10-year Agreement with Danny Wimmer Presents LLC for Ongoing Concerts and Festivals in Discovery Park

2026060518

Sacramento County

NOE - Notice of Exemption

6/11/2026

6/11/2026

Julie Newton

Sacramento County

Environmental Coordinator

Lead/Public Agency

827 7th Street, Room 225
Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 874-6141

newtonj@saccounty.gov

Crystal Bethke

Sacramento County Office of Economic Development

Applicant

Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project

700 H Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 874-5220

bethke@saccounty.gov

274-0050-015. Located within land owned by the Sacramento County Department of Parks.

The project is located within Discovery Park, 1000 Garden Highway, Sacramento, CA 95833

Categorical Exemption

CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 - Existing Facilities • CEQA Guidelines Section 15323 - Normal Operations of Facilities fo

Reasons Why Project is Exempt: Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency’s determination. Class 23 consists of the normal operations of existing facilities for public gatherings for which the facilities were designed, where there is a past history of the facility being used for the same or similar kind of history. Implementation of the 10-year agreement consists of the continued operation of limited concerts and festivals in Discovery Park. The concerts and festivals would be limited to up to three multi-day festivals on three consecutive weekends in the month of October. The concerts and festivals will utilize the entirety of the area of Discovery Park that is designated in the American River Parkway Plan as Developed Recreation Area and as such would not expand beyond the present use. The 10-year agreement requires initial site improvements that consist of the reseeding and installation of grass at the Garden Highway Entrance, and the paving of an area located under Interstate-5. These initial site improvements are consistent with the usage of Discovery Park as a recreational area and does not expand the use beyond what is allowed in the American River Parkway Plan. The usage of Discovery Park for the ongoing concerts and festivals is allowed as a Special Event under the American River Parkway Plan and subject to a permit from the Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks. The concerts and festivals held in Discovery Park will be temporary in nature, being limited to three weekends in October each year and would not change the use of Discovery Park as a recreational area for the remainder of the year. The three concerts and festivals that are subject to the 10-year agreement are Aftershock which started in 2012, Sol Blume which started in 2017, and GoldenSky which started in 2022. The three festivals will maintain the same character and operation as the previous events and not expand the usage of Discovery Park beyond its current allowable uses and is therefore exempt from the provisions of CEQA. Section 15300.2-Exceptions Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines, Exceptions, provides conditions under which categorical exemptions are inapplicable. Review of the Project indicates that it will not violate any of the exceptions, as described in the following section. 1. For Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 11, will the project have an impact on an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern where designated, precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to law by federal, state, or local agencies? The project exemption is not one of the above classes and this exception does not apply. 2. Will cumulative impacts be considerable because successive projects of the same type will occur at the same place over time? The project will not result in potentially significant impacts; the project is a 10-year agreement for the continued use of Discovery Park for concerts and festivals consistent with the American River Parkway Plan and historic uses. Therefore, no cumulative impacts will result from the project and successive projects of the same type and at the same place over time. 3. Is there a reasonable possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances? The temporary music festival operations are an existing use that will maintain the same character and operations as the previous events and not expand the usage of Discovery Park beyond its current allowable uses. Thus, there are no known unusual circumstances that will have a significant effect on the environment resulting from these continuing temporary operations. 4. Will the project result in damage to scenic resources, including but not limited to trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources within a highway officially designated as a scenic highway? River Road / Highway 160 (from the Sacramento City Limits at the northern edge of Freeport to the southern tip of the Delta at Antioch Bridge) is a designated State Scenic Highway. The project is not located within the vicinity of this scenic highway. Therefore, the project will not result in damage to scenic resources or similar resources within a highway that is officially designated as a scenic highway. 5. Is the project located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code? The project site is not included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. 6. Will the project cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource? The project site does not contain any historical resources.