August 18, 2023: On June 16, 2023, SACOG hosted the 2025 Blueprint Workshop in Folsom, California, which brought together nearly 300 elected officials, public agency staff, and community leaders from across the Sacramento region to help shape the long-range plan. SACOG has analyzed responses shared by attendees and will use the feedback to help shape the 2025 Blueprint.

The 2025 Blueprint Workshop set out to connect with leaders on the impacts of land use and transportation policies, and explored how individual city and county decisions can have impacts on the entire region.

Read the full report here.

The workshop opened with welcoming remarks from Folsom Mayor Rosario Rodriguez and Sacramento County Supervisor and SACOG Board Chair Patrick Kennedy. James Corless, executive director at SACOG, delivered an opening presentation on the state of the region, followed by Evan Schmidt, chief executive officer of Valley Vision, sharing results from a regional poll on the built environment. Then Kacey Lizon, deputy executive director of planning and programs at SACOG, provided more information on the 2025 Blueprint and projected demographic and economic changes in the region by 2050, and the land use and transportation planning strategies SACOG considers when developing the long-range regional plan.

The Folsom Community Center was buzzing with robust conversations as table participants discussed the challenges and trade-offs when planning for a diverse region. Participants representing urban, rural, and suburban communities with a range of expertise were merged throughout, and each attendee was encouraged to chime in with their perspectives about choices and add their own regional perspective while considering the needs of others. This highlighted just how challenging the development process is, and the competing priorities associated with it.

Attendees were asked to participate in several interactive activities. During Corless’ presentation he invited attendees to share what they love about where they live, work, and play. Their responses showed that community members value their community, open spaces, and amenities like restaurants. Most of these responses show that what people love about the region has to do with their quality of life.

This notion was reiterated in a second activity where participants were asked to create a newsworthy headline about what they hoped to see in 2050. When participants were asked to think about the future of the region, a few key values emerged:

• Housing: Inclusivity, affordability, and availability
• Livability and Quality of Life: Desirability, recreation, and community
• Active Transportation: Mode options, trail systems, and walkability
• Transit: Frequency, quality, and availability
• Economy: Opportunity, sustainability, and jobs
• Environment: Agriculture, climate mitigation, and conservation
• Congestion/Maintenance: Traffic relief and road conditions
• Homelessness: Solutions and reduction
• Equity: Reduced economic disparities and equitable system access

Out of all the responses SACOG collected, headlines related to quality of life came up the most. Other hot topics included both housing and active transportation, for example:

• “Sacramento region sets model for inclusive and affordable housing initiatives.”
• “Sacramento region has the best mixed use walkable communities.”

What this shows is that while congestion is a concern, participants were focused on changes that will affect their quality of life through housing and travel options like homes being closer to where they work and more opportunities to walk, bike, and take transit to meet their daily needs.

This theme of responses was consistent throughout the day. Attendees were asked to put on their planner hats in the “Vision for the Future” activity. Participants worked together to identify strategies that they would implement to reach their chosen future headline. They were limited in the choices they could make, each having positive and negative implications. In this round, the participants choose between active transportation investments, housing choices, and housing growth strategies to implement their headline.

In the second round of the activity, participants were asked to repeat this process while considering the perspective and needs of various fictional community members. The top strategies they chose shifted from their answer in round one to housing growth, transit investment, and housing choices.

Want to see more Blueprint Workshop photos?
Check them out on SACOG’s Facebook page.

Overall, the feedback collected spoke to a desire for a mix of housing options, preservation of natural resources, and more options when it comes to transportation. Participants understood that we are collectively creating a plan for an incredibly diverse region with many different needs and that there is no one size fits all solution.

To read the full report of findings and more information about the the workshop click here.