The city of Sacramento in the next month plans to finalize a policy encouraging developers to build multi-unit housing in areas previously limited to single-family homes.
But some advocates warn certain design requirements could make it more complicated and expensive to construct eight-plexes, which a city-commissioned study found are the most financially feasible type of missing middle housing on the highest number of developable lots.
Missing middle housing includes developments in between single-family homes and large apartment buildings, such as duplexes and bungalow courts. The proposed interim ordinance would require three-story buildings in most areas of the city to have dormer windows, which have a hutch, and slanted roofs instead of flat ones. City staff said the features help ensure the projects are compatible with existing neighborhoods.
This Aug. 26, 2010, file photo shows the Timberline Lodge in Timberline Lodge, Ore. The Lodge, a National Historic Landmark, was built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression. It features dormer windows.AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, FileThe Planning and Design Commission last week recommended exempting projects within half a mile from public transit from those requirements, which are being referred to as bulk control. The housing advocacy group House Sacramento hopes the City Council considers expanding the exemption citywide, said co-president Ben Raderstorf.
“I live in Midtown and this sort of housing is all around us,” Raderstorf said. “It is the quintessential example of neighborhood scale, small multi-family. I can’t think of a single example of a project that doesn’t feel like it would fit in anywhere.”
Dormer windows increase construction costs by 10 to 20%, Raderstorf said, because it’s cheaper to build projects with the same floor plan for every unit.
During the commission meeting last week, Planning Commissioner Dov Kadin said higher construction costs makes developers less likely to build. More expensive projects also lead to higher rental costs, Kadin said. He added that he believes the bulk control requirements would prevent building eight-plexes on lots previously designated for single-family homes.
“I fundamentally believe that you are never going to deliver naturally affordable projects at scale without actually allowing a three-story multiplex,” Kadin said during the meeting.
Urban Design Manager Bruce Monighan said the requirements serve as guardrails so city staff know how much developers can push designs beyond the typical in existing neighborhoods. When the city first surveyed people on missing middle housing, Monighan said they identified compatibility as their top concern.
“We’re going to respect the quality of those neighborhoods,” Monighan said during the meeting. “And we’re going to respect the context of those neighborhoods and we’ll make them fit in.”
Sacramento began a study on missing middle housing in 2022 and finished it this May, according to a staff report. The study helped shape the interim ordinance, which follows up on new housing policies in the 2040 General Plan adopted in February. Changes include replacing maximum density limits with floor area ratio standards.
The Law and Legislation committee is scheduled to review the interim ordinance on Aug. 20. If the committee recommends passing the proposal, the full City Council could discuss it on Sept. 17.
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