The final draft of the Central City Specific Plan will be presented at the following upcoming hearings:
Planning and Design Commission Hearing
Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
City Hall Council Chamber, 915 I Street, First Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
City Council Hearing
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.
City Hall Council Chamber, 915 I Street, First Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
The latest draft documents for the Central City Specific Plan are available for public review on the Resources Page.
the downtown specific plan is now the central city specific plan!
We heard from you and we agree... the Downtown Specific Plan is changing its name to the Central City Specific Plan.
The City of Sacramento is special because of its unique neighborhoods. While there aren't hard boundaries between downtown and midtown, all of us appreciate the different characteristics and experiences our neighborhoods offer. While the Downtown Specific Plan is a guide that paves the way for more housing throughout the City, the plan also includes strategies to encourage varied housing options that reflect Sacramento's diversity. We want to maintain distinctive characteristics of the City's neighborhoods and enhance their livability. The Central City Specific Plan offers different strategies for different neighborhoods.
We think changing the name to the Central City Specific Plan better reflects those principles.
April 11, 2017
What’s the best thing about Downtown Sacramento? Its restaurants. The worst? The lack of housing for average workers.
Those are two of the findings from an online survey the city took last month, asking what people like about the capital city’s core area, what they don’t like, and what amenities would make downtown a more vibrant place.
Some results are no surprise: Crocker Art Museum got most mentions as top art gallery. Other results make you stop and ponder Sacramento’s duality as a small town becoming a big city: Harlow’s, a popular J Street nightclub in business for decades, got as many votes for favorite entertainment venue as the massive Golden 1 Center arena.
“If there’s a message (in that), it’s we need to make sure our local roots stay a part of the mix,” said Gladys Cornell of AIM Consulting, which helped the city put the survey together.
March 2, 2017
City Hall got personal with residents this week, asking the question: “Tell us about one of your happiest urban experiences.”
That question is part of an online survey aimed at giving Sacramento city officials a better idea of how to mold the central city into a place where thousands more people will want to live and play in the coming decade or two.
It’s part of an effort, launched two years ago, to find ways to add 10,000 housing units to the core area in the next decade, turning an often quiet midtown and downtown into a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented place on nights and weekends.
To do that, officials say, the city needs policies that will make the area more attractive for potential residents and an easier place for developers to build housing.
March 2, 2017
Sacramento city officials are adding another piece to the puzzle that is a downtown specific plan, with an online survey for anyone to take.
The survey, which went live Tuesday, asks what people like about downtown, what they want to see more of, and provides maps for people to specify locations. Several questions also provide the opportunity to add further explanations or offer suggestions.
Greg Sandlund, a senior city planner, said 260 people had taken the survey as of Wednesday afternoon, which he termed a good start.
DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN Virtual Community Conversation – JOIN THE CONVERSATION THROUGH 3/10
February 28, 2017
The City of Sacramento is developing the Downtown Specific Plan which will assist in the development of at least 10,000 places to live in the next 10 years. Be part of the community conversation and share your thoughts on what it will take to meet this goal.
The virtual community conversation closed Monday, March 13, 2017.
Also, be sure to mark your calendar for an upcoming Downtown Specific Plan Community Open House:
Monday, March 20, 2017
5:30 P.M. – 7:30 P.M.
New City Hall Lobby
915 I St, Sacramento, CA
To download a copy of the flyer, please click here.
February 21, 2017
The City of Sacramento has issued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an Environmental Impact Report for the Downtown Specific Plan. The comment period is from February 15, 2017 to March 17, 2017.
The issuance of the NOP is to inform all responsible agencies of the decision to prepare an EIR. The purpose of the NOP is to provide information describing the project and its potential environmental effects and to seek input from responsible agencies as defined by CEQA (PRC Section 21069) and the public. Agencies should comment on such information as it relates to their statutory responsibilities in connection with the project.
A public scoping meeting will be held on Thursday, March 2 2017, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Sacramento City Hall, 915 I Street, Room 1119, Sacramento, California 95814. Responsible agencies and members of the public are invited to attend and provide input on the scope of the EIR. Written comments regarding relevant issues may be submitted at the meeting. Comments and suggestions as to the appropriate scope of analysis are invited from all interested parties. Written comments or questions concerning the proposed project should be submitted to the following address no later than March 17, 2017 (Public counter hours are 9AM-4PM):
Tom Buford, Senior Planner
Community Development Department
300 Richards Boulevard, Third Floor
Sacramento, CA 95811
Email: tbuford@cityofsacramento.org
December 20, 2017
Moving beyond setting a goal for 10,000 new housing units in or near downtown, Sacramento planners are crafting a new specific plan with mechanisms to help see that those homes are built.
Senior planner Greg Sandlund said a downtown specific plan, now in its early stages, will respond to what developers have said they need.
“What we hear in general is that the planning process is working pretty well,” Sandlund said. “But the cost is still pretty high.”
DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY GROUP MEETS WITH PROJECT TEAM
October 24, 2016
As part of the collaborative process, the City has engaged a Development Advisory Group, composed of local private developers, affordable housing developers, architects, attorneys, and bankers.
Read the summary of findings from a series of interviews with representatives from the Development Advisory Group.
August 26, 2016
Downtown Sacramento’s big arena project is well underway. Next up, city officials say: Bring housing back downtown.
By unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Sacramento City Council approved a framework to help get 10,000 new housing units of all types built in the central city in the next 10 years.
The “In Downtown” initiative, launched by Mayor Kevin Johnson, aims to re-energize downtown as a live-work, urban neighborhood with activity days, nights and weekends. Speaking to a supportive council Tuesday night, Johnson said a healthy downtown helps the neighborhoods as well. “As downtown goes, the rest of our city will go.”
August 22, 2016
There are a lot of components to a downtown housing initiative that the Sacramento City Council will review next Tuesday. Over the next 10 years, the goal is to add 10,000 new housing units in the central city. Here are five notable pieces of the initiative:
1. A recommendation calls for the city to draft a specific plan and environmental impact report for downtown housing. That plan will include identifying “opportunity sites” and seeing what public infrastructure might be needed to support it.
2. Similarly, another recommendation calls for enhanced infrastructure finance districts. Meant as a partial replacement for redevelopment funds, such districts allow tax-increment financing, borrowed from future property taxes, for infrastructure improvements and specific kinds of development.
There are a lot of components to a downtown housing initiative that the Sacramento City Council will review next Tuesday. Over the next 10 years, the goal is to add 10,000 new housing units in the central city. Here are five notable pieces of the initiative:
1. A recommendation calls for the city to draft a specific plan and environmental impact report for downtown housing. That plan will include identifying “opportunity sites” and seeing what public infrastructure might be needed to support it.
2. Similarly, another recommendation calls for enhanced infrastructure finance districts. Meant as a partial replacement for redevelopment funds, such districts allow tax-increment financing, borrowed from future property taxes, for infrastructure improvements and specific kinds of development.
Read the full article here.