Title
2026 Title 17 Omnibus Ordinance: An Ordinance Amending Various Provisions of the Sacramento City Code Relating to Planning and Development (M26-015)
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FileID
File ID: 2026-01568
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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 planning and development; and 2) pass a Motion forwarding the ordinance to City Council for consideration.
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Contact
Contact: Anna Tolle, Associate Planner, (916) 808-5261, atolle@cityofsacramento.org; Kevin Colin, Zoning Administrator, (916) 808-5260, kcolin@cityofsacramento.org; Community Development Department
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Presenter
Presenter: Anna Tolle, Associate Planner, (916) 808-5261, atolle@cityofsacramento.org, Community Development Department
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Background
3-Ordinance (Redline)
4-Ordinance (Clean)
5-Staff Presentation
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: Staff has prepared an omnibus ordinance that includes various amendments to Title 17 (Planning & Development) of the City Code. An omnibus ordinance is an ordinance that covers a variety of topics in a single legislative document. Title 17 is the primary means by which the City’s land use policies are implemented.
The proposed amendments fall into three categories:
1. State Law Consistency: These amendments respond to planning and zoning laws passed during the 2025 State legislative session.
2. Streamlining: These amendments advance the Streamline Sacramento initiative and One City, One Future Strategic Initiative #5. They refine existing regulations without establishing a fundamental new policy.
3. Administrative Cleanup: These amendments correct typographical errors.
A detailed explanation of the proposed amendments is provided in the Background section of this report (Attachment 2).
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The proposed ordinance seeks to make changes that result in a code that is accurate (e.g. no typographical errors), consistent with State law, and that refines the implementation of certain policies in a manner consistent with the General Plan. Staff’s analysis of the amendments’ ability to advance the following 2040 General Plan goals and policies is as follows:
Land Use & Placemaking Element
Goal LUP-1: A compact urban footprint and sustainable development pattern with infrastructure that supports efficient delivery of public services while protecting surrounding open space lands.
Goal LUP-2: Balanced and connected community with thriving neighborhoods and centers and development intensities linked to transit.
Goal LUP-3: Flexible development standards to promote revitalization in corridors and centers.
Staff Analysis: Orderly and well-planned development cannot be easily achieved without accurate and clear regulations. The ordinance provides for clearer regulations, accurate code text, consistency with new state laws, and streamlining of existing rules to better implement existing policies. In doing so, the ordinance helps staff and code users maintain focus on achieving the policy goal rather than being distracted by questions about inaccuracies, inconsistencies with state law, or cumbersome processes that achieve the same goal with more effort or cost.
Housing Element
Policy H-1.2 Reduce Time and Expense of Planning Approval Process: The City shall continue to reduce the time and expense of the planning approval process by offering ministerial/staff-level review of infill housing.
Policy H-1.3 Reduce Time and Expense of Building Permit Process: The City shall continually strive to streamline and simplify the building permit process using best practices from other cities to improve aspects of the process, including coordination with departments, consistency, and timeliness, to make the development experience as efficient and certain as possible.
Policy H-1.7 Encourage Adaptive Reuse: The City shall promote and facilitate the conversion of commercial, office, industrial, and parking structures for housing and mixed-use developments.
Policy H-3.1 Resources and Materials: The City shall initiate Planning and Development Code amendments and develop tools, resources, and educational materials to increase awareness and support, and to promote and facilitate the development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in neighborhoods throughout the City.
Program H16 Update Density Bonus Ordinance: The City shall update the Density Bonus Ordinance for consistency with State law.
Staff Analysis: For the same reasons stated in the Land Use Element analysis above, the ordinance also advances Policies H-1.2 and H-1.3. On the topic of housing, the ordinance includes important clarifications (e.g. accessory dwelling units, state density bonus law), incorporates new State laws (e.g. Assembly Bill 507), and makes streamlining changes to further Policies H-1.7 and H-3.1 as well as Program H16.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: 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). The ordinance consists of amendments to Title 17 to conform to existing state laws, streamline the development process, and fix typographical errors. None of these amendments will result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. Further, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment. As such, the ordinance is exempt from CEQA review. Additionally, pursuant to Government Code section 65658.3(b), the portion of the ordinance specific to Assembly Bill 507 (Haney, 2025) is not considered a project under California Environmental Quality Act.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Not applicable.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: The following actions were taken to initiate the proposed amendments to Title 17 of the City Code:
• On October 22, 2024, the City Council initiated, pursuant to City Code section 17.400.030, amendments to the Broadway-Stockton Special Planning District.
• On April 22, 2026, the Planning Director initiated, pursuant to City Code section 17.916.010.A, the amendments included within the proposed ordinance.
• On August 13, 2026, the Planning and Design Commission, pursuant to City Code Section 17.916.010.B, reviewed the ordinance and, after conducting a public hearing, forwarded an approval recommendation to City Council.
After the Law & Legislation Committee’s review of the ordinance, it will next proceed to City Council.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: Staff recommend the Law & Legislation Committee pass a motion forwarding a recommendation of approval to the City Council. The amendments contained in the ordinance help to ensure the City’s Planning and Development Code is consistent with State law and is implemented in a streamlined manner, free of errors. Lastly, as noted above, the amendments also support several General Plan policies.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: Not applicable.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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