Folsom and Sacramento County, California: Attainable Housing Along Commercial Corridors
In California, the smart-growth plans promoted by cities, regional agencies, and other public institutions in major metropolitan areas are not delivering the residential units needed to address the state’s housing crisis. In the Sacramento region, commercial corridors are often over-retailed, under-utilized, unfriendly to pedestrians, and lacking in identity and community character. The development economics in the Sacramento region often are not strong enough to spur the private sector to build the 7,000 infill housing units a year the region needs in order to accommodate population growth while meeting shared regional objectives around greenhouse gas reduction.
In response, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) has developed the Green Means Go program to catalyze development in Green Zones—locally designated areas that have capacity for infill development and show a reduction in vehicle miles travelled in the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy. Green Means Go is supported by all 28 local jurisdictions in the six-county region. A ULI Advisory Services panel of land use and urban planning experts from the U.S. and Canada developed recommendations for accelerating mixed-use development in Folsom’s Central Business District and Sacramento County’s North Watt Avenue corridor. Panelists’ recommendations will assist SACOG in allocating up to $40 million in state planning and infrastructure funding to expedite housing production in designated Green Zones, including the central Folsom and the North Watt Avenue corridors, that have capacity for infill development and high potential for reducing vehicle travel.
Video Summary: In California, the smart-growth plans promoted by cities, regional agencies, and other public institutions in major metropolitan areas are not delivering the residential units needed to address the state’s housing crisis. In the Sacramento region, commercial corridors are often over-retailed, under-utilized, unfriendly to pedestrians, and lacking in identity and community character. The development economics in the Sacramento region often are not strong enough to spur the private sector to build the 7,000 infill housing units a year the region needs in order to accommodate population growth while meeting shared regional objectives around greenhouse gas reduction.
In response, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) has developed the Green Means Go program to catalyze development in Green Zones—locally designated areas that have capacity for infill development and show a reduction in vehicle miles travelled in the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy. Green Means Go is supported by all 28 local jurisdictions in the six-county region. A ULI Advisory Services panel of land use and urban planning experts from the U.S. and Canada developed recommendations for accelerating mixed-use development in Folsom’s Central Business District and Sacramento County’s North Watt Avenue corridor. Panelists’ recommendations will assist SACOG in allocating up to $40 million in state planning and infrastructure funding to expedite housing production in designated Green Zones, including the central Folsom and the North Watt Avenue corridors, that have capacity for infill development and high potential for reducing vehicle travel.