Smart Growth Implementation Strategy

Overview

SACOG has projected that an additional million people and 600,000 jobs are expected to be added to the Sacramento region over the next twenty five years. Studies indicate that conventional planning and development approaches which have resulted in a growing dependence on the automobile and single use zoning will not effectively address growing traffic congestion, deteriorating air quality and greater losses of open space. Communities across the county are turning to smart growth. Smart Growth is about changing these development patterns by supporting development which revitalizes central cities and existing communities, supports public transportation and preserves open space. To address these issues, the City Council adopted the following Smart Growth Principles into the General Plan (Resolution 2001-805):

Mix land uses and support vibrant city centers
Take advantage of existing community assets emphasizing joint use of facilities
Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
Foster walkable, close-knit neighborhoods
Promote distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place, including the rehabilitation and use of historic buildings
Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
Concentrate new development and target infrastructure investments within the urban core of the region
Provide a variety of transportation choices
Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective
Encourage citizen & stakeholder participation in development decisions
Promote resource conservation and energy efficiency
Create a Smart Growth Regional Vision and Plan
Support high quality education and quality schools
Support land use, transportation management, infrastructure and environmental planning programs that reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality
Policies adopted by regional decision-making bodies should discourage urban sprawl, promote infill development and the concentration of development in the urban core of the region, and promote the equitable distribution of affordable housing and social services.

Smart Growth Initiatives

The principles will be implemented through several major Smart Growth Initiatives. These initiatives build on both ongoing and new planning efforts by Planning and Building, Parks, Utilities, Public Works, Economic Development, Neighborhood Services and SHRA.

Principle: Create a Smart Growth Regional Vision

Initiative

General Plan 2025 Update

The general plan is an adopted statement of policy for the physical development of a community. The last comprehensive update to the City’s General Plan was adopted in January 1988 covering the 1986-2006 planning period. The 2025 General Plan Update will be an important opportunity for all city departments to update their policies related to serving future growth. The Update will include a review of the Level of Service C standard for major streets in infill/selected new growth areas. The LOS C standard does not allow the city to balance land use decisions with traffic flow considerations and often results in costly EIR and traffic studies for infill development projects. The General Plan update also presents an opportunity for the City Council to implement new policy direction on smart growth in conjunction with the City’s Strategic Plan and Budget/Capital Improvement Program.

Joint City/County Planning Principles for Natomas

The best way to insure sustainable community building in Natomas is for the City and County to plan jointly. Together, the City and County should forge a leadership role on a regional scale for growth management. Protecting and maximizing existing, and future, airport operations, open space preservation, and fair distribution of revenue are shared core values. The city and county have a common stake in pro-actively influencing the emerging urban form, by guiding inevitable growth to provide for residential and employment opportunities in close to the regions urban core. This promotes air quality measures through trip reductions, and distance traveled, and maximizes the return on existing and future public infrastructure investment. The cooperative effort will address land use, economic development, and environmental opportunities and challenges in Natomas. The result will be quality development balanced with permanent open space preservation systems.

Principle: Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas

Initiative: Parks Master Plan

Update the Parks Master Plan and create a process that evaluates and recommends options to the 5 acres per 1000 population standard for development projects in urban impacted areas. This process may propose exceptions to the current park standard based on the needs of the current and projected population to be served and the existing inventory and condition of recreation and park facilities. Provide an alternative park standard to the 5 acre minimum standard for neighborhood parks to allow for dedication and utilization of smaller pocket parks within both existing and older neighborhoods as well as new subdivisions.

Principle: Support land use, transportation management, infrastructure and environmental planning programs that reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality

Initiative: Air Quality/Transportation Collaborative

The purpose of the collaborative is to co-ordinate a comprehensive and long range strategy for the Sacramento countywide area to improve transportation and air quality within a regional context, including land use and relevant economic development strategies. This will be accomplished through a broad interest based negotiation process commencing with education and visioning activities

Principle: Provide a variety of transportation choices

Initiatives

Metropolitan Transportation Plan

SACOG is in the process of updating the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. The plan provides a regional vision for all modes of surface transportation and is a guide for regional transportation investments over the next 23 years. SACOG is asking all jurisdictions within the six-county area to provide a prioritized list of transportation projects for inclusion in the plan. The draft plan proposes to use state and federal funds that come to the region for programs designed to meet goals which include: clean air; design of communities to encourage local walk, bicycle, and transit travel; and for improvements to main routes that serve longer distance travel around the region - specifically freeways, rail lines, and major roadways and streets that serve regional traffic. The Plan also includes $400 million to support community design plans and quality growth.

