Folsom Planning Commission OKs affordable housing increase

To comply with state law and provide for the service workforce, the Folsom Planning Commission approved a plan late last month for more affordable housing to be built across the city. Due to the state housing crisis in California, numerous new state laws streamlining low-income homes were passed, seriously affecting Folsom growth, staff said. To address state law and increase Folsom's workforce housing, the commission took action July 24 to amend the General Plan to increase the housing capacity in three city areas near jobs, services and transit: Folsom Ranch Town Center, East Bidwell Street and Light Rail. "Folks that are preschool teachers, librarians, construction workers – they are really struggling to be able to rent a house here in Folsom. A lot of them are really priced out," said Folsom Planning Manager Desmond Parrington. "Eighty-one percent of the people who actually work here don't live here." Parrington said a class of gifted Folsom students were asked if they plan to come back after their higher education, and none felt they could afford a home here. The city adopted the 2021-2029 Housing Element in 2021. As part of the update, Folsom is required to keep enough land available to meet the target housing demand at all income levels over the eight-year period. The regional housing needs allocation for the eight-year cycle is 6,363 units, with 3,567 affordable to lower-income households, according to the report. If the city approves a luxury home project on a site set aside for affordable housing, the city must replace the RHNA in the inventory. This state law is commonly called the "no-net-loss" requirement. Folsom previously had sufficient sites to meet the RHNA for all income categories, with a surplus capacity of up to 490 lower-income units, staff said. Since some sites for low income have developed with luxury and market-rate homes like Broadstone Villa, more capacity is needed for a buffer, Parrington said. Failure would trigger the no-net-loss rule and require Folsom to rezone new sites. "We are envisioning that within six months or a year, we could be out of surplus," Parrington said. The targeted areas for increased residential capacity include: ▪ East Bidwell Mixed-Use Overlay. ▪ Sacramento Area Council of Governments transit priorities areas (Glenn and Iron Point Light Rail stations). ▪ Folsom Ranch Town Center, as well as other nearby sites. In total, the project creates capacity for up to 6,046 additional residential units in Folsom to meet state requirements, according to the report. Staff said the current maximum number of 30 homes per acre will change to a minimum in the target areas. "By increasing capacity in targeted areas, the City will be able to maintain an adequate supply of land for multi-family housing without having to rezone land in established residential neighborhoods," staff said in the report. The move also creates potential for an additional 1,882 residential units in Folsom Ranch over the next 12 to 20 years, staff said. To account for the increased residential development, the plan would reduce 251,266 square feet of non-residential development capacity in the Folsom Ranch specific plan. In addition, the Planning Commission also approved a General Plan amendment to prioritize traffic roundabouts. The new policy requires that whenever Folsom traffic controls are needed, roundabouts should be considered first before signals or turn restrictions. Existing traffic light intersections can also be replaced by a roundabout, staff said. Folsom Historic District Commission input was not needed since none of the target areas are located within the district, staff said. The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to approve the amendments July 24, with Commissioner Ralph Pena absent. The Folsom Planning Commission includes Bill Miklos, Mathew Herrera, James Ortega, Bill Romanelli, Vice-Chair Daniel West and Chair Eileen Reynolds.