Proposed Railyards Specific Plan Draft
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INTRODUCTION 1 Redevelopment of the Railyards area, a 244‐ services, and transit; and advanced green acre site in downtown Sacramento, offers a building practices. This Sacramento Railyards unique opportunity to reinforce and Specific Plan supersedes the existing implement the City of Sacramento’s (City) Railyards Specific Plan, last updated in 2007. 2035 General Plan vision to be “the most The project site has the same Plan Area, with livable city in America.” The Railyards area slight adjustments to the boundaries of the has the potential to expand the role of the 2007 Plan. Central City as Sacramento’s regional The Railyards Specific Plan is the overarching destination for employment; commerce; policy document that guides development government; sports and entertainment; within the Railyards Plan Area, but it works housing; and education, culture, and tourism together with three other documents that and to create a transit‐oriented mixed‐use provide specific guidance on matters relating district as an integral extension of the Central to urban design, development regulations, Business District. The General Plan and permitting: the Railyards Design emphasizes the following six themes, which Guidelines, the Railyards Special Planning create the basic framework for updating the District Ordinance (SPD), and the Central Railyards Specific Plan to match the City’s Shops Historic District Ordinance. The current goals and policies: Railyards Design Guidelines document, which provides design guidance in written Making great places; and graphic form for private and public Growing smarter; projects undertaken in the Railyards, aims to Maintaining a vibrant economy; promote the improved aesthetic and functional quality of the Railyards Creating a healthy city; community. Living lightly‐reducing our “carbon The purpose of the SPD is to implement the footprint”; and planning principles, goals, and policies of the Developing a sustainable future. Specific Plan by establishing necessary procedures and standards through zoning. By focusing on regional employment The Historic District Ordinance will identify opportunities, cultural destinations, and contributing resources and character‐defining high‐quality residential neighborhoods, the features and utilize development standards, Railyards Specific Plan advances the policies pursuant to Chapter 17.604 (Historic of the General Plan, which calls for improved Preservation) of the Sacramento Planned land use efficiency and reduced GHG Development Code. In the interest of making emissions through a healthy jobs‐housing balance; multi‐modal connectivity; urban centers with jobs, housing, shopping, Sacramento Railyards Specific Plan 06/10/16 1-1 City of Sacramento 1 INTRODUCTION these documents as concise as possible, there A. Plan Area is very little overlap among them. As such, parties who are interested in developing The following sections describe the regional properties within the Railyards Plan Area and local settings of the Railyards Specific must consult each of these four documents Plan Area. prior to construction. 1. Regional Location The Railyards Specific Plan defines clear As shown in Figure 1‐1, the City is located in parameters for the future development of the the north‐central part of California, Railyards area. Implementation of this Plan approximately equidistant from the coastline will create a unique mixed‐use development and the Nevada state line. In addition to consisting of regional destinations, being the state capital, it is also the largest city commercial uses, office development, hotels, in Sacramento County as well as the county sports, entertainment and retail uses, with seat. The city covers approximately high‐density residential neighborhoods that 100 square miles and, as of 2015, is home to provide opportunities to live and work in the over 480,000 people.1 Central City and are supported by urban parks and plazas. This chapter of the Railyards Specific Plan provides a description of the Plan Area, an overview of the development plan, and a description of the planning process that was followed to produce the document. 