Pedestrian Master Plan

This document will be used to inventory the City of Sacramento’s current pedestrian infrastructure, determine the degree of improvements based on unmet needs, create a map of highest priority facilities, and establish an implementation program. The Master Plan will use the latest available methods providing the proper facilities to accommodate and support pedestrian travel. This will include use of a “Level of Service” for pedestrian facilities, currently being evaluated by jurisdictions throughout the country. Also develop street design standards that require the creation of street patterns that reduce or eliminate the need for “sound” walls and limitations on curb cuts. Modify noise element requirements if walls are required for noise issues that are typically over-ridden.

Principle: Create a range of housing opportunities

Initiative: Housing Element Update

The City of Sacramento views housing policy as an important and pivotal cornerstone to both neighborhood revitalization and stabilization and economic development. Without an adequate supply and choice of housing, Sacramento, as a community, will have difficulty meeting our local goals of strong and vibrant neighborhoods and a healthy economy. The Update will address the SACOG projected regional housing needs and address state legal requirements. The City’s affordable housing programs include: 1) Housing Trust Fund to assure that nonresidential development assists in addressing the low income housing needs associated with job growth and 2) Mixed Income Housing program which achieves economic integration and the dispersal of affordable housing units to prevent segregated communities and locates affordable housing near employment growth areas, so as to reduce commute times and air quality impacts, and improve productivity and family time.

Principle: Promote mix land uses and support vibrant city centers

Initiatives

Transit Village Initiative

City staff is working with RT and their consultant on the Transit For Liveable Communities (TLC) project for the South Area Light Rail Transit (LRT) Alignment, the 65th Street Transit Village Plan and various other station area planning studies. These studies use Place3s to measure indicators of sustain ability, determine economic feasibility and help identify appropriate land uses in proximity to the proposed LRT stations. The City and RT will need to develop an implementation strategy that supports mixed use development. The strategy will include transit supportive land use plans, policies and ordinances, new financial incentive programs and the designation of a lead agency to coordinate transit station development activities.

2005 Downtown Redevelopment Strategy

The Strategy provides a set of priorities and actions that will guide city and redevelopment investments over the next five years. The City and Agency is committed to extending the life of the Downtown including renewing the Redevelopment Plan for the Downtown and the BID. The five point strategy is:

Continue to Increase Downtown employment;

Pursue the development of complimentary retail development;

Pursue development of cultural and entertainment facilities;

Development of housing and mixed-use projects as revitalization projects;

Fill the gaps in Downtown public improvements.

Principle: Take advantage of existing community assets emphasizing joint use of facilities

Initiative: Joint Use Agreements

Promote the joint use of City facilities where the opportunity exists. For example, large storm drain detention facilities should be designed to include both active and passive recreational facilities to also address neighborhood park deficiency needs identified in the Parks Master Plan. Also, numerous joint use opportunities exist between city parks and school sites. Joint use policy can be initiated and from many departments and non-city agencies including Utilities, Public Works, school districts and SAFCA These policies should be developed within the context of the General Plan Update.

Principle: Foster walk able close-knit neighborhoods

Initiative: Smart Growth Checklist

Planning reviews private development applications for consistency with adopted Community and General Plan policies. Staff will research other city efforts and develop a smart growth checklist and incentive program for development proposals. The City should consider expedited approvals and financial incentives to encourage smart growth development. Incorporate smart growth design in project reviews by City departments. Include a discussion of project compliance with smart growth principles in staff reports.

Principle: Promote distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place, including the rehabilitation and use of historic buildings

Initiative: Preservation Program

Sacramento, California’s oldest city, State Capital, and birth place of the Gold Rush, has a rich and exciting history. Historic events shaped the City’s development and are reflected in the City’s character and quality of life. The City’s overall preservation objectives are to identify, protect, and encourage preservation of Sacramento’s historic and cultural resources throughout the city. The Preservation Element establishes the policy framework to guide the City’s achievement of its preservation objectives. These objectives reflect the importance of heritage in Sacramento’s physical character, economic viability, and quality of life. Preservation of historic and cultural resources is a way to keep Sacramento’s neighborhoods and commercial centers healthy, vibrant, and successful, to encourage tourism, and to retain community identity and pride.

Principle Concentrate new development and target infrastructure

Initiatives

Infill Strategy

Staff is developing a comprehensive infill program, including:

expand the City’s existing definition of infill to include not only housing but other small and neighborhood enhancing commercial uses;

adopt numerical and qualitative infill development goals;

target specific types of infill development; and

offer focused procedural and financial incentives to help achieve infill development goals.

