local businesses and venues, providing an incentive to business owners: They buy the parking at a discount, and they have something to offer patrons as a courtesy. Merchants buy discounted parking tickets worth $5 of parking for 50 cents each, and the validation is good in any of nine ci

The City Council will consider approving $550,000 in fees Tuesday to bring in experts on sports finance, parking, investment banking and municipal finance to help dig through the details of a complex – and uncertain – arena financing plan. At the Sept. 13 council meeting, City Manager John Shirey told council members that, in order to “proceed with due diligence” on the proposed arena project, the city would need the help of outside professional services. “The City Council and the public deserve to have good information in order to make good decisions,” Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said Monday. Members of the arena focus group, Think Big Sacramento, presented a much-anticipated

City staff and Think Big Sacramento representatives presented the City Council with technical and financial option reports on the proposed entertainment and sports complex Tuesday, and asked council to direct them where to go next. “We have a lot of work to do in the next six months,” said City Manager John Shirey, “and we need both internal and external resources to do it.” To keep things moving forward, though, Shirey told council members that he plans to deliver three things: “a game plan with a timeline, a list of the consultant work we need and a list of how we’ll pay for those things.” Although the technical report presented Tuesday included more detail than previous reports, Shir

Sacramento officials believe a new arena can be integrated with a future regional transit center in the historic downtown railyards – making this one of the country's most eco-friendly sports and entertainment facilities, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said Tuesday. At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, Dangberg gave council members a status report nearly halfway into a 100-day technical review of a proposed arena. The $387 million project is on an expedited schedule to be in operation by May 2015. One of the most critical issues being reviewed is the need to coordinate construction of an arena with the previously planned transit center. Both structures would be built on a site

The Sacramento Kings’ owners won’t be the only ones talking about their possible departure with the National Basketball Association next month. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson will be there, too, the mayor said Thursday. Johnson announced he has been granted permission to address the NBA Board of Governors at their meeting in mid-April – just days before the Kings’ deadline to file a relocation request. He expects to take “a contingent of Sacramentans” to New York with him to help explain that Sacramento would like to continue its partnership with the Kings and is seriously pursuing construction of a new arena, he blogged Thursday evening. “They will want to know about possibilities of a

The city of Sacramento fired off another round of letters Wednesday in an attempt to stop the Sacramento Kings from moving or at least get assurances in writing that they'll repay a $77 million loan from the city. A day after the Anaheim City Council approved issuing $75 million in lease revenue bonds to entice the team to relocate, Sacramento officials sent a letter to the Kings requesting the team's owners promise in writing to repay Sacramento. Assistant City Manager John Dangberg also sent a letter to National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern and the NBA Board of Governors. Dangberg wrote that the city is asking the board to make its approval of the team's relocation c

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said the Maloofs told him Monday they would pay back the $77 million in lease revenue bonds they borrowed from the city in 1997. Johnson told reporters about his conversation with the Maloofs at a press conference in North Highlands Tuesday. Assistant City Manager John Dangberg sent a letter to the city of Anaheim Monday asking officials to stop negotiating with the Kings to be their new host city. If Anaheim won’t stop talks with the Kings, then Sacramento wants Anaheim to require the Kings to pay their debt to Sacramento, the letter said.  “The Maloofs have told me, time and time again, that they are going to fulfill the obligation and pay back the loan,

Sacramento officials asked the city of Anaheim Monday to stop all negotiations with the Sacramento Kings and drop plans to issue $75 million in lease revenue bonds to entice the team to move. Otherwise, Sacramento expects Anaheim and the Anaheim Public Finance Authority to contractually require the Kings' owners to first repay Sacramento $77 million for lease revenue bonds issued here in 1997, according to a letter emailed late Monday afternoon to Anaheim City Manager Tom Wood. "I am deeply concerned about the potential for Anaheim's actions causing irreparable harm to the city of Sacramento," Sacramento Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said in the letter. "As the Anaheim city manage

