SACOG outlines regional growth, Marysville staff point to downtown housing and transit projects

James Corless, executive director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), told the Marysville City Council on an evening meeting that the six-county Sacramento region currently serves about 2.5 million people and is projected to add roughly 600,000 more by 2050, reaching about 3.1 million.

The presentation focused on SACOG’s long-range plan, which Corless said guides transportation, land use and economic-development decisions across the region. “We are a 6 county agency,” Corless said, adding that SACOG developed the plan around a framework of “equity, economy and environment” after extensive outreach that produced seven themes including transportation and housing.

The plan’s outreach emphasized “safe and convenient” transportation options and housing for “all life stages,” Corless said. He credited local transit agency Yuba Sutter Transit for experimenting with micro-transit and on-demand services and noted a forthcoming Next Gen facility for that system.

City planning consultant Kathy Pease said the city has secured SACOG funding for a Marysville Chinatown Blueprint planning grant. “I’m a planning consultant to the city,” Pease said. She noted additional local projects: Community Development Director Dan Flores is working on roughly 98 infill units downtown, and private development activity includes the Hyatt hotel, a Starbucks and a Grocery Outlet that are expected to be constructed soon.

Pease told the council that the agenda included a general plan update and a downtown specific plan. “The downtown specific plan identifies between 850 and a thousand potential new” housing units, she said, describing how the plan would shape future development in Marysville’s core.

Corless and SACOG staff described the region as fast-growing and said preparing transportation and housing strategies now is intended to balance infill and new growth areas. The presentation cited past regional partnerships, including completion of the Fifth Street crossing between Yuba City and Marysville, as examples of interjurisdictional coordination.

There were no formal motions or votes recorded on the SACOG presentation during the portion of the meeting in the transcript. Council and staff discussion centered on planning coordination, grant-funded planning work for Chinatown, downtown housing capacity and transit facility improvements.

The council’s packet and upcoming agenda items include the general plan update and the downtown specific plan, which staff said would be the vehicle for more detailed zoning and project-level decisions. The transcript did not record specific funding amounts for the SACOG planning grant or a schedule for the downtown-specific plan adoption.

Future council meetings are expected to include further consideration of the general plan and downtown specific plan details and any subsequent zoning or project approvals.