Land Use Element of the General Plan

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Land Use Element of the General Plan General Plan Land Use Element Adopted December 15, 1993 Amended November 9, 2011 Amended July 22, 2015 Amended July 26, 2016 Amended April 26, 2017 Amended September 26, 2017 Amended December 13, 2017 Amended December 17, 2019 Amended October 6, 2020 County of Sacramento Office of Planning and Environmental Review . This page is blank County of Sacramento General Plan Land Use Element Amended October 6, 2020 Table of Contents SECTION I ..................................................................................................................................... 1 ELEMENT INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 Required Contents of the Land Use Element .............................................................................. 1 Concepts of the Land Use Element ............................................................................................. 1 Relationship to Other Elements .................................................................................................. 2 Relationship to Other County Planning Tools ............................................................................ 3 Relationship to Regional Planning Efforts ................................................................................. 6 THE GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DIAGRAM ......................................................................... 7 How to Use the Land Use Diagram ........................................................................................... 7 Interpretation of the General Plan Land Use Diagram ............................................................... 8 LAND USE DIAGRAM DESIGNATIONS .................................................................................. 8 I. Urban Designations ................................................................................................................ 8 II. Rural and Open Space Designations ................................................................................... 13 III. Combining and Land Use Designations ............................................................................ 14 SECTION II .................................................................................................................................. 18 LAND USE STRATEGIES AND POLICIES .............................................................................. 18 STRATEGY I: LOGICAL PROGRESSION OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT ....................... 20 URBAN SERVICES BOUNDARY (USB) AND URBAN POLICY AREA (UPA) .......... 20 STRATEGY II: GROWTH ACCOMMODATION ................................................................ 24 URBAN GROWTH ACCOMMODATION STRATEGY ................................................... 26 Build-Out Of Infill Sites ................................................................................................... 26 Buildout Of Planned Communities ................................................................................... 29 Commercial Corridor Planning ......................................................................................... 31 New Growth Areas ........................................................................................................... 36 RURAL GROWTH ACCOMMODATION STRATEGY ................................................... 38 PRESERVING AND PROTECTING MILITARY OPERATIONS .................................... 38 STRATEGY III: GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND DESIGN ............................................. 40 URBAN GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND DESIGN ....................................................... 40 Urban Design .................................................................................................................... 40 Land Use/Transportation Connection ............................................................................... 49 County of Sacramento General Plan Land Use Element Amended October 6, 2020 Other Land Use and Development Issues ......................................................................... 61 RURAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND DESIGN ....................................................... 73 Rural Towns ...................................................................................................................... 73 Agricultural Residential Land Use Outside the Urban Service Boundary ....................... 77 Agricultural Land Uses ..................................................................................................... 79 RELATIONSHIP OF AIRPORTS TO LAND USE PLANNING ....................................... 81 STRATEGY IV: BUILT ENVIRONMENT PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT . 102 PLANNING TOOLS FOR EXISTING COMMUNITIES ................................................. 104 Commercial Corridor Planning ....................................................................................... 104 District Planning ............................................................................................................. 107 Development Opportunities Along Transit Corridors .................................................... 109 Community/Neighborhood Preservation And Enhancement .......................................... 110 Decentralization Of Services .......................................................................................... 113 Housing Diversity ........................................................................................................... 114 Land Use Compatibility .................................................................................................. 116 Community Identity and Sense Of Place ........................................................................ 117 Redevelopment and Revitalization ................................................................................. 118 SECTION III ............................................................................................................................... 123 GENERAL PLAN ADMINISTRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION .................................... 123 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 123 County Agency Coordination ................................................................................................. 124 Independent Agency Coordination ......................................................................................... 124 Regional and Local Agency Coordination .............................................................................. 125 State and Federal Agency Coordination ................................................................................. 127 Zoning Consistency ................................................................................................................ 129 Amending the Land Use Diagram .......................................................................................... 135 FIGURE 8. GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DIAGRAM . ................................................ 152 County of Sacramento General Plan Land Use Element Amended October 6, 2020 County of Sacramento General Plan Land Use Element Amended October 6, 2020 SACRAMENTO COUNTY GENERAL PLAN LAND USE ELEMENT SECTION I ELEMENT INTRODUCTION Required Contents of the Land Use Element The Land Use Element is the central focus of the General Plan. This Element sets policy for land uses in the unincorporated county for the next 25 years, establishing the foundation for future land use and development. The Land Use Element designates the distribution of land uses, such as residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, open space, recreation and public uses. It also addresses the permitted density and intensity of the various land use designations as reflected on the County’s General Plan Land Use Diagram. The following excerpt from State Government Code Section 65302(a) summarizes the required contents of a Land Use Element: " A land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture, natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty, education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses of land. The land use element shall include a statement of the standards of population density and building intensity recommended for the various districts and other territory covered by the plan. The land use element shall identify areas covered by the plan which are subject to flooding and shall be reviewed annually with respect to those areas…” Many of the land use topics cited above are also addressed in other General Plan Elements on a more detailed basis. Concepts of the Land Use Element Sacramento County and the surrounding metropolitan region have experienced a tremendous population influx during the past decade, leading to unprecedented levels of development and surging home prices. According to SACOG’s Blueprint Vision, the unincorporated portion of Sacramento County will grow by 50,000-new housing units by 2030, indicating that this trend is likely to continue. Accommodating the projected employment and the new residents will not only require more housing, but will also necessitate additional jobs, stores, human services, transportation system capacity, public facilities, and municipal and countywide services. While growth is an unavoidable reality, how
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