Q:  Why is the County conducting these Visioning processes?

A:  The County is conducting these Visioning processes as a result of direction by the County Board of Supervisors. The Board is considering expanding the urban area of the County, referred to as the “Urban Policy Area” (UPA), to accommodate growth projections based on the Sacramento Area Council of Governments’ (SACOG) adopted Blueprint Vision, a region-wide plan to accommodate growth anticipated through 2050 in an intelligent manner.  The Blueprint Vision predicts a level of growth in unincorporated Sacramento County over the next 25 years that may exceed infill development opportunities within already urbanized areas, leading to the need to look at undeveloped areas to accommodate a portion of this growth. Rather than taking a piecemeal approach to planning for potential development in these new growth areas, the County is studying what the Visioning Areas may look like at ultimate buildout, and devise conceptual land use plans, policies and programs which will serve as a guide to organized and well-planned development patterns, should UPA expansion be approved by the Board.

Q:  How is this process related to the General Plan?

A:  As part of the General Plan Update process, the Board of Supervisors directed Planning staff to study the Jackson Highway and Grant Line East areas as potential new growth areas. Although the Jackson Visioning Area is quite large, comprising almost 22,000 acres, the area to be considered for possible UPA expansion (and thus, a new growth area) within the 25-year timeframe of the General Plan comprises only about 12,000 acres. The Visioning processes will help to ensure that near term development that may occur within the UPA by 2030 will relate to and work toward the same goal as development that may occur outside of the UPA post-2030.  When the results of the Visioning process are presented to the Board of Supervisors in early summer, the Board will determine what action to take on the Visioning study. The possibilities range from accepting and filing the results as a background study, studying it as a separate project, or incorporating all or a portion of the results of the Visioning processes into the General Plan Update.

Q:  What will the results of the Visioning process actually be?

A:  The Visioning process will result in one or more conceptual land use plans for the Jackson and Grant Line East Visioning Areas, and a policy document that includes development standards, guidelines and overarching philosophies that will guide the shape of potential development in these areas. The land use maps produced are conceptual (not adopted), and serve as a vision for what ultimate buildout of what the Jackson Corridor and Grant Line East area may look like. It is likely that the conceptual land use maps will identify areas where multiple development or preservation options are likely; these callout areas will be shown on the maps for the consideration of the hearing bodies. Additionally, a policy document will be produced as part of the visioning process. This policy document will outline the overarching principles, development standards, and recommended policies that may be used to guide future development in these areas, through the specific and master planning processes that will follow if the Policy Planning Commission and ultimately, the Board of Supervisors, decides to expand the UPA into one or more of the Visioning study areas to allow for development. The Urban Services Boundary (USB) will remain in its current location along the western edge of the Deer Creek floodplain regardless of the Board’s actions in response to the results of the Visioning process, when it will be presented in late spring or early summer of 2008.

Q:  Why is the County considering expanding the urban area of the County?

A:  The County Board of Supervisors directed Planning staff to study these areas as part of the General Plan Update and present a comprehensive long-term vision of what the Jackson Highway Corridor and Grant Line East areas might look like at ultimate build-out. If the Board of Supervisors decides to expand the Urban Policy Area (UPA) beyond its current boundary and allow urbanization to occur in these areas, areas within the UPA would be available for development during the 2005-2030 timeframe of the General Plan.

Expanding the boundaries of the UPA is an option being studied as part of the General Plan Update, largely because of the growth assumptions in SACOG’s adopted Blueprint Vision, which assumes the need for additional homes and facilities that may exceed the capacity of existing infill opportunities within the urbanized regions of the County. Although Sacramento County is employing other strategies to direct growth into infill areas, including encouraging mixed-use development along commercial corridors, these infill possibilities may not be enough to accommodate the growth assumed for the County through the Blueprint planning process.

