An investigation into the Sacramento development department’s approval of building permits in a flood zone will be considered by the City Council on Tuesday.

City Attorney Eileen Teichert and a third party-law firm, Renee Sloan Holtzman Sakai, have been investigating the Community Development Department’s decision last year to greenlight 35 building permits in a Natomas area regulated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. At the Tuesday meeting, the city attorney’s office will make a presentation on the investigation.

Teichert’s office acknowledged in a Dec. 15 letter to the FEMA office in Oakland that the city broke federal rules by authorizing the permits.

Councilman Steve Cohn noted that the approval of the permits appears to be a “very limited issue,” not part of a widespread pattern.

Recommendations for how the city can prevent similar situations in the future may be part of Tuesday’s discussion, Cohn said.

Robert Graswich, special assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, said the mayor believes the city should work with FEMA and protect the city’s best interests. Graswich said city personnel did not intend to break rules, noting that “any transgressions were minor and certainly unintentional.”

The City Council’s Tuesday meeting starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at 915 I St.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.