About the Project

The project involves updates to the City’s General Plan, Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, and Master Environmental Impact Report. While the City undertook a technical update to these key long-range planning documents 5 years ago, the last major update was almost 10 years ago and the city and community needs have evolved since that time. Today, Sacramento is one of the fastest growing big cities in California in terms of population. Updates to these documents are needed to respond to community needs and to ensure the City takes full advantage of the opportunities that growth presents while also addressing the associated challenges.

As part of the project, options for achieving the following key objectives will be explored with the community:

Ensuring that growth in Sacramento is equitable, inclusive, and sustainable
Creating healthier communities, building community resilience, and helping the City meet the needs of our most vulnerable communities (SB 1000)
Incorporating climate adaptation and resiliency strategies (SB 379) into the City’s key policy documents
Creating a first class, efficient, multimodal transportation system that can transform mobility for Sacramento residents, business employees, and visitors alike, including the use of
Using Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as a metric to measure traffic impacts (SB 743)
Fostering Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in appropriate locations
Taking steps to make Sacramento more livable and accessible for people of all ages, including youth and seniors.

Background

In 2009, the City of Sacramento completed a comprehensive update of its General Plan, setting forth a policy framework to guide the City’s long-term growth and development based on the community’s shared goals and aspirations for the planning year 2030.

In 2015, a five-year technical update was completed for the 2035 General Plan. Currently, the City is initiating the next five-year update to address significant emerging trends, opportunities and challenges currently facing communities. The City is now embarking on the 2040 General Plan Update, with a particular emphasis on involving traditionally underrepresented communities.

Involvement by community members is integral to the success of the project; the public participation events will provide opportunities for meaningful input throughout the plan development process. The City and project team are creating a public participation program that includes community meetings, pop-up outreach at events around the city, online and social media engagement, public meetings, and as well as activities specifically targeted to engage youth, disadvantaged populations, communities of color, and other underrepresented constituencies.

Vision and Guiding Principles

The Vision and Guiding Principles describe a shared image of the kind of place that Sacramentans would like their city to be in 2040 and what is necessary to achieve it. They identify key themes and priorities and set the tone for the General Plan Update and Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. The guiding vision of the 2040 General Plan is that the City of Sacramento will be a national model of sustainable, equitable growth and community development. The Vision and Guiding Principles were adopted by City Council in 2019 and have been used to guide the development of the draft goals, policies, and implementation actions.

Schedule

Below is an overview of the General Plan schedule, which is subject to change throughout the plan development process.