Oct 25

Oct 25 Preliminary recommendations show how Sacramento can add more duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and ADUS

Building a sustainable future, Breaking News, Keeping people housed

Sacramento (Oct. 24, 2023) Following nearly three years of study and community input, the City’s planning staff Tuesday presented preliminary recommendations for how to densify Sacramento’s single-family neighborhoods with more duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and accessory dwelling units.

Participate in an online, self-guided workshop on the "missing middle" recommendations

The recommendations divide the city’s existing single-family R1 zones into three districts, based on a formula that takes into account current lots sizes along with access to public transit and jobs. Depending on the district, property owners will be able to build anywhere from four to eight units by right on a single-family property. This number includes the two accessory dwelling units (ADUs) that the current city code already allows on residential lots.

Staff also recommended that the city develop incentives to encourage the construction of additional units by allowing greater lot coverage on parcels with multiple units and restricting lot coverage for very large homes. Another idea is to allow more lot coverage for property owners who build affordable units. Similar approaches have been adopted in Portland and San Diego and have spurred the construction of a significant number of units.

The policies would require property owners building three units or more to set aside more open space.

“This is really important work,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said after the staff presentation. “The more different kinds of housing we have, the more we can create the pathways for people to get housed and remain housed.”

The R-1 residential zone covers 70 percent of the city’s residential land, including areas where multi-family housing was once permitted but was later restricted. The City’s “missing middle” effort aims to encourage neighborhood-scale housing types that fall in the middle between single family homes and apartment buildings.

Staff members said they plan to bring final recommendations to Council in January. They will ultimately be incorporated in 2040 General Plan and the City’s zoning code.