Preservation Commission Approves Water+ Treatment Plant with Historic Impacts - February 18, 2026
Preservation Commission Meeting – February 18, 2026
At its regular meeting on February 18, 2026, the Sacramento Preservation Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council certify the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project, adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations for significant and unavoidable impacts to historical resources, and approve the project. The meeting lasted from 5:31 p.m. to 5:53 p.m.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of January 21, 2026, Meeting Minutes (File ID: 2026-00038) – Passed by a 5-0 vote (motion by Commissioner Cross, second by Commissioner McSlavkin).
Discussion Items
- Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project (File ID: 2026-00527) – Staff project manager Megan Thomas presented the project, which aims to increase the capacity of the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant from 160 million gallons per day (MGD) to 310 MGD. The treatment plant, listed in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources since 2011, includes five significant features: the pumping station, head house (administration building), concrete filter building, coagulant building, and water intake structure. The project requires demolition of the historic filter building to install new filters that meet current regulatory requirements. The new filter building will occupy the same footprint, with only a five-foot clearance, and will extend 16 feet below grade (the existing filters go 20 feet below grade). An adjacent common wall of the head house will be removed but restored to match existing, consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s standards. The project will also replace an underground reservoir that has no historic designation. Staff noted that only five public comments were received on the EIR. Commissioners asked about potential impacts to the pump house; staff confirmed it will not be harmed and may be improved for tours and training.
Key Outcomes
- Motion (5-0) to recommend that the City Council: 1) certify the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Water+ Treatment Plants Resiliency and Improvements Project; 2) adopt the Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations for significant and unavoidable impacts to historical resources; and 3) approve the project. Motion by Vice Chair Ian Lee Merker, second by Commissioner Ella Cross. All five commissioners present voted yes: Chair Patricia Ambacher, Vice Chair Merker, Commissioners Cross, Max McSlavkin, and Salvatore Ricca.
- No public testimony was offered on any agenda item.
- The Director’s Report and Commissioner Comments-Ideas and Questions sections had no items.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you. Thank you, Chair. We're ready to start when you are. Good evening and welcome to the Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 meeting of the Preservation Commission. The meeting is now called to order. Will the clerk please call the role to establish a quorum? Thank you, Chair. Commissioners, please unmute your microphones. Vice Chair Merker. Here. Commissioner Ambosher? Here. Commissioner Ricka? Here. Commissioner Cross? Here. Commissioner McSlavkin? Here. Chair Nyer. I'm so sorry. I beg your pardon. We have a quorum. Thank you. I would like to remind members of the public and chambers that if you would like to speak on an agenda item to please turn in a speaker slip before the item begins. After the item is called, we will no longer accept speaker slips. And you will have two minutes to speak once you are called. We're now going to proceed with the agenda. And we're going to start with the land acknowledgement. So if you're able, if you could please rise. To the original people of this land, the Nisane people of the Southern Maidu Valley and Plains Miwok, Patwin Winton peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous people's history, contributions, and lives. Thank you. Would you please stay standing for the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. So next is the approval of the consent calendar. Clerk, are there any members of the public who wish to speak on the consent calendar? Thank you, Chair. I have no speaker slips for this item. Okay. Um, thank you. Are there any commissioners who wish to speak on this item? Is there a motion and a second? Yes. Sorry. Yes, I would like to uh make a motion that we approve and adopt the commission meeting for minutes. I'll second. Thank you. That was a motion by Commissioner Cross, second by Commissioner McSlavkin. Umers, please unmute your microphones.
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