Please copy and send the letter below as written, personalize it, or add your own concerns before sending. Be sure to sign your name. Email your comments by October 16, 2026 to:
- [email protected]
- Melissa Bassanelli, Superintendent, [email protected]
- Nicholas Arps, Director, Facilities Construction, [email protected]
Below is my public comment submission for Draft EIR of the Rio Americano High School Stadium Project. Please add it to the official record.
To whom it may concern,
I would like to express my concerns regarding the intended stadium construction at Rio Americano High School, which includes an almost 800% increase in bleacher capacity, a substantial increase in noise pollution, light pollution, traffic issues, and potential safety issues. I am concerned about the quality of living for the community and the impacts the project will have on wildlife that rely on a dark and quiet American River Parkway. This proposal’s lack of an improved evacuation plan and security of any type leaves students, parents, staff and attendees at serious risk to their safety.
Although I understand the District’s desire for a stadium at every high school, the proposed site at Rio Americano HS, along the state protected American River Parkway, is not suitable for a high intensity sports and events stadium.
Note the District, within the last ten years, added a track field at the stadium’s proposed location. The campus is an excellent opportunity for a state of the art science program with the Parkway as the educational opportunity of a lifetime.
I have further outlined my concerns about the project and the DEIR below.
Where the DEIR falls short:
Event Noise – noise pollution was identified as significant and unavoidable even after mitigation. Therefore, another alternative should be presented. Please advise how this intended project complies with the Sacramento County Noise Ordinance.
Lighting – Meaningfully evaluate glare, skyglow, spectrum, and nighttime activities adjacent to the Parkway and river corridor. The FEIR must require lighting that complies with the maximum light reduction available through DarkSky orientated design.
Incomplete Environmental Baseline and Project Description –
• The DEIR/FEIR must specify the maximum and accurate operating conditions for stadium use rather than generalized “typical” operating conditions.
• The DEIR/FEIR must commit to reasonable Night Event Management Standards, facility-use rules, staffing commitments, security arrangements, parking controls, and PA limitations consistent with residential use, the Parkway Corridor Combining Zone (PCCZ), and the American River Parkway Plan 2008.
• The existing baseline conditions should not include portable diesel lights that the District has only recently started using.
Biological resources – The DEIR/FEIR must analyze ongoing event operations along the Parkway and how it impacts all wildlife, habitat, and recreational use.
Cumulative impacts – the separately improperly approved 90-foot cell tower must be analyzed together with stadium construction and operations.
Parking and Traffic – The DEIR/FEIR must provide parking and a transportation model for the anticipated 3,500+ people who are expected to use this stadium/event center. Suggested, unsecured, offsite parking is insufficient.
Thank you for your consideration,
[name]