PLNP2023-00206 Design Review Administration Update
Summary
SCH Number
2026090058
Public Agency
Sacramento County
Document Title
PLNP2023-00206 Design Review Administration Update
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/1/2026
Document Description
The project consists of a Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOB) to amend Chapter 6 of the Sacramento County Zoning Code (Zoning Code) and Chapter 1 or the Countywide Design Guidelines. The proposed amendments generally fall under the four topics found below:
• Simplify Zoning Code Section 6.3 and the Countywide Design Guidelines have been reorganized and simplified to provide clarity while navigating the administrative requirements of the Design Review Program.
• Exceptions The list of exceptions in Zoning Code Section 6.3 is proposed to be expanded to narrow the scope of projects that would require Design Review.
• Levels of Review The levels of Design Review have been amended to ensure consistency between discretionary and non-discretionary projects.
• Approving Authority Roles The proposed amendment further defines and restructures the role of the Design Review Administrator (ORA) and the Design Review Advisory Committee (DRAC).
The proposed amendments generally fall under the three categories found below:
1) Minor Clarifications - Proposed changes to the Zoning Code and Countywide Design Guidelines that result in short text amendments that are of minor consequence. These changes fix typographical errors,
codify accepted staff practice, codify minor Planning Director's interpretations, and generally do not represent changes from existing practices.
2) Major Clarifications - Proposed changes to the Zoning Code and the Countywide Design Guidelines that result in text amendments that are longer or affect more frequently used procedures than those specified in "1 ". These changes solidify interpretations of standards but are still generally not major changes from existing practices. These changes do not result in intensification of land use compared to
uses already permitted by right within respective affected zoning districts.
3) Minor Policy Updates - Proposed changes to the Zoning Code that result in policy changes to procedures that are of relatively minor consequence. This involves minor changes to sections of the Zoning Code that are used somewhat frequently or major changes, up to complete elimination, of outdated or obsolete sections of the Code. This also includes the codification of informal historical policies that are generally noncontroversial.
Contact Information
Name
Julie Newton
Agency Name
Sacramento County, Planning & Environmental Review
Job Title
Environmental Coordinator
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, Isleton, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, Sacramento, unincorporated area
Counties
Sacramento
Regions
Countywide, Northern California
Other Location Info
Countywide
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
General Rule exemption of Section 15061, subdivision (b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed amendment is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
Because the project is limited to administrative and regulatory amendments that do not result in any physical change to the environment, nor create a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical environmental effect, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed project may have a significant impact on
the environment and is therefore exempt from the provisions of CEQA.
County Clerk
Sacramento
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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