1 DOF. E‐1 Cities, Counties, and the State Population Estimates with Annual Percent Change— January 1, 2014 and 2015 1-2 Sacramento Railyards Specific Plan 06/10/16 City of Sacramento INTRODUCTION 1 Source: A ECOM Figure 1-1. Regional Location Sacramento Railyards Specific Plan 06/10/16 1-3 City of Sacramento 1 INTRODUCTION 2. Plan Area settlement of the City of Sacramento was founded in 1849 along the banks of the The 244‐acre Plan Area is located immediately Sacramento River. The Railyards is in close north of the Central Business District, east of proximity to Old Sacramento, Downtown, the Sacramento River, south of North B Street Chinatown, the federal courthouse and local and west of the federal courthouse and the government offices, the Richards Boulevard Alkali Flat neighborhood. Figure 1‐2 shows industrial district, and the historic Alkali Flat the various neighborhood districts neighborhood. A key element of this Plan is to surrounding the Plan Area. Figure 1‐3 shows knit the surrounding areas to the new districts the Plan Area and the distribution of and neighborhoods in the Railyards and ownership on the Railyards site. The site sits allow for the downtown circulation grid to between the confluence of the Sacramento extend northward connecting to Richards and American Rivers, where the initial Boulevard and the River District. Source: A ECOM Figure 1-2. City of Sacramento Neighborhood Districts Map 1-4 Sacramento Railyards Specific Plan 06/10/16 City of Sacramento INTRODUCTION 1 Source: A ECOM Figure 1-3. Plan Area and Ownership Shops Historic District documents, adopted in B. Planning Process 2007. 1. Community Outreach and Land Use Previous studies for the Railyards Area and Plan Evolution its immediate surroundings include the Sacramento Central City Community Plan, Since 2002, the City has performed significant which was adopted on May 15, 1980 and last community outreach to determine how best to updated March 2015; the Central City Urban plan the Railyards. In 2004, the City Design Guidelines, adopted in 2009; the conducted a Visioning Process for the Facility Element of the Railyards Specific Plan development of the Railyards Area, which and the Richards Boulevard Area Plan, which consisted of a series of public workshops to were adopted by the City Council on generate community input on the December 1994; the River District Specific redevelopment of the Railyards area. The Plan, adopted in February 2011 and results of the visioning exercise helped to superceding the Richards Boulevard Area inform the planning process for the Railyards Plan; and the Railyards Special Planning project. The majority of participants expressed District provisions in the Zoning Code, a preference for higher‐density housing, adopted in 1999 and last updated in 2013. A ground‐floor retail, affordable units, and live/ much more extensive public process was work space. They indicated a preference for a conducted since the completion of the 1999 24‐hour mixed‐ use district that would not Specific Plan, which led to the revised Specific “close down after 5 p.m.” In terms of transportation, the participants expressed a Plan, Design Guidelines, SPD, and Central Sacramento Railyards Specific Plan 06/10/16 1-5 City of Sacramento 1 INTRODUCTION desire for a walkable and bikable community Now the opportunity exists to increase with close access to transit. the integration of the area from all points, not just downtown, into a more seamless During the course of the next three years, patch of the City fabric. several other community outreach efforts were made to further guide the development Create a dynamic 24‐hour mixed‐use, of the Railyards. A community workshop was urban environment that provides a range held by the City and the then developer in of complementary uses, including May of 2006 to get additional feedback. cultural, office, hospitality, sports and Participants expressed interest in providing entertainment, retail, health care, pedestrian and street connectivity; providing educational, and open space; and a community facilities, such as schools, day‐ mixture of housing products, including care facilities, better recreational spaces, and a affordable housing. mix of housing types and affordability; Connect the Railyards with Sacramento’s preserving the Central Shops; sustainability; downtown office, retail, tourism, establishing destination places, such as residential, and government centers, as museums and a performing arts theater; well as Old Sacramento, the River District celebrating railroad and cultural history; and area, and the adjacent Alkali Flat ensuring high quality design. These neighborhood, using pedestrian and community outreach efforts resulted in bicycle connections, roadways, and public significant refinements to the plan from 2002 transportation routes. to 2007. The community’s desirable attributes Connect the Railyards to the Sacramento are still retained as part of the 2016 updates River waterfront, and allow for hotel, made to the 2007 Plan. public open space, residential waterfront 2. Specific Plan Objectives and recreational uses, consistent with the vision of the 2003 Riverfront Master Plan The Railyards Specific Plan is the by‐product that will result in a vibrant waterfront, of extensive comments from participants of valuable to the region and the City. the visioning process, community meetings, interested