Any reporting claiming California has βweakenedβ its environmental laws is flat-out wrong.
We *strengthened* our environmental regulatory regime by streamlining the single-most climate-friendly policy goal: infill housing.
@dovkadin.bsky.social
Work at SACOG to plan for a more compact and sustainable Sacramento region. City of Sacramento Planning Commissioner. Posts are my own.
Any reporting claiming California has βweakenedβ its environmental laws is flat-out wrong.
We *strengthened* our environmental regulatory regime by streamlining the single-most climate-friendly policy goal: infill housing.
Significant and important point right here
04.06.2025 18:21 β π 6 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0As we advance big housing reforms β including my bill to allow more homes near transit & @buffywicks.bsky.social bill to exempt infill housing from CEQA β we can look to Sacramento as an example of what happens when a city takes housing production seriously: Lower costs & the sky doesnβt fall.
03.06.2025 16:16 β π 132 π 25 π¬ 4 π 6Iβm still hung up on this. Sac has had 3 straight years of rent declines in real terms, its population grew and incomes grew double digits. This is the opposite experience of cities like SF/LA where rents rose alongside economic prosperity. Itβs not inevitable!
www.colliers.com/en/research/...
Reminder! Our conversation with Supervisor Rich Desmond on housing in Sacramento County is LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY! We canβt wait to see you there!
15.05.2025 21:54 β π 6 π 7 π¬ 0 π 0If the politics truly aren't there, that's the job of elected officials to compromise down from that proposal, not ours
29.04.2025 21:16 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0I think my perspective is that it's not a planner's job to craft policy based on subjective preferences like shade or euphemisms like neighborhood character. It's to identify the higher level goals and then propose a regulatory environment that best facilitates those goals (using persuasion!)
29.04.2025 21:16 β π 9 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0But when I hear you say higher densities can negatively impact one's home and then reference your personal aesthetic preferences as support, you are doing a disservice to a profession that should be making a policy-based case for reforms not equating aesthetic concerns with policy objectives.
29.04.2025 20:53 β π 17 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0Very familiar with the local political process. I helped push through some of the most progressive land use reforms in the country in Sacramento on planning commission. Compromise is sometimes necessary to getting reforms passed...
29.04.2025 20:53 β π 8 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Exactly. I'm a planner too and the job is not about applying equal weight to all preferences. It's about crafting policy that prioritizes the the most important objectives. Climate and affordability are simply more important than aesthetic preferences like shade--act accordingly!
29.04.2025 20:23 β π 24 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Reminder that the deadline to apply to these is 5/2! Land Use Planner positions at SACOG don't come up very often so jump on it if you are interested. Feel free to dm or email with any questions!
24.04.2025 17:15 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Should be higher but proud of this city
09.04.2025 01:54 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 1Only social engineering sorry
08.04.2025 23:22 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Come work with me on the intersection of land use, housing, and climate! SACOG is hiring two land use and housing planners right now. One associate and one planner II. Feel free to reach out if you are interested.
governmentjobs.com/careers/sacog
You can use SB 684 coupled with our missing middle ordinance to do several of these on lots across Sacramento right now. There is a ton of demand for smaller for sale products like this on the grid and inner ring suburbs.
13.03.2025 00:17 β π 26 π 1 π¬ 2 π 1Great turnout at Sacramentos small development workshop today!
08.03.2025 17:28 β π 7 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Thatβs right
24.02.2025 05:21 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Skill issue
24.02.2025 00:02 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Huge Sacramento news β the City is proposing a new team of 6 engineers with funding devoted exclusively to safe streets quick build and tactical innovation projects! @arianelange.bsky.social's story here: www.sacbee.com/news/local/a...
BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THIS PASSED! Here's how:
β¦.hell ya
12.02.2025 03:44 β π 9 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0These are the high points! Don't ask what happened between those conveniently selected points in time!
29.01.2025 23:11 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Part of why these 20 years apart years are fascinating is because they are essentially generational housing peaks. The nadirs?
1995: 7.9k units, 8% attached
2011: 2.6k units, 26% attached
Which is most likely going to look like a block of largely single family homes with maybe one 4-6plex and a smattering of ADUs.
29.01.2025 22:07 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Right, totally makes sense. Plus the concern that if you allow missing middle you will get it on every lot has always been unfounded. I am quite curious though about what this analysis would yield on a hypothetical neighborhood like that envisioned in Sac's reforms...
29.01.2025 22:07 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0I think 1985 was the best housing year for the Sacramento region on record in terms of overall production and product split. Actually the 20 year splits tell an interesting story.
1985: 24k units, 60% attached
2005: 23k units, 17% attached
2023: 12k units*, 30% attached
*highest since GFC
Daveβs analysis is good (as always!) I just worry about exclusionary neighborhoods pushing back on needed reforms bc the density we need to allow is not really measurable like this. Many communities (like slo) donβt have true missing middle neighborhoods to measure potential parking impacts.
29.01.2025 17:32 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0Most meaningful missing middle reforms allow at least a fourplex which is going to be at least 30-40 units/acre. In sac we went from 7 to effectively like 50+ (no density max with max FAR of 1 and 35 ft height).
29.01.2025 16:37 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Not that I think this should have any bearing on whether we should upzone R1 (we absolutely should) but those ideologically opposed to density based on parking concerns wont be comforted that there werenβt effects of going from 7 to 12 u/a. Thatβs like less than townhome density.
29.01.2025 16:37 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0Itβs possible this would have been allowed before? Corner lots allowed duplexes in R1 and up to 2 ADUs are allowed by right. Looks fantastic regardless tho!
27.01.2025 23:09 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0