City of Sacramento - File #: 2025-01324

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Action Details	Meeting Details	Video
12/25/2025	1	City Council - 5PM	approved	Pass	Action details	Meeting details	Not available

Title

TEST FILE [Pass for Publication] Ordinance Listing 5850 Freeport Boulevard as a Landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources (M24-014)

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FileID

File ID: 2025-01199

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Location

Location: 5850 Freeport Blvd, APN: 035-0034-016-0000, District 5

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Recommendation

Recommendation:1) Review an Ordinance listing 5850 Freeport Boulevard as a landmark on the Sacramento register of historic and cultural resources; and 2) pass for publication the ordinance title per Sacramento City Charter section 32(c) for City Council consideration on July 22, 2025.

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Contact

Contact: Sean de Courcy, Preservation Director, (916) 808-2796, sdecourcy@cityofsacramento.org, Community Development Department

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Presenter

Presenter: None

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Attachments

Attachments:

1-Description/Analysis

2-Ordinance

3-Historic Resource Evaluation for 5850 Freeport Boulevard

4-Public Comments

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Description/Analysis

IssueDetail

Issue Detail: In May 2024, Staff received a planning application requesting the demolition of the building at 5850 Freeport Boulevard due to interior fire damage. Consistent with City Code section 17.604.600, within 45 days of a request to demolish a building 50 years old or older, the preservation director is required to make a preliminary determination whether the building should be nominated for listing on the Sacramento register. The owner retained the services of SWCA environmental consultants who prepared and submitted a historic resources evaluation. Concurrently, the Sacramento County Historical Society retained Brunzell Historical to prepare a second historic resource evaluation for the building. The SWCA report recommended the building as ineligible as a historic landmark, while the Brunzell Historical report recommended the building as an eligible historic resource. The two reports and the request to demolish the building were routed to preservation advocacy and neighborhood groups; 61 comments were received in response to the routing. Forty-Nine letters were received in total. One comment in particular, submitted by Preservation Sacramento, noted that the building was identified in the City’s recently completed African American Experience and LGBTQ+ Historic Experience historic context segments. Preservation Sacramento also noted that in the opinion its board of directors, the building was potentially eligible for listing on the Sacramento register for its association with the Japanese-American developer Gonzo Sakai who built the building, and for the Nisei bowling leagues that met in the building since its construction.

In accordance with City Code section 17.604.600, the preservation director reviewed the record, including both historical evaluations and all public comments received, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood the building qualifies for listing on the Sacramento register under Criterion i (City Code, § 17.604.210.A.1.a.1.) for its association with Sacramento’s Japanese American and LGBTQ+ communities, with particular significance as a Japanese-American (Nisei) gathering place.

Staff presented a statement of nomination to the preservation director who concluded at a public hearing on January 30, 2025, that the resource appears eligible for listing in the Sacramento register pursuant to the criterion in City Code section 17.604.210.A.1.a.i. Staff has prepared a draft ordinance (Attachment 2) for review by the preservation commission, which is responsible for reviewing the ordinance and making a recommendation to the city council regarding the eligibility of 5850 Freeport Boulevard (Nominated Resource) for listing on the Sacramento register. The preservation commission held a hearing and passed a motion recommending the City Council adopt an ordinance listing the Nominated Resource as a landmark on the Sacramento register.

A notice of the public hearing describing the proposed landmark listing was sent to the property owner of 5850 Freeport Boulevard as required by City Code section 17.604.230.

The South Land Park Neighborhood Association, Pocket Greenhaven Community Association, Freeport Renovation on The Move (FROM), Preservation Sacramento, Sacramento County Historical Society, Sacramento Modern, Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522, Sacramento Regional Fire Museum received notice of the hearing and submitted letters supporting the nomination. Forty-Seven letters in support of the nomination and two letters in opposition were received from residents. Staff have met with the owners who have expressed some concerns about the potential listing on the Sacramento register.

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PolicyConsiderations

Policy Considerations: The city council has found “that significant aspects of the city’s rich and diverse historic resources deserve recognition and preservation to foster an understanding of our heritage, and to promote the public health and safety and the economic and general welfare of the people of the city. The preservation and continued use of historic resources are effective tools to sustain and revitalize neighborhoods and business districts within the city, enhance the city’s economic, cultural and aesthetic standing, its identity, its livability, marketability and urban character.” (City Code, § 17.604.100.A.) To this end, the city code directs the preservation director, to “make preliminary determinations relative to properties’ eligibility for listing on the Sacramento register” and to “initiate proceedings to nominate resources for listing on the Sacramento register.” (City Code, §§ 17.604.100.C.2 and 17.604.220).

