Land Use Planning Regulations

The following documents, which can be read on the Land Use Regulation Library, form the basis for land use planning decisions, from the broad policies of the General Plan, down to the detailed development standards of the Zoning Code:

  • General Plan. A county-wide policy document that provides guidance and direction for land use planning in the unincorporated County. 
  • Community Plans​. Each community in the county has a Community Plan containing policies that apply only to that community. This community-driven document, while consistent with the General Plan, directs development in a fashion that better reflects the desires of the community.
  • Zoning Code. The Zoning Code contains detailed standards and regulations that help to implement the policies of the General Plan. ​
  • Limited Area Plans: SPAs, NPAs, Master and Specific Plans. These documents target established communities and neighborhoods of the County that desire specific standards and regulations that may differ from the Zoning Code. Planning for large future development areas is often performed through a master plan or specific plan process.
  • Corridor Plans. Sacramento County has many established commercial corridors that are ripe for re-development. These areas are a major opportunity for infill and for applying modern designs and standards that reflect sustainable, high quality-of-life development.

Land Use Regulation Library

Read all of the County's Land Use Regulations.

Environmental Plans and Programs

Resource Area Plans

There are two adopted county resource plans that protect defined resource areas within the county. 

American River Parkway Plan (ARPP). The ARPP provides policy and standards for projects within the Parkway plan area.  Most projects within this Plan are public projects.  The general public's interest in the ARPP may stem from interest in the Parkway itself, or from landowners adjacent to the Parkway.  The ARPP only applies to projects within the Parkway plan area.

South Sacramento Habitat​ Conservation Plan (SSHCP).  The SSHCP provides federal and state permit streamlining for projects within the Plan's “Urban Growth Area”, and provide well-planned impact mitigation in its designated mitigation areas for specific species impacts.

Also of Interest:

Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan.  Although this HCP covers a portion of northwest of the county, Sacramento County is not a signatory to it.  Parcels within the plan area are still subject to the permitting benefits and costs of participating in that HCP. The plan is implemented through the Natomas Basin Conservancy​.

Biological Protection Programs

Many development project applications are evaluated by the Planning and Environmental Review section for impacts to species or habitat protected under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). When such impacts are assessed on a project, project proponents are required to preserve a specified acreage of land possessing equal or better habitat values to mitigate for those impacts. The County provides alternatives for achieving habitat mitigation through the following programs.

Swainson’s Hawk Impact Mitigation Program. When Swainson’s hawk habitat is impacted as the result of proposed development projects, project approval is conditioned on preservation of land to mitigate for those impacts. The County developed a program that allows projects with less than 40 acres of impact to instead pay into a fund to purchase mitigation land or easements. This alternative is more reasonable for projects with smaller impacts.

South Sacramento Habitat​ Conservation Plan (SSHCP).  The SSHCP provides federal and state permit streamlining for projects within the Plan's “Urban Growth Area”, and provide well-planned impact mitigation in its designated mitigation areas for specific species impacts.