Sacramento County unites unincorporated old, new Foothill Farms communities
A unincorporated community between Carmichael and North Highlands will form a county advisory council, offering its nearly 35,000 residents an opportunity to give input on public projects.
On Tuesday morning, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution authorizing Foothill Farms to have its own Community Planning Advisory Council, also known as CPAC.
In unincorporated parts of Sacramento County, residents can voice their concerns and thoughts about projects in their region through a CPAC. But because Foothill Farms was without representation, residents felt like they had no control over community decisions, said Michael Baker, the president of the Foothill Farms Community.
Foothill Farms is divided between two regions known as “old Foothill Farms” and “new Foothill Farms.” Old Foothill Farms, established in the 1950s, resides in Carmichael with a 95841 area code. New Foothill Farms was founded 10 years later, sitting in North Highlands with a 95842 area code.
The division between the regions has caused obstacles for local businesses, Baker said. For example, if a bar wanted to open in Foothill Farms, it would have to be approved by the members of Carmichael’s advisory board. If the board decided, theoretically, to move that business up the street to another jurisdiction, residents wouldn’t be able to fight it, Baker explained.
“We wanted the togetherness with new Foothill Farms (and old Foothill Farms),” Baker said. “North Highlands dominated their CPAC and had control. And there’s parts of North Highlands that are so far from Foothill Farms that it really doesn’t affect us.”
A 2024 development in Foothill Farms included a project that would repurpose a retail center into housing and a new shopping space, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.
Unlike the cities Foothill Farms sits between, the area has no regional representation, said resident Diane Kiefer. This has left residents lacking trust in the “advisory process,” she said. She added that the current struggle dilutes the input and needs of Foothill Farms residents.
“We do not have a city council or any other local governing body,” said Kiefer. “The CPAC is the one of the only platforms that we have to participate in decisions about development, zoning and land use.”
Supervisor Richard Desmond, who represents District 3, where Foothill Farms is located, said residents approached him about a CPAC after he was elected. He said because Foothill Farms is unincorporated, the community “kind of stands on their own.”
“We’ve heard over the decades: the criticism. Criticism about the county really overlooks these communities and not having the same intentionality as they may have if it’s a city,” Desmond said. “And in my opinion, this is an effort to kind of counteract that.”
The resolution passed 4-1, with Supervisor Patrick Kennedy in opposition and Supervisor Pat Hume absent. Kennedy, who said he has historically been against increasing the county’s CPACs, said doing so would not “be conducive” to addressing the region’s homeless crisis.
“I think, many times, for a variety of reasons, it slows the progress down,” Kennedy said.
Baker said the creation of the CPAC will be positive for residents, calling the opportunity “exciting.”
“This would keep Foothill Farms decision-making in Foothill Farms,” Baker said. “It wouldn’t allow Carmichael and our Highlands to make decisions for Foothill Farms.”