The nomination of the building at 5850 Freeport Boulevard for listing as a historic landmark on the Sacramento register is consistent with Sacramento 2040 General Plan goal HCR-2.3, which provides for the identification and preservation of historical and cultural resources. General Plan policy HCR-2.3 states, “The City shall maintain and update the Sacramento register of historic and cultural resources on a regular basis, including proactively identifying and listing additional unidentified landmarks and historic districts…”

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EconomicImpacts

Economic Impacts: Not applicable.

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EnvironmentalConsiderations

Environmental Considerations: The listing of the Nominated Resource as a historic landmark on the Sacramento register is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15308. Section 15308 exempts from review acts that are undertaken to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. Listing the Nominated Resource as a historic landmark would ensure that future development on the site would undergo preservation review, as part of the city’s site plan and design review process prior to the granting of any entitlements, thereby protecting the historic resource, which would be considered part of the environment.

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Sustainability

Sustainability: Not applicable.

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Commission/Committee Action

Commission/Committee Action: On January 30, 2025, the preservation director, in conformance with City Code section 17.604.220, held a public hearing, reviewed the historic analysis prepared by Kara Brunzell, M.A., Brunzell Historical (Attachment 3) and concurred with a draft statement of nomination and requested staff prepare a draft ordinance (Attachment 2) for review and consideration by the preservation commission. On May 21, 2025, the preservation commission held a hearing and passed a motion recommending the City Council adopt an ordinance listing the Nominated Resource as a landmark on the Sacramento register.

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RationaleforRecommendation

Rationale for Recommendation: Listing of the building at 5850 Freeport Boulevard as a historic landmark on the Sacramento register is consistent with the Historic Preservation Chapter of the City Code (chapter 17.604) and the goals of the 2040 General Plan. Furthermore, listing the nominated resource on the Sacramento register will help ensure its preservation and encourage rehabilitation consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

The property is associated with the commercial development of the South Land Park area of Sacramento in the mid-twentieth century and with the transformation of Freeport Boulevard into a commercial corridor. It is also associated with the expanding postwar popularity of bowling as a sport played by women and children as well as men. It exemplifies the postwar rise of the suburban bowling center in Sacramento, a purpose-built bowling facility in which the sport was the primary activity. Constructed outside the traditional urban core, these facilities included amenities such as restaurants, meeting rooms, nurseries, free parking, and cocktail lounges. Land Park Bowl was particularly important as a gender-neutral recreational center for people of all ages since the newly developed neighborhood lacked a downtown area with a high density of traditional quasi-public recreational spaces like social clubs, lodges, neighborhood bars, and restaurants. The nominated property is the last purpose-built and intact bowling alley from this era in the city of Sacramento.

The property is of particular significance to the local Japanese American Community. Land Park Bowl was developed by Gonzo Sakai, a Japanese American Issei, and served as a popular venue for Nisei bowling leagues in Sacramento. The site reflects an important chapter in Sacramento’s Japanese American community history, including its contributions to recreational and social integration during and after World War II. Additionally, the property has also been identified in the Sacramento LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project historic context statement as a venue for the River City Bowlers, a prominent LGBTQ+ bowling league, including the team “Four Brothas and a Sistah.” Therefore, the building at 5850 Freeport Boulevard meets the criterion for listing on the Sacramento register under City Code section 17.604.210.A.1.a.i because of its association with the postwar popularity of bowling and for its association with the local Japanese American and LGBTQ+ community.

Figure 1: 5850 Freeport Boulevard

Figure 2: Nisei Old timers' Bowling League Team, c. 1970

Figure 3: Owner Gonzo Sakai, Rev. Senshow Sakai and the Warren brothers breaking ground, 1960 (Sacramento Union).

The building at 5850 Freeport Boulevard has integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and association. (City Code, § 17.604.210.A.1.b.)

The building retains a high degree of historic integrity in all six aspects. The building is in its original location, the design elements at the time of construction are largely intact with minimal alterations, the surrounding setting of Freeport Boulevard has remained intact, the workmanship present on the building is nearly identical to when it was built, and finally the building retains the ability to convey its association with the Japanese and LGBTQ+ communities due to its continued usage as a bowling alley up to the point of the fire.

The building at 5850 Freeport Boulevard has significant historical worth, and its designation as a landmark is reasonable, appropriate and necessary to promote, protect and further the goals and purposes of this chapter (City Code, § 17.604.210.A1.c.)

The building at 5850 Freeport Boulevard has significant historic worth. Up until the fire, it had been well-maintained and retains a high level of integrity. 5850 Freeport Boulevard is a signific property since it is the last purpose-built and intact bowling alley from this era in the city of Sacramento. It has exceptional cultural importance, particularly to the Japanese-American community as evidenced by the substantial number of public comments received in support of listing as a landmark, along with the LGBTQ+ community due to its identification in the City’s LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement.

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FinancialConsiderations

Financial Considerations: Not applicable.

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LocalBusinessEnterprise

Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.

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Legislation Details