1.0 Introduction

Countywide Design Guidelines
Introduction

Sacramento County is made up of nearly 1,000 square miles encompassing a diverse mix of landscapes from the very western portion of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the scenic and biologically diverse lowlands of the Sacramento River Delta. In total, approximately 1.45 million people call Sacramento County “home” with a significant number of those residents residing within one of the many established communities of the unincorporated area. The established communities that make up the unincorporated County offer distinguished housing for every lifestyle –urban lofts, suburban family homes, executive housing and rural farms and ranches – along with a wide variety of parks, open space and recreational, commercial, industrial and institutional uses. With its ideal climate, astounding tree canopy, and expansive outdoor recreational amenities – including the 32-mile American River Parkway – Sacramento County provides a quality of life that is highly desirable.

The robust economy in the unincorporated Sacramento County is expected to grow significantly, attracting notable companies and a related workforce. With our existing communities and the anticipated growth, Sacramento County recognizes the importance to plan and develop land use regulations that reflect our value for high quality, sustainable and healthy community design. The three main objectives are to: achieve high standards for the quality of the built environment; advance sustainable development and provide business and user friendly practices. The expectation for these guidelines, in conjunction with our Design Review Program, is to foster more sustainable and healthy communities that improve the overall quality of life for all County residents. These guidelines, and the community discussion that guided their preparation, demonstrate this commitment.

1.1 Purpose of Countywide Design Guidelines

These Countywide Design Guidelines provide consistent design principles to implement the County General Plan. They have been developed to encourage high quality development that strengthens the economic vitality of all areas of the County. The purpose of these guidelines is to create design recommendations and standards for review of projects that are easy to understand and will result in well designed and sustainable projects that raise the overall design quality of development occurring within the County. They encourage active transportation and transit supportive development in appropriate locations and anticipate new types of opportunities where commercial and residential uses could be developed into new village centers that provide social and economic focus to the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Guidelines emphasize projects¹ that contribute to the health of our residents and the beauty of our established communities within the unincorporated area. Further, they ensure that new development compliments the character of the surrounding area. In other words, the objective is to require new projects to contribute and enhance the existing and future surrounding community. This shall be done while accommodating the future vision of pedestrian friendliness, where pedestrians and bicyclists feel safe and comfortable, particularly in commercial and business districts. These guidelines inform development and redevelopment in ways that are environmentally conscious, economically sound, and which provide community-wide benefits. When these guidelines are properly applied to projects, we achieve quality design, while also improving the individual and community’s health, safety and livability.

These guidelines integrate development approaches to design and build healthy, sustainable, and inclusive neighborhoods. They promote a clean and safe environment, a strong economy, and good quality of life for all residents. They integrate Urban Greening, which is a systems approach to plan, plant, care, and manage flora, structures and spaces, which lead to increased forest canopy, reduced storm water runoff, improved air and water quality, energy conservation, open space and ultimately, more sustainable communities. The guidelines incorporate a broad spectrum of sustainability practices that include: 1) green building and construction which can facilitate sustainability by generating jobs, 2) increasing energy efficiency, water conservation, air quality and waste reduction, and 3) improving housing quality and the physical environment. Sustainable design guidelines promote use of solar, cool roofs, tree shading, green streets, urban greening, low impact development storm water features using River Friendly Landscaping, and more.

🚶 Project proponents should review the entire set of design guidelines prior to beginning the project’s design process.

Promoting active transportation, including walking and biking, along with improving access to transit, lowers household transportation costs, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, decreases traffic congestion and encourages development of jobs, housing, services and other amenities in close proximity to each other. Sustainable practices also accommodate the changing weather patterns and provide relief on the increasing hotter and drier days, while also capturing and infiltrating storm water from storm events. These sustainable practices contribute to building healthy communities. The most important part of building sustainable communities is creating neighborhoods that are healthy. That is why the County is calling out “Active Design” with this icon 🚶 in the design guidelines.

Throughout the Guidelines, standards and policies that incorporate active transportation and contribute to a built environment that supports public health have been highlighted with the walking person icon. The purpose of this icon 🚶 is to identify “Active Design.” Active Design shall be incorporated into all projects in order to reinforce the community’s and County’s goal to create a built environment that is healthy, sustainable, livable and promotes active transportation choices such as walking, bicycling, and accessing transit. There are many factors of the built environment that influence healthy choices and no single aspect of design can achieve this goal; however, by incorporating Active Design strategies into the built environment, physical activity and improved health can be achieved. More information about the synergies of the guidelines that support active design can be found in Appendix D.

