Sacramento Zoo expansion plans for Land Park move forward

The Abridged version:

• The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously in favor of an agreement that allows the zoo to continue pursuing its expansion plans.
• After plans to move the zoo to Elk Grove fell through last year, the Sacramento Zoo is looking to add 5.8 acres to its current home in William Land Park.
• The expansion project will still have to undergo environmental reviews required by the California Environmental Quality Act.

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The Sacramento Zoo is set to expand at its home in William Land Park for the first time in nearly six decades.

The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously in favor a new agreement with the zoo on Tuesday, which allows the zoo to continue to shape its expansion plans.

The Sacramento Zoological Society has been working with the city over the last year on a proposed 5.8-acre expansion, which would bring the zoo’s total footprint to 20.1 acres. The expansion would pave the way for the zoo to remain at its longtime home in Land Park, upgrade its facilities for animals and add new exhibits.

Councilmember Rick Jennings described Land Park as a “crown jewel” of the Sacramento region, adding that the Sacramento Zoo is an essential piece of the park.

“The Sacramento Zoo … has been here in our community for over 100 years,” Jennings said. “What we do today lays the foundation for what will happen over the next hundred years.”

To move or expand the zoo

Multiple councilmembers applauded the efforts to chart a path toward keeping the zoo in Land Park. Until last year, the zoo had been planning a massive expansion and move to Elk Grove.

Under the new plans, the Sacramento Zoo would expand north into a parcel that is currently home to a public garden and walking path. The zoo would also extend into a portion of the park that formerly housed the Land Park Pony Rides.

A new Tropical Forest Zone and an Australasia Zone are also described in project maps of the expansion. These areas could see new exhibits for tigers, tapirs, orangutans and gibbons in one area and an “immersive experience” with kangaroos, wallabies, emus and parrots in another area. Plans also allude to renovating the okapi habitat and adding new exhibits for reptiles and insects.

A longtime concern for the zoo

The Sacramento Zoo has been at its current 14.3-acre size since 1968. Over the years, shifting requirements over the space needed for different animals have altered the types of animals that can be humanely housed within the zoo.

In 2018, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums granted accreditation to the Sacramento Zoo but cited concerns about aging enclosures and space requirements.

“Space has always been an issue for the Sacramento Zoo,” said Elizabeth Stallard, chair of the Sacramento Zoological Society, at the council meeting. “Over time, the Sacramento Zoo has lost some of its larger species. We’ve lost elephant, we’ve lost hippo, we recently lost tiger.”

Space requirements also prompted the zoo’s leadership to consider moving to Elk Grove.

The move to Elk Grove originally envisioned a massive 65-acre zoo at the price tag of $302 million. The deal fell through in April 2025 though due to uncertainty over funding for the project and rising construction costs that threatened to significantly limit scope of the new zoo.

There is no cost estimate yet for the latest zoo expansion plans, according to Dan Simon, CEO of the Sacramento Zoo. The city currently is not committing any dollars toward the project, and the zoo is planning on leaning on fundraising efforts to complete the expansion, Simon told Abridged by PBS KVIE.

“It gives us a pathway to remain here in Sacramento and to remain in Land Park,” Simon said of the recent council vote.

With the expansion, the zoo would move most of its educational services over to the area formerly occupied by the Land Park Pony Rides. That would open up spaces within the zoo’s current footprint that could be redeveloped and replaced, Simon said.

Expansion plans still need environmental approvals

The zoo expansion project still has a number of hoops and hurdles to clear before construction can begin.

The expansion project still must undergo a full environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

The recent council vote lays the ground work for the city to allow the zoo to use additional pieces of William Land Park in its expansion. If the zoo is not able to move forward with an expansion further down the line, the city would still retain its ownership of the land proposed for the expansion project.