Policies in the Draft Land Use Element related to the Jackson Highway Vision address issues common to both areas, including encouraging the creation of new communities that are connected and balanced while preventing piecemeal and haphazard development that can occur as large new communities emerge over an extended period of time: 

LU-3.  Support a strategic, comprehensive and multi-disciplinary visioning effort for the greater Jackson Highway area, initiated and led by the County, which looks beyond the planning period of the adopted General Plan to ensure that high quality and cohesive development patterns are achieved consistent with regional smart growth objectives.  

The scope of the Visioning efforts is anticipated to contain a level of detail and policy language that is more specific than the General Plan, but not as explicit as a Specific Plan or Community Plan.  It will address strategic planning considerations relating to the proposed new growth areas, including development potential at full build out, phasing of development, location and conceptual layout of land uses, economic development opportunities, environmental issues, and public facilities and infrastructure.

The implementation measure for Draft Plan Policy LU-3 outlines the specific components to be included in the Jackson Highway Vision effort.  Most of these issues will also be considered in the Grant Line East Vision effort:

 (a)  Development:

·     Conceptually identify the location, quantity and type of residential and commercial opportunities.

·       Accommodation of smart growth principles and how the area will achieve the Blueprint Vision allocations, at a minimum, for residential, employment and commercial development.

·        Emphasize a jobs-housing balance for the area.

·       Identify appropriate phasing of development, both within the current 2030 planning period and beyond.

·        Ensure that development is concentrated around identified nodes along the Jackson Highway. To accomplish this, the adopted vision will require that subsequent master plans will include within its boundaries one or more of the four identified nodes or centers, or that it be a logical extension of one or more nodes or center that was included in a previous plan.

·       Address the urban/rural interface, including creation of an Agricultural-Residential buffer along the inside of the USB.

·      Consider the incremental and long term impacts to the County and ensure that the build out of this area will not generate adverse fiscal impacts to the County. 

(b)  Environmental Issues:

·  Protection of habitat, open space and environmental resources.

·        Protection of the Cosumnes River and its floodplain.

· Implementation of the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP). 

(c) Infrastructure:

·        Provision and phasing of infrastructure for entire area.

·     Provision of infrastructure and municipal services (including public water and sewer) to existing and future Agricultural-Residential uses.

·        Protection of Mather Airport.

·        Alignment of the Elk Grove/Rancho Cordova/El Dorado “connector” roadway.

·        Coordination with Regional Transit’s Master Plan update regarding the potential for the provision of transit to the area.

At the conclusion of the visioning exercise and associated public outreach process, a document will be produced that compiles the results and outcomes of the effort.  This document will include overarching goals and policies as well as detailed information regarding the components described above, as well as conceptual land use and circulation plans.  Where appropriate, the policy language will be included in the Draft General Plan Update and will be considered during the environmental review process.  All subsequent master plans (such as a Specific Plan or comprehensive plan) must be consistent with the adopted Vision prepared through this process.