A city staff proposal to eventually stop loose-in-the-street green waste pickup and move to container pickup will not work for all city residents, Interim City Manager Gus Vina said in an interview Thursday. In tree-laden areas such as Midtown, a container is not adequate to hold all of the fallen leaves, Vina said, explaining why he pulled the green waste issue from the City Council’s agenda on Tuesday. “I want to make sure I’ve challenged staff enough on creativity and the solutions that are possible,” Vina said. The plan that Vina delayed would have encouraged moving away from loose-in-the street pickup and raised rates for residents who continue that method of pickup. Assistant City

The next stage of growth for Sacramento's historic railyards should continue to connect the site with surrounding areas, allowing for smaller-scale development of neighborhoods linked by public transit and an open-space network, urban development experts said Friday at City Hall. An eight-person panel of development and design experts presented recommendations for downtown railyards development to the city. They were brought to Sacramento through a fellowship program sponsored by the Urban Land Institute's Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use. The panelists spent three days working in Sacramento and touring the railyards before making the recommendations. The city and th

The Sacramento City Council decided Tuesday to move forward with all four teams vying to develop a new arena for the Sacramento Kings – for at least a little longer. Following a motion by City Councilman Steve Cohn, all nine members of the council voted unanimously to schedule a hearing in two weeks for the teams to provide their qualifications and financing approaches directly to the council. In doing so, they decided not to follow a recommendation made Friday by Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force that the city start working with just one team, led by Sacramento developer David Taylor and ICON Venue Group, a prominent Colorado sports facility developer. Several council members said

Sacramento developer David Taylor and a prominent Colorado sports facility developer have been pegged as the top contenders in an effort to build the city a new downtown arena. Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force is recommending city officials work with Taylor and ICON Venue Group to determine if building a sports and entertainment center is feasible now and if they're the right team for the project. In an analysis released Friday, the task force encouraged the city to give the ICON-Taylor team 90 days to study the viability of such a project and to develop a proposal and financing plan. The team was handpicked by Johnson after another team, which then included Taylor, failed to produ

The new owner of the downtown railyards development site on Tuesday night disclosed plans to move slowly on the property. A consultant for the suburban Chicago real estate investment firm, Inland American Real Estate Trust, said the company has "no immediate plans" to change the land use plan the Sacramento City Council approved for the country's largest infill project under its previous owner, Thomas Enterprises. In 2011, Inland will concentrate on continuing infrastructure projects including bridge construction and railroad track relocation – the "critical building block" for further development, said Inland spokesman Jared Ficker of California Strategies, a public affairs company. "W

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson asked city staff Tuesday night to present new ideas on a sports and entertainment complex in mid-January. Johnson also said he would reconvene his Sacramento First task force, which has analyzed several arena plans in recent months. At their weekly meeting, council members briefly discussed pitfalls with efforts to build a new sports and entertainment center. A complex plan for a new downtown arena spearheaded by developers Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor recently failed. The plan called on Cal Expo to be a major partner, but Cal Expo decided not to join the effort.  Marni Leger, speaking on behalf of the Natomas Chamber of Commerce, urged the council to co

A Chicago-area real estate investment company took possession of most of downtown Sacramento's historic railyards Friday in a courthouse auction after no one else bid. The company, Inland American Real Estate Trust, officially foreclosed on Thomas Enterprises' 203-acre Railyards site by winning the auction outside the Sacramento County courthouse Friday afternoon. Inland had set the opening bid at $50,350,000 in an off-site process earlier this week. "Inland will now roll up its sleeves and work with the city, state of California and other agencies to allow the project to proceed," Inland representative Jared Ficker said just minutes after the auction. Inland will work with the city, st

The city of Sacramento is one step closer to selecting the Kamilos "Sacramento Convergence" group to build a new arena in the downtown railyards. Both sides met Thursday morning, and, according to an assistant city manager, John Dangberg, Gold River developer Gerry Kamilos signed an exclusive right to negotiate (ERN) document. The City Council will be asked at its April 27th council meeting to consider entering into the agreement with Sacramento Convergence Holding LLC, the group headed by Kamilos. The agreement comes five weeks after the council asked staff to begin talks with the group about its proposal to build a sports and entertainment center at the downtown railyards. Kamilos is p