By Bruce Pierini and Erik Fay
As previously described in the article “Neighbors Seek To Unify Goals In Newly Joined Council District” in last month’s Viewpoint, SCNA board members have been meeting with nineteen Sacramento Neighborhood Associations (NA) over the last few months. The letter you see to the left is a key result of that collaboration. The SCNA has signed this letter which has been sent to the Mayor and City Council.
After several workshops, the NAs agreed that a coalition from Natomas to Meadowview had to become proactive in petitioning the City to listen to our concerns regarding the 2040 General Plan which appears to be significantly different from the 2035 General Plan. The NA representatives’ common complaints revolved around the City’s lack of responsiveness and very short deadlines for community input on exceedingly complex issues. The 2040 General Plan will be the blueprint for Land Use, Commercial Corridor Development, Transportation, Sustainability, Equity and Livability for the City.
Specifically, the collaborating neighborhood associations are asking for three things:
1) That the City Council give at least a 90-day public review period before making a decision on adopting the plan, 2) that the massive plan be rolled-out in increments that are manageable for serious community input, and 3) That the City make a serious and sustained effort to solicit input from the Neighborhood Associations that make up its Council Districts.
Most neighborhood associations, like SCNA, are made up of dedicated volunteers who are not professional city planners or land-use attorneys and therefore need sufficient time to read, analyze and properly respond to a series of massive documents on Land-Use, Commercial Corridor Development, Transportation, Sustainability, Equity and Livability. The plan is for the City to roll out the 2040 General Plan over the course of months, beginning in summer.
This letter requests more time – variously 90 and 30 days – on large sections of the upcoming 2040 General Plan. The plan will shape the city and its neighborhoods for a generation and SCNA wants to ensure that our voices are heard.
Video outlines city’s plans for increased housing density
By Bruce Pierini
To inform our residents of the benefits and concerns with this plan the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association in collaboration with Land Park Community Association, has produced a 40 minute video, “A Primer for the Release of the 2040 General Plan -Reviewing Your Community Plan” offering five points you should consider in your response to the City’s proposals for Greater Land Park (the City’s planning area which includes Sierra-Curtis neighborhood) this September. Take a look and engage.
The video is a preliminary summary of the General Plan 2040 Update, which will provide a roadmap for how the city will grow over the next 20 years.
SCNA was one of the signatories of a letter sent to City Council in April that requested, among other things, that the plan’s rollout be slowed down and the public review period be increased.
The city has agreed in writing with the requests for a slow-down. Lead planner Remi Mendoza recently wrote in an email: “At the start of the 45-day public comment period there will be presentation webinars to provide an overview of the draft documents and to explain how to provide input most effectively.” Mendoza said the draft documents will be released for public review by early fall.
The plan is expected to address increased densities and mixed-use commercial/housing development proposed for Broadway, Freeport Boulevard, Franklin Boulevard and Sutterville Road. Several large-scale developments are already in the works on Broadway.
UPDATE: July 1st began the community review process for the Sacramento’s General Plan Update. For July, the City released the Climate Action Plan of the 2040 General Plan Update for 30 day public review. This element follows the release of the Housing Plan in 2021 designed to map the development of over 55,000 housing units of infill growth by 2030 – half of which will be subsidized for workforce and lower-income housing. Next will be the review of the Community Plan and Land Use Section, proposed to increase the density of our single-family neighborhoods and intensify development of our community corridors, like Broadway and Freeport Blvd. Join your Neighborhood Association to add your voice to the community conversation determining the future of Sacramento. SCNA will continue to post the review schedule as it is released by the City.
General Plan Timing:
- July 1: City releases Climate Action Plan
- August: City to release Land Use/Mobility Section (LUM)
- September/October: City to release Missing Middle Housing Feasibility Study and to hold public workshops
- City to hold Community Master Plans Virtual Open House & Review
- City to release final Climate Action Plan
- City to release General Plan Draft EIR
- November: City to release Missing Middle Housing Draft Recommendations and hold community workshops.
- December: City to release 2040 General Plan EIR and final General Plan to be heard by the new City Council on Dec 15.
- January 2023: 2040 GP Approval (Council)
- May 2023: City to release Missing Middle Housing final plan / Zoning Update recommendations