The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to adopt the County's Infill Program Update and directed staff to implement certain actions identified in the plan to accelerate the Program.
In July 2021, Sacramento County received a Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant for an update to the 2008 Infill Program with the purpose of identifying current barriers to infill development and developing a strategy to address these barriers.
Informed by the prior effort, stakeholder engagement and recent Board direction resulting from the Development Review Process Improvements Review and the Board's Housing and Infill Workshop, the Infill Program Update is a roadmap to facilitating policy and procedural changes and increasing and accelerating housing production in the County.
"Residential, commercial and mixed-use projects resulting from the adoption of this program will create more vibrant communities, and investment in these communities," said Todd Smith, Sacramento County Planning Director. "Infill development also helps cut down on long commutes, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to a more sustainable environment, which is a big priority for Sacramento County."
The Program Update identifies seven barriers to infill development and provides an implementation program consisting of 13 actions intended to address these barriers.
Barriers to infill include:
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New growth areas - Greenfield development in new growth areas is often seen as being more cost-efficient and easier than acquiring and assembling land for the construction of infill development.
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Infrastructure - Many of the traditional commercial corridors in the County were built and designated for cars rather than people and have aging utility infrastructure that may now be equipped to handle new higher-density development.
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High development costs - Another major barrier to infill can be the high cost associated with acquiring urbanized land, project application fees and development impact fees for improvements in the public right of way.
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Lot size and parcel assembly - It is common for parcels in already urbanized areas to be smaller than in areas designated for greenfield development.
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Permitting process - Longer and more difficult paths to approval can dramatically add to project costs and timelines.
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Development regulations - Strict and complex zoning standards and design guidelines that do not allow for flexibility can present barriers to successful infill development.
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Coordination - The number of departments and agencies in the County necessitates time-consuming coordination among internal departments and divisions and external agencies.
The actions identified to address these barriers range from actions that can be taken immediately to those that may take years to fully implement and include:
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Increase coordination with residents, community groups and stakeholders
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Increase coordination and partnerships with agencies/departments involved in the development review process
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Amend existing fee reduction and waiver programs
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Expand other financial programs and resources
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Hire Development Process Managers
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Hire Infill Coordinators
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Hire on-call consultants
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Expand the Fast Track Permit Processing Program
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Expand and routinely update applicant resources
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Analyze and amend Special Planning Areas, Neighborhood Preservation Areas and Corridor Plans
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Establish mixed-use zoning districts and objective standards
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Update Zoning Code Development Standards
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Update the County's General Plan