Adopt development standards and infrastructure requirements for infill development that recognize the efficiencies of infill development. Identify a “fair share” requirement (versus “full share”) for infill development that reduces City fees relative to greenfield development. These funding issues will require participation from Public Works, Utilities, Finance and Parks departments.

Capital Improvement Program

The City has begun to target City resources to support infill and economic development in areas where infrastructure is inadequate. Additional resources should be phased and targeted to planned, or already in place, to encourage sustainable neighborhoods. The smart growth principles should be used in the evaluation and ranking of potential Capital Improvement Projects and Transportation Programming Guide (TPG) projects. The TPG is comprehensive in approach in that it not only addresses the movement of automobiles, but also alternative modes of transportation including transit, bikeways and pedestrian travel. Scoring and ranking criteria take into consideration such factors as connection to activity centers and proximity to infill and redevelopment areas. The process of the General Plan update can guide the departments’ master planning and prioritization efforts by identifying policy areas that promote Smart Growth principles and ensuring consistency among the master plans and the General Plan.

Principle: Promote resource conservation and energy efficiency

Initiatives

Cool Communities

City initiated or funded projects should incorporate cool community design features such as cool roofing, cool parking surfaces, solar photovoltaic panels, ample shade trees and utilize other “green” building technology. Long term energy and cost savings should be considered in addition to construction costs. Projects should also integrate recycling programs, water quality and water conservation features into project designs. Based on NASA overflight data, this program looks at the relationship between “urban forests”, urban land uses and heat islands. Results of the study will help determine which types of trees, natural surface areas and building surfaces contribute to the cooling of ground temperatures and associated heat islands. The study has demonstrated that by cooling a city, it is possible to directly reduce energy use by buildings, which in turn reduces greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately improves air quality.

Storm Water Quality

Sacramento’s rivers and creeks comprise some of our greatest assets, providing habitat, ambiance, recreation and drinking water supply. The City of Sacramento, over the past 11 years has implemented an innovative stormwater management program who’s aim is to protect the quality of the water in these local water bodies. An outgrowth of this effort has been stormwater quality development standards which have been applied in North Natomas and other development in the City. As the City grows stormwater quality issues will become more and more important. The City is committed to keeping stormwater related development standards up to date and state of the art. As stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) technologies continue to develop, stormwater development standards must continue to be revised and updated. Along with development standards the stormwater program is tasked with controlling stormwater pollution at the source and educating the populace of the effect that everyday activities have on the quality of our creeks and rivers. This effort will become more critical as the population of the City increases. The City must lead the way in these efforts by making sure it’s own projects and activities promote and protect stormwater quality.

Principle: Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost effective

Initiative: Streamlined Process/Design Guidelines

Allow for staff level review of infill, mixed use and transit oriented development projects in designated infill target areas subject to compliance with development standards and design guidelines to improve the feasibility of infill development. Develop alternative development standards for desired types of development (e.g. transit oriented and neighborhood commercial development). Modify the General and Community Plan land use categories to allow mixed uses. Modify parking standards to reflect transit orientations and use of alternative modes. This may include parking standard modifications in transit overlay zones, or commercial corridor overlay zones.

Principle: Encourage citizen & stakeholder participation

Initiative: Planning Academy

Develop proposal for a planning academy with neighborhood leaders to promote smart growth principles throughout Sacramento. Class could be modeled after the City Management Academy.

Principle: Support high quality education and quality schools

Initiative: School Facilities Strategic Plan

The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) is currently developing a Facilities Strategic Plan to address the exiting and future growth needs of the district. The plan will include recommendations on funding issues, school modernization and new schools for existing neighborhoods. The City will include the SCUSD recommendations and the needs of all the school districts that serve the City as part of the General Plan Update process.

Principle: Policies adopted by regional decision-making bodies should discourage urban sprawl, promote infill development and the concentration of development in the urban core of the region, and promote the equitable distribution of affordable housing and social services.

Initiative: Civic Standards

The Civic Standards provide a definition of what is important for the city and region’s quality of life and provide a means to implement and measure compliance with the Smart Growth Principles at the regional level. The City recently endorsed the Capital Region Compact developed by Valley Vision which promotes regional coordination, cooperation and collaboration. The compact defines four goals for future collaboration:

Create Regional Growth and Development Patterns;

Coordinate Land Use, Infrastructure, Public Services and Transportation,

Reinforce our Community Identities and Sense of Place; and

Protect and Enhance Open Space and Recreational Opportunities.