Sacramento’s nearly century-old zoo is looking to stretch its paws inside William Land Park, and City Hall is about to decide whether to let planners seriously size up the move. The Sacramento City Council will consider a draft memorandum of understanding this month that would let the Sacramento Zoo study adding about 5.8 acres inside the park. If approved, it would mark the zoo’s biggest growth in decades, bumping its footprint by roughly 41 percent as the institution edges toward its 100th birthday. The nonbinding agreement is expected to be posted for public review ahead of a council meeting later this month.
According to The Sacramento Bee, zoo leaders asked the city for an MOU that would allow planners to study how an extra 5.8 acres might be carved up for larger habitats, visitor amenities and back-of-house operations. The Bee reports the MOU would be posted for public review on March 12 and could come before the council on March 17. Zoo officials describe the document as nonbinding, a tool to kick off technical work and community conversations rather than a commitment to a permanent land swap.
Pivot From Elk Grove
The Land Park plan is a notable pivot after the Sacramento Zoological Society and the City of Elk Grove walked away last spring from talks about relocating the zoo to a new site outside Sacramento. Elk Grove’s official website states the society informed the city on April 30, 2025, that the Elk Grove option was no longer considered viable, and that planning work there has since been wound down. Following that decision, the society signaled it would focus on ways to expand in place at Land Park instead of moving.
Leaders Voice Urgency
Board president Elizabeth Stallard told The Sacramento Bee that “if we don’t get more space in Land Park, we’re going to have to go back to looking elsewhere,” underscoring what zoo leaders describe as a pressing need to modernize habitats. Dan Simon, who became zoo CEO in November 2025, has publicly framed expansion as a top priority, saying that “long-term, we can look at other things” while pressing ahead with short-term improvements. His appointment and focus on growth were highlighted in coverage of the zoo’s new leadership last year.
Why Land Matters
Land Park’s broad green expanse might look roomy, but the zoo itself is squeezed into a compact footprint that has long limited big-animal exhibits and modern habitat design. KCRA has reported the current site comes in at just under 15 acres, while city records show William Land Park itself covers more than 100 acres of municipal parkland. Any zoo expansion would have to thread the needle between animal welfare, neighborhood recreation and traffic circulation. Zoo officials argue that even a 5.8-acre addition would offer meaningful breathing room for animals, staff and visitors…