(originally published April 23, 2015, and revised July 25, 2026)

A General Plan is the blueprint for a community's future. California state law requires that every city and county must adopt a General Plan and revise it from time to time as circumstances change. Goals, objectives and policies articulated within a General Plan are supposed to be internally consistent. Ordinances, such as a Zoning Ordinance, that implement a General Plan must also be consistent with the General Plan. Under California law, there are 7 required elements (chapters) of a General Plan: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise and safety. The Governor's Office of Planning and Research promulgates Guidelines for preparation of General Plans. 

It can be a challenge to plow through Sacramento County's General Plan and the current (1980) community plan for Arden Arcade as amended (2006). Our community's nearly half-century-old General Plan is laughably outdated. So, too, is the so-called "update" that was adopted more than 20 years ago. The "update" did not really amend our ancient Community Plan. Instead, it listed a number of action items in response to a community survey. To no one's surprise, hardly any of the actions in the "update" were subsequently implemented. The bottom line is that the Supervisors have no vision for our community and instead rely on "the market" to take care of everything.  Indeed, submission to market forces was enshrined in the overarching County General Plan, the 2005-2030 General Plan, adopted in 2011. Letting go of the reins so developers are in control is NOT a plan, of course, it is a surrender. The state took issue with the County giving up the store like that, insisting on consideration of "smart growth" and other concepts. Other than threatening to withhold grant funds or a few other "dire" - though actually toothless - threats, the state has let Sacramento County just plod along with the developers without any real guardrails other than an occasional loud hue and cry from neighborhoods impacted by a clearly dumb land use decision. When it comes to planning ahead, then, about the best anyone can do within the current system is mimic Tiny Tim from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" by concluding, "God bless us, everyone".   Nevertheless, a thorough understanding of these documents is helpful for area residents and businesses that seek to reverse the downward spiral of land uses and property values in the community.