Sacramento County’s Draft General Plan currently identifies a potential new growth area along the Jackson Highway (State Route 16).  If approved for new growth, this area would be available for planning and development during the 2005-2030 timeframe of the Draft General Plan.  However, since it is anticipated that most of the area within the Urban Services Boundary (the County’s permanent growth boundary) will eventually be developed for urban uses, the Board of Supervisors determined that it was necessary to look not only at the near-term potential of the new growth area, but also at the long-term potential of the larger area out to the USB.  The figure below illustrates the relationship between the Jackson Highway UPA expansion area and the greater Jackson Highway Visioning Area:

Planning and buildout of this area will span a number of decades, and will reach far beyond the 2030 planning horizon of this General Plan.  To ensure compatibility between near-term decision-making and the area’s development potential beyond the year 2030, the County is embarking on a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary visioning effort for the greater Jackson Highway Area.  This Vision is seen as a necessary component of the County’s General Plan Update currently underway and will provide a comprehensive framework for the long-term buildout of the Jackson Highway Area.  The Vision will study approximately 22,000 acres of undeveloped land along the Jackson Highway to address a variety of issues, including land use, economic development, transportation, natural resource conservation, jobs-housing balance, smart growth objectives, urban/rural interface and buffering issues.

In order to best realize the long-term potential of this Area, the County must consider a number of related near-term planning initiatives that will strongly impact future development.  These initiatives include implementation of the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP), protection of the Cosumnes River and its floodplain, planning of the Elk Grove/Rancho Cordova/El Dorado “connector” roadway, the creation of an agricultural-residential buffer along the inside of the USB, and other planning efforts currently in progress.  Currently, these efforts are proceeding without clear planning guidance on how this area will ultimately be developed.  In addition, the Vision is intended to serve as a guide for future planning efforts in this area, including the preparation of master plans (i.e. Specific Plans or comprehensive plans) for the Jackson Highway new growth area.