Sunset Area Plan & Placer Ranch Specific Plan

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On December 10, 2019, the Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an updated Area Plan for the Sunset Area in west Placer County. The Sunset Area Plan area covers 13.9 square miles in unincorporated Placer County between the cities of Rocklin, Roseville, and Lincoln. The Area Plan outlines a comprehensive development plan to achieve the County’s long-term vision to promote the Sunset Area as a prosperous and thriving regional center with opportunities for high-paying employment, high-quality entertainment, and access to higher education  for area residents. The Area Plan includes a policy comprised of nine chapters: Land Use and Economic Development; Transportation and Mobility; Public Facilities and Service; Natural Resources; Cultural Resources; Noise; Health and Safety; Housing; and Implementation. The Area Plan is complemented by Implementing Zoning Regulations and Corridor Design Standards. These regulations, standards, and guidelines specify the details that will ensure that new development delivers on the vision of the Sunset Area Plan.

Click on the links below to view the Sunset Area Plan.


Placer Ranch Specific Plan

Critical to achieving success within the Sunset Area is the concurrent approval of the Placer Ranch Specific Plan. The PRSP serves as the regulatory document that will guide implementation of the Placer Ranch Specific Plan area. Similarly, the Placer Ranch Specific Plan Standards and Design Guidelines are intended to guide development and design throughout the Specific Plan area. The 3.5 square mile Placer Ranch Specific Plan property is located entirely within the boundaries of the Sunset Area Plan and will provide critical backbone infrastructure to the Sunset Area, as well as act as a catalyst for job creation. The Placer Ranch Specific Plan includes a wide range of land uses, including various types of residential, commercial, light industrial, and park/open space areas. The cornerstone of the proposed Placer Ranch Specific Plan is the inclusion of a 301-acre satellite campus of California State University Sacramento.

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Click on the links below to view the Placer Ranch Specific Plan.





Final Environmental Impact Report
On October 31, 2019 Placer County released a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Sunset Area Plan/Placer Ranch Specific Plan. The FEIR can be found at this link.

Development Agreement
On December 10, 2019 the Board of Supervisors approved the Development Agreement. The Staff Report can be found here.

  1. Background
  2. Documents
  3. Contacts


The Sunset Area Plan (SAP) is a County-initiated update to the County’s 1997 Sunset Industrial Area Plan. The SAP also incorporates the proposed Placer Ranch Specific Plan (PRSP).

The objective of the SAP update is to re-envision and re-brand the SAP to take advantage of opportunities to create a unique employment, entertainment, and education center that would provide regional benefit and create primary wage-earner jobs for residents of nearby cities and unincorporated areas. The overall vision for the SAP and PRSP includes the following features:

The Sunset Area encompasses 8,497 acres located in unincorporated south Placer County west of the Highway 65 corridor, situated between the Cities of Lincoln to the north, Rocklin to the east, and Roseville to the south. The proposed PRSP area constitutes 2,213 acres within the southern portion of the SAP area.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The proposed SAP is a Placer County-initiated update to its 1997 Sunset Industrial Area Plan.  The PRSP is included as part of the proposed SAP.  This effort would update the existing community plan, general plan, maps, and regulations. The Sunset Area, which includes the PRSP project site, encompasses 8,358 acres located in unincorporated south Placer County. The County has prepared a DEIR for the project to satisfy the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code [PRC] Section 21000 et seq.) and will serve as the lead agency for CEQA compliance.  The DEIR analyzes the overall SAP at a program level, and provide a more detailed project-level analysis for the PRSP.

The SAP will bring forward new land use designations, including:  General Commercial, Entertainment/Mixed Use; Business Park; Innovation Center; Eco-Industrial; Light Industrial; Public Facility; and Urban Reserve.  The 2,213-acre Placer Ranch Specific Plan (PRSP) is a mixed-use community proposed in the Sunset Area consisting of 5,636 residential units (units have been modified and reduced since release of the January 2018 Preliminary Public Review Draft PRSP) including a university, an age-restricted community; an elementary school, middle school, neighborhood parks and open space; and commercial and mixed uses, and campus park (office, research and development, light industrial, and commercial). The proposed university and non-residential land uses of the project are intended as a catalyst for employment-generating development in Placer County’s overall Sunset Area.

PROJECT LOCATION

The Sunset Area, which includes the PRSO project site, encompasses 8,497 acres located in unincorporated southern Placer County. Southern Placer County is characterized by a mix of urban, suburban, and rural land uses and is influenced by the Sacramento metropolitan area. The Sunset Area covers 13.9 square miles between the cities of Rocklin to the east, Roseville to the south, Lincoln to the north, and unincorporated Placer County to the west. The area to the west is primarily farmland. Major landforms in the area include the Sierra Nevada to the east and Folsom Lake to the southeast. The Sunset Area is located west of State Route 65 which connects to Interstate 80 in the south and State Route 99 to the north. The Sunset Area is approximately 16 miles from downtown Sacramento.

The proposed PRSP area includes 2,213 acres in the southern portion of the Sunset Area. The southern boundary of the PRSP area is contiguous with the existing Roseville City limits, and the northern boundary is defined, in part, by the existing alignment of West Sunset Boulevard west of Fiddyment Road.