About the River District Specific Plan Update

A downloadable version of this information is available through this brochure.

The River District Specific Plan (Plan) is a forward-looking policy document that will guide how the River District develops over the next 10 to 20 years. In March 2024, the City of Sacramento’s Community Development Department, Planning Division, launched a new planning process to update the River District Specific Plan, adopted in 2011. This update is not just a review of the Plan’s existing goals, policies, and actions—it is also a comprehensive update that looks at how the River District has changed since 2011 and what is needed to support its future. The process will also involve updates to the River District Finance Plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

The planning process will identify key issues and opportunities and set the regulatory and policy framework needed to guide the River District’s transformation. While the Plan itself will not directly solve challenges, it will provide the guidance and strategies needed to shape future development and public investments in ways that advance the community’s shared vision.

The planning process will consider major topics such as:

  • Improving mobility to make it easier to move around the River District without a car
  • Welcoming new homes and businesses while supporting long-standing businesses and organizations
  • Evaluating infrastructure and the costs to improve it to serve anticipated growth
  • Expanding access to community spaces, parks, and recreational opportunities
  • Increasing resilience to climate challenges, and Addressing the changing needs of vulnerable members of the community.

Why update the River District Specific Plan?

Development interest and activity in the River District—and in the Railyards area directly to the south—has increased in recent years. With this momentum, now is the time to revisit the River District Specific Plan to align with the City’s latest goals and policies outlined in the 2040 General Plan.

As new development continues to take shape, new challenges are also emerging: growing traffic congestion, potential conflicts between long-established businesses and new residents and workers, and a heightened awareness of how isolated the River District remains from surrounding neighborhoods. To address these imminent concerns, the purpose of this update is to:

  • Reevaluate and refresh the community’s vision for the River District
  • Strengthen connections between the River District, the rivers, and the rest of the city, and 
  • Support the development of a vibrant, inclusive, and well-integrated mix of land uses.  

About the project core values

  • Feasibility. A commitment to capture attainable and incremental steps that can be made to move towards the future.
  • Grounded in History. A commitment to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of the people and businesses that have located in this area throughout history, starting with the native people of this area.
  • Transparency. A commitment to make the project process as understandable as possible, provide opportunities for community involvement, and show how engagement has influenced outcomes.
  • Equity. A commitment to design engagement to respect and accommodate the people living and working within the River District, engage community and develop policy with equity in mind, and consider potential unintentional consequences to the most vulnerable populations.

River District Specific Plan Update timeline

River map of the update process with a kayak floating into summer. Beginning in winter of 2024 with existing conditions analysis, visual & initial concepts in summer 2025, inter agency focus groups, community partner roundtable, and community workshops going into fall 2025.  Preferred plan development administrative draft supplemental EIR flows into the Community Open House of the final public review draft to public review draft SEIR moving us into 2026. In summer 2026 the process reached the hearing draft final specific plan update to the final SEIR in fall 2026. The Specific Plan aims to conclude in winter 2026 with the finance plan specific plan document public hearings then finally ending in adoption. open_in_full

River District Specific Plan Process

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