The guidelines and standards outlined in the following sections have been based on national best practices in implementing design solutions and successful examples of guidelines from other jurisdictions. The Guidelines facilitate design review by helping applicants and County staff to identify major design issues and devise solutions early in the application process. In summary, the design guidelines are provided to:

1. Implement the objectives, policies and tools of the County General Plan and Housing Element;
2. Supplement and implement the contents of the County Zoning Code on matters of design and aesthetics;
3. Enhance, protect and maintain the value of property;
4. Enhance, maintain, and preserve community identity and quality of life;
5. Promote compatibility between new and existing development;
6. Promote a positive physical image for all types of development;
7. Promote a high quality of development that stimulates investment in and strengthening of the economic vitality of all areas of Sacramento County;
8. Improve community planning and design to promote healthy living and to balance integration of social, economic, and environmental concerns.
9. Utilize sustainable strategies in site design, building design, and landscaping;
10. Facilitate a clear and efficient design review process;
11. Provide guidance to the development community, architects/designers, property owners, and County staff; and
12. Provide for and maintain the health, safety, livability and welfare of all citizens of the County

1.2 Application

The Countywide Design Guidelines are a part of a structure of policy documents that guide development in Sacramento County. The Sacramento County General Plan defines the community vision and establishes a fundamental framework to guide decision-making about development, land use, resource management, public safety, public services, and general community well-being. Both the Sacramento County Zoning Code and Countywide Design Guidelines are implementing tools of the General Plan and Housing Element, and apply to all properties in unincorporated Sacramento County. The Zoning Code presents development regulations specifically applicable to new projects or substantial improvements to existing projects. The Guidelines are intended to supplement the Zoning Regulations with design criteria that supports and implements the goals and policies of the County. Design Guidelines adopted as part of Specific Plans and Master Plans generally supersede the Countywide Design Guidelines when they provide more robust direction.

When it has been determined that a project is subject to design review as outlined in Section 6.3.2.A of the County Zoning Code and elsewhere in these chapters, the design review process begins with either an application for one or more entitlement to the Office of Planning and Environmental Review (discretionary projects), or can occur prior to building permit with a Design Review Application (non-discretionary projects). In either case, project proponents are encouraged to meet with the Design Review Administrator (DRA) for a pre-application conference and review of project context. This early review can inform the process and allows project proponents direct access to the DRA and associated design review process early on.

Once an application has been made, depending on whether it is a discretionary or non-discretionary project, the overall process could vary. For discretionary projects, design review will coincide with and be woven into the normal development process, which includes: review by the Project Review Committee (or PRC: a technical advisory-body that provides conditions of approval, review regarding technical requirements of projects, and/or troubleshooting various issues), environmental review, potential design review with input from the Design Review Advisory Committee (or DRAC: an advisory body made up of three members intended to make recommendations on a project’s overall design), and ultimately review by the appropriate hearing authority. The design review process for discretionary or non-discretionary projects is further defined as follows:

• Discretionary projects are those projects that would require one or more entitlements or approvals, such as a rezone, conditional use permit or a special development permit. Prior to submittal, project applicants with discretionary projects are highly encouraged to meet with the Design Review Administrator (DRA) for a pre-application conference and context review. After the applicant submits their application, it is reviewed for consistency with the Design Review Guidelines by the DRA. During this review it is submitted to the Project Review Committee (PRC) for comment and review. Once PRC has been completed and initial review by the DRA is completed, the project is submitted for review before the Design Review Advisory Committee (DRAC). The DRA and DRAC prepare Design Review Guidelines conformance recommendations to be included in the project staff report to the reviewing authority. The reviewing authority may use the DRAC recommendations to apply conditions of approval to the project.
• Non-discretionary projects are those projects that do not require a discretionary permit. These include projects that are consistent with the applicable zoning district in planned use and development standards and propose new construction, or exterior remodeling. Non-discretionary project applicants are highly encouraged to meet with the DRA in a pre-application conference to determine what is expected of their project and to receive a preliminary determination of Design Review Guidelines conformance. The project’s Design Review Application should include required preliminary plans and a design review checklist. It is advisable that the design review process occur before the filing of a building permit application with the Building Permit Division. The project is reviewed approved by the DRA for conformance with the Design Review Guidelines, acting under the authority of the Planning Director. For major projects, review by the PRC may be required during the review and approval process. Design Review Approval is required before issuance of building permits.

The design review process rewards projects that meet the criteria outlined in these Guidelines. These projects will move faster through the process, requiring fewer review meetings. As noted, the design review process runs concurrently with the development review process and is not intended to make the process lengthier unless the project does not meet the Guidelines.

The Design Review Guidelines operate at three levels of development: New Community Design, District Design, and Project Design. The New Community level of development is described in Section 7.0 and deals with comprehensive development of more than 50 acres. District level of development deals with comprehensive development areas containing multiple development sites. Project Design level of development deals with individual building design. At each of these levels of development elements of Sections 2.0; 3.0; 4.0; 5.0; and 6.0 are applicable to satisfy Design Review compliance.

1.3 Organization

The Guidelines are organized in chapters according to major land use categories. Each chapter is organized into topic areas structured with a design principle, rationale, and guidelines and standards supporting each principle. Design guidelines reflect the County’s design objectives and are general rules to be incorporated into design solutions. A glossary of terms used within the document is included, as well as a summarized design review checklist to help track the overall success of a given project in meeting the intent of the guidelines, and various case studies. Accompanying drawings, illustrations and photographs are intended as examples to a range of design solutions. These examples should not be looked upon as the only design solution. Creativity and innovation in design is encouraged.

Footnotes

1. As used in this document, a project is defined as any proposed action that requires approval by the County and is subject to the County Zoning Code and these Design Guidelines. ↩