Sacramento moves forward with controversial zoning change designed to address housing crisis
The Sacramento City Council took a step Tuesday toward becoming one of the first cities in the country to eliminate traditional single-family zoning.
The change, for which the council unanimously signaled support, would allow houses across the city to contain up to four dwelling units. City officials said the proposal would help the city alleviate its housing crisis, as well as achieve equity goals, by making neighborhoods with high-performing schools, pristine parks and other amenities accessible for families who cannot afford the rising price tags to buy homes there.
“Everybody should have the opportunity to not only play in Land Park but to live in Land Park,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. “That’s the Sacramento that we all uphold, that we love, that we value, and you better believe this drive for inclusion and equity is the driving force of our city and it is going to continue well beyond my tenure here.”
The idea has generated a flurry of discussion on social media and dozens of letters to the city. Supporters and opponents of the proposal filled nearly an hour of public comment at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Neighborhood association leaders in Land Park and Elmhurst have raised concerns that the change would cause investors to tear down existing homes in historic neighborhoods and build luxury rentals. As an alternative, they suggested the city only allow multi-unit houses in certain areas of the city, along commercial corridors and near transit stations.
“No one will have the ability to live in lower-density neighborhoods,” said Maggie Coulter, president of the Elmhurst Neighborhood Association. “The city needs to preserve existing neighborhoods in order to promote home ownership opportunities for everybody.”
Notably, most of the roughly 30 people who called in to give public comment were in support of the change. Some Elmhurst residents said they disagree with the association’s opposition. Thirty-two of them signed a letter to the city saying they support the proposal.
Some neighborhood associations, such as those in midtown and Boulevard Park, submitted letters in support of the proposal. The East Sacramento Improvement Association also submitted a letter in support of the change, but suggested additional design guidelines be included to ensure neighborhood character is maintained.
Steinberg said those protections will be added. “We’re going to insist on design quality and scale,” Steinberg said. “This would be a very different debate if that wasn’t part of the discussion.”
City leaders said the neighborhoods would look essentially the same as they do now, because buildings would still have their current height restrictions. There would also be historical protections, limits on how much of a lot size a house could take up and on the amount of square footage.
“If you think that a quadplex is always gonna be ugly, I urge you to drive down J Street and take a look at some beautiful quadplexes,” Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said.
The cities of Portland, Ore., and Minneapolis have passed similar ordinances in recent years, attracting national press attention. The state of Oregon passed a law eliminating traditional single-family zoning statewide. A similar bill was introduced in the California legislature but died. Sacramento could be the only California city formally considering the change.
If the council adopts the 2040 General Plan in about a year, property owners will be able to start adding units to houses in roughly two years.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 8:14 PM.