Additionally, comprehensive planning and construction of a long-range vision for the Visioning areas ensures compatibility between near-term development within the UPA (i.e. within the next 25 years) and longer-term development outside of the UPA but within the USB, which would likely take many decades. Taking a long-range approach ensures that all development within the study areas, regardless of when it occurs, works toward the same goals of designing well-balanced and complete neighborhoods with sustainability in mind.

Q:  How will natural resources be protected when this area develops?

A:  The conceptual land use plans prepared for both visioning areas were carefully crafted to ensure that the most resource-rich areas are preserved in perpetuity. Any plans resulting from the Visioning process will be consistent with the goals and objectives of the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP) and local, state and federal law. The conceptual land use maps and the accompanying policy documents focuses on preserving areas that have the highest concentration of natural resources, including protected or threatened species. The conceptual land use maps identify large preserve areas linked by wide corridors that allow species to move and cross-populate within larger preservation areas.

Q:  How will our feedback from the Visioning workshops be used?

A:  The feedback we received in-person, via email and phone correspondence, and from participant’s workbooks from the March and April workshops helped to guide the formation of the conceptual land use plans and accompanying policy document.  In addition, this information will be included in the staff report to be presented before the Policy Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in the summer. This input has directly informed County staff regarding residents’ desires, and will help inform the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors as well so that they can make decisions with this information in mind.  If you would like to comment on the Visioning process, please send an email to Brownl@saccounty.net.

Q:  When will the Jackson and Grant Line East Visioning processes be presented to the hearing bodies?

A: These public workshops are expected to be scheduled in June for the Policy Planning Commission and July for the Board of Supervisors.  Workshop dates will be posted online once they have been scheduled at http://www.planning.saccounty.net/gpupdate/gpu-index.html.  In addition, an email will be sent out to all interested people.  If you would like to be included in this email notification, please send an email to Brownl@saccounty.net.

Q: When will the decision be made whether or not these areas may be allowed to develop?

A:  The Vision plans will not directly lead to development in these areas.  The decision regarding whether or not to expand the Urban Policy Area to include the Jackson Highway Area and/or the Grant Line East Area will be made in the context of the General Plan Update, which is currently undergoing environmental review. Public adoption hearings for the Draft General Plan are expected to begin in the summer of 2009, at which point the Board of Supervisors will make decisions regarding what areas may be included in the UPA of the new adopted General Plan for 2005-2030.

Q:  Will the results of the Visioning process be publicly presented?

The Policy Planning Commission will hear a presentation on the Visioning process and will receive a policy document outlining the proposed policies which would guide the areas’ development were it to occur. These policies will embody the latest principles of smart growth and sustainable development, and will work hand in hand with the conceptual land use plans for the Jackson and Grant Line East areas. Following the Policy Planning Commission meeting, the results of this process will be presented to the Board of Supervisors.  Both the Policy Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors hearings will be opportunities for the public to share their thoughts and concerns with the hearing bodies.  

Q:  If the Board of Supervisors approves expansion of the UPA allowing new growth to occur in these areas, what happens next?

A:  If the Jackson Highway area and/or Grant Line East areas are approved for new development as part of the General Plan Update process, master planning efforts would likely be initiated to create very detailed plans for how these areas may develop in the future.  These master planning efforts would be separate processes that include a great deal of additional public outreach, taking place over several years.

Q:  How can I get involved?

A:  Although the public outreach workshops for the Visioning Areas are now completed, there are many other opportunities to review materials and provide comments. You may contact a member of the General Plan Team to find out more information at 916-874-6141. Letters may be sent to the County of Sacramento Planning Department, 827 7^th Street Room 230, Sacramento, CA  95814 or by sending an email to Brownl@saccounty.net. Our website posts all materials presented at the public workshops, which are available for viewing and downloading at http://www.planning.saccounty.net/gpupdate/Jackson_Visioning_Project.html and http://www.planning.saccounty.net/gpupdate/Grant_Line_East_Visioning_Project.html. Yet another option to share your comments and suggestions is to attend the public hearings for the Visioning process, which will take place in June and July.