Remote surveillance trailer in West Sacramento, CA

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new housing development that looks to bring 3,000 units to West Sacramento’s Southport community can move forward.

The decision comes after the city council denied an appeal late Wednesday night from a long-time resident, who said the project needs more vetting before construction begins.

16 years after it was initially passed, the proposed Yarbrough community is estimated to be 713 acres along the south end of Jefferson Blvd. It looks to build 3,000 mixed-use units, an 18-hole golf course, new parks, and trails.

The project received the green light after some community members asked city leaders to stop it in its tracks because the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is 16 years old.

“How long before an EIR is too old to be meaningful,” said Kimber Goddard, who lives in the area and filed the appeal.

Goddard said he has lived in West Sacramento for 45 years and much has changed since the EIR was created.

“They changed the development agreement all around, but they think that somehow a 30-page impact report from 16 years ago predicted everything that is ever going happen out here, including the Pandemic, including everything that has happened during that time period,” said Goddard. You are surrounded by 50 miles of levee in a flat bottom bathtub, a break anywhere in that levee. This whole area will be in 20 feet of water within two hours and there is only two ways out of this community.”

The city staff said a new report is not needed.

“It can't just be a rehash of the same issues that were raised in 2007” said Jeff Mitchell, West Sacramento City Attorney.

The city says this project will help with the state's goal to build more affordable housing.

The project developer did not respond to ABC10’s request for comment but said this during the meeting.

“Goddard’s appeal, a lot of the information he has provided is either found somewhere we cannot find it, or it is inaccurate, misstated or misrepresented,” said David Stroud, who is with ASB Properties.

The council denied the appeal with a 4-1 vote and is allowing the project’s Phase One, which looks to build around 500 homes, some affordable, to proceed.

Goddard tells ABC10 this is far from over. he can file a lawsuit within the next 90 days, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

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SACRAMENTO — U.S. Marshals seized a ship at the Port of Sacramento and detained its crew over an unpaid $400,000 fuel payment.

The Hong Kong-based China Spirit was stuck at the port in West Sacramento after being seized. Its Chinese crew of 21 was not allowed to leave the ship. However, on Wednesday, CBS Sacramento confirmed the ship was released by U.S. Marshals, which allows crew members to reload with rice and leave the port.

On Tuesday, I spoke to the captain who was only allowed to go as far as the end of the gangplank. He said he was warned by the ship owner that the ship could be seized as he was arriving from his last port in Ecuador.

Tim Campbell is the president of International Longshore Warehouse Union Local 18. He's also running for West Sacramento City Council.

Campbell's been working to protect the crew onboard through this legal process.

"My number one concern is safety," Campbell said. "To make sure the crew on the ship is being treated fair and safe, [to] make sure they have food stores, [and to] make sure their wages are being paid correctly and on time."

The ship seizure stems from a lawsuit filed in federal court. A judge approved the arrest warrant of the ship over claims filed against the ship owner and a separate company alleging a failure to pay $408,000 for fuel at a port in The United Arab Emirates.

"So these crew members are actually being held, essentially detained, for what somebody else has done," Campbell said.

This is only the second ship seizure at the Port of Sacramento in three decades, according to Campbell.

An attorney for the plaintiffs said Tuesday that they believed the payment for that fuel was already being processed to make way for this week's departure.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

A vessel from Hong Kong was stopped and seized in the Port of West Sacramento due to an unpaid fuel bill, federal court documents show.

On Wednesday, the port's general manager said the ship had been released from U.S. Marshals Service custody. Crews returned to work Wednesday evening, loading the remaining 5,000 tons of rice set to be shipped.

According to a complaint filed in the Eastern District of California on Oct. 9, the vessel China Spirit owed a Danish fuel supplier more than $400,000.

The supplier issued an invoice on April 16, with payment due on May 15, documents show.

In the complaint, the supplier alleges the payment was never made.

"It's a dispute between a fuel supply operator and the vessel owner," said Oscar Villegas, the chair of the Port Commission. "It's not uncommon that there are disputes, but in this case, a dispute resulted in the ship being stuck here at the port until they pay their fuel bill."

A warrant of arrest was issued on Oct. 17 and amended on Oct. 18. That warrant gave U.S. Marshals Service the authorization to seize the vessel.

The crew was not allowed to leave the ship, and no one was able to go on board.

"I've been at this port for 30 years and this is the second time it's ever happened," said Tim Campbell, president of the ILWU Local 18 Longshore Division.

Campbell is running for West Sacramento City Council and is the longtime president of the union that oversees the longshore work at the port. He said his focus was on the wellbeing of the crew onboard.

"One of the main issues we are worried about is making sure the workers were safe," he said Wednesday.

Campbell said the union coordinated with the International Transportation Federation to provide a translator to assess the crew’s needs and to ensure they had access to proper food, water and a safe working environment.

KCRA 3 is working to learn if the vessel's bill was paid, allowing for the release. Messages to the attorney for the fuel supplier went unanswered Wednesday.

Rice is the primary good shipped from the Port of West Sacramento. The ship, China Spirit, is set to bring 20,000 tons of rice from West Sacramento to Jordan.

"We're a kind of hidden little operation here in the Sacramento region," said Rick Roft, the port's general manager. "We've been here for 60 years serving the rice industry and cement."

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