Title
Ordinance Amending Various Provisions of Title 17 of the Sacramento City Code, Relating to Registered House Plans (Record No. M26-020)
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FileID
File ID: 2026-01826
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: 1) Review an ordinance amending various provisions of Title 17 of the Sacramento City Code, relating to registered house plans; and 2) pass a Motion forwarding the ordinance to City Council for consideration.
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Contact
Contact: Kevin Colin, Zoning Administrator, (916) 808-5260, kcolin@cityofsacramento.org; Community Development Department
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Presenter
Presenter: Bruce Monighan, Design Director, (916) 808-1241, bmonighan@cityofsacramento.org, Community Development Department
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Ordinance (Redline)
3-Ordinance (Clean)
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: This ordinance originates from the Community Development Department’s efforts to support the City Council’s Streamline Sacramento initiative.
Sacramento Streamline
Streamline Sacramento seeks to identify improvements to the City’s development approval process with the overarching goal of increasing the supply of housing and economic development activity. It is a customer-driven, cross-departmental effort focusing on all aspects of the permit process. Streamline Sacramento actions focus on ways to improve consistency, timeliness, and to make the development experience as efficient and certain as possible.
Registered House Plans
Currently, Article III (Registered House Plans) of Chapter 17.600 provides a process for the review and approval of house plans (i.e., only the building; no site plan, etc.). Plans are reviewed at the Planning & Design Commission at a noticed public hearing for consistency with design guideline(s) and applicable land use plan(s). Subsequent developments that utilize registered house plans are reviewed for compliance with all applicable standards; however, the aesthetic qualities of homes are not considered a second time. To date, no registered house plans have been proposed.
Ordinance Summary
To incentivize use of the registered house plan process, staff are recommending approval of an ordinance that changes the review authority to the Design Director (instead of the Planning & Design Commission) and removes the requirement for notice and a public hearing. These amendments will save both time and costs compared to current requirements. Developments that utilize registered house plans will realize additional time savings through a narrower scope of review (i.e., that excludes aesthetic qualities of building architecture but includes standards such as setbacks, height, open space, and permitted land uses).
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The proposed ordinance advances the following 2040 General Plan policies:
Housing Element Program H24: The City shall explore further actions for streamlining and simplifying the planning approval and building permit processes. The City shall work with small infill housing developers and other stakeholders on the Housing Policy Working Group to review current processes and fees to identify ways to reduce costs and streamline processes for small infill development.
Housing Element Program H28: The City shall work with infill developers and other stakeholders on replicable site plans or architectural plans to reduce pre-development costs and expedite the planning approval process for a variety of ADA-accessible infill housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, bungalow courts, and other workforce housing types, that can be used throughout the City.
Staff Analysis: The ordinance advances these policies by reducing both the time and costs of receiving approval for a registered house plan, and by increasing certainty for development that utilize the plans in a subsequent review process. The review authority change also aligns with the overall Site Plan & Design Review process, which is administered by professional staff under the direction of the Design Director.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: The ordinance consists of amendments to the Sacramento City Code that do not result in indirect or direct physical changes to the environment. Therefore, the proposed ordinance is exempt from CEQA pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Sections 15060(c)(3), 15061(b)(3), and 15378(b)(5).
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Not applicable.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: On August 25, 2026, the Planning Director initiated, pursuant to City Code section 17.916.010.A, the amendments included within the proposed ordinance. On September 24, 2026, the Planning & Design Commission recommended the City Council adopt the ordinance, as presented.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: Staff recommend the Law & Legislation Committee pass a motion forwarding an approval recommendation to the City Council. The amendments contained in the ordinance support General Plan policies pertaining to a streamlined and clear development approval process.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: Not applicable
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Local Business Enterprise (LBE)
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable
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