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New General Plan leads the nation in housing policies

The City of Sacramento has taken a monumental step forward in its effort to combat climate change and offer a wide range of housing options.

The City Council adopted the 2040 General Plan on February 27, 2024, approving many vital updates that will work hand-in-hand with implementing SACOG’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (Blueprint) and help the region achieve its greenhouse gas reduction targets. The new General Plan goes into effect March 28.

A key mechanism for the Sacramento region to accomplish its greenhouse gas reduction targets is by encouraging more efficient and compact land use patterns, as well as promoting the construction of housing near mass transit. By doing so, the region will be far more competitive as it seeks millions of dollars in transportation funding in the years ahead.

With its new General Plan, the city has become the first jurisdiction in the nation to eliminate a cap on the number of housing units that can be constructed on a parcel of land in single-family zones. Instead, property owners can now construct multi-unit housing based on a floor area ratio, or FAR, meaning the square footage of new housing can be equal to the square footage of a parcel, as long as the building meets height and setback restrictions.

For example, on a 6,000-square-foot city lot, a new multi-unit housing building could be up to 6,000 square feet spread across multiple floors and units. The policy is intended to promote multi-family housing such as duplexes and triplexes in neighborhoods zoned for single-family housing.

The allowable floor area ratio will be higher near mass transit, a policy intended to encourage dense infill housing near light rail and bus lines.

The new General Plan also eliminates a parking space requirement for new housing, providing developers far more flexibility as they design new projects. Parking can add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of constructing new housing, and can be particularly detrimental to building large affordable housing developments.

By allowing multi-unit residences in all Sacramento neighborhoods, the city is encouraging the construction of “missing middle” housing. SACOG’s 2020 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) determined the Sacramento region should plan for the construction of nearly 27,000 housing units for moderate-income residents and more than 60,000 units for low- and very-low-income earners this decade. Sacramento’s new General Plan is another step toward achieving that goal; the city was already the first jurisdiction in California to earn a “prohousing” designation from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

The new General Plan received broad community support, with more than 4,000 people providing feedback. That input was used to make changes and updates to the plan as the process evolved.

“We’re super excited about this monumental milestone,” said Matt Hertel, the City of Sacramento’s long range planning manager. “Centered on equity and sustainability, this is one of the premier comprehensive plans in the country, and it’s a testament to the extensive engagement by the community over the last five years.”