Folsom, CA
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City of Folsom’s 2035 General Plan and Folsom Plan Area Specific Plan Amendments
Project Overview
In response to State housing requirements, the City of Folsom began a multi-phased effort to increase housing capacity for multi-family and affordable development in certain areas. In total, the Project creates capacity for up to 6,046 additional residential units in the following targeted areas of the city: East Bidwell Street corridor, the transit priority areas around the Glenn and Iron Point light rail stations, and the Folsom Plan Area, particularly the Folsom Town Center, south of Highway 50. By increasing capacity in targeted areas, the city will be able to maintain an adequate supply of land for multi-family housing without having to rezone land in established residential neighborhoods, which could be required under the State’s housing element requirements.
On August 27, 2024, the City Council approved amendments to the 2035 General Plan and the Folsom Plan Area Specific Plan to increase the minimum density and maximum floor area ratio (FAR) standards for the targeted areas and directed city staff to prepare Objective Design and Development Standards (ODDS) (for the targeted areas) and zoning code amendments necessary to implement the Project.
Objective Design and Development Standards
(For the East Bidwell Corridor Mixed-Use Overlay, Folsom Boulevard Transit-Oriented Development Overlay, and Folsom Town Center Overlay Areas)
The city is currently developing draft ODDS for mixed-use and multi-family residential development for the target areas.
New state housing laws streamline approval of multifamily housing projects to help ease California’s housing crisis. By creating these objective development and design standards, the City of Folsom will not only comply with state mandates for expedited review but also ensure that mixed-use and multi-family projects in the target areas harmonize with the overall character of the city.
For residents, property owners, and developers, these ODDS will provide clear expectations of the types of design, articulation, and massing to be expected in the target areas. The ODDS will build off existing guidelines and community input and will also provide clear language and graphic illustrations for developments to follow.
The draft ODDS are scheduled to be released for public review in November 2024 and information about how to provide feedback will be provided with the published document.