Overview

The decades-long process of planning the project encompassed smart growth principles, visioning charrettes, the ballot measure that stipulates many aspects of design, specific plan and EIR/EIS reviews, and many workshops and public hearings.

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Over a decade ago, Folsom voters overwhelmingly passed Measure W, which called for the City of Folsom to take control of a 3,500 acre area bounded by Highway 50, White Rock Road, Prairie City Road and the El Dorado County line.

The reason for passage was simple:  to ensure that future development of this area would protect the long-term quality of life of the Folsom community, rather than let it get into the hands of some other entity that might develop it irresponsibly and without accountability to Folsom residents.

Today, after dozens of public hearings and the participation of hundreds of Folsom residents, a plan for development has been created, vetted and approved by the Folsom City Council – and the work is ready to begin.

WELCOME TO
FOLSOM RANCH

It’s a rare community that can be planned from the ground up – with the opportunity to design a nearly perfect place to live and work. Folsom Ranch is such a locale.

To be sure, the ground in this case is exceptional: 2,650 acres across the heart of Folsom’s annexation area, terrain that traverses grasslands, gentle hills, creeks, wetlands and thick stands of heritage oaks. The full annexation area is 3,500 acres, and Folsom Ranch is its heart.

Highlights include more than 1,000 acres permanently protected as open space, including precious oak woodlands, 120 acres of community parks open to the public, an independent water supply at no cost to Folsom residents and that doesn’t diminish Folsom’s current water supplies, transit improvements that will actually reduce traffic for current commuters, beautiful homes, a vibrant town center, high quality jobs, and new schools that will be funded entirely by the new residents of the area, not current Folsom taxpayers.

Background
of the plan

The final plan, adopted in 2011, has been widely praised for preserving natural assets within a dynamic, inclusive community. Everyone who helped devise the plan – landowners, city and county officials, hundreds of Folsom residents – all supported the goal of creating a livable environment that would enhance the city and reinforce Folsom’s “pride of place.”

The concept of annexing the land south of Highway 50 was proposed in 1992. From 1996 to 2000, the Folsom City Council and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors negotiated a memorandum of understanding on how the land should be developed. Those guidelines became the basis of Measure W, the ballot measure passed by Folsom voters in 2004.

The decades-long process of planning the project encompassed smart growth principles, visioning charrettes, the ballot measure that stipulates many aspects of design, specific plan and EIR/EIS reviews, and many workshops and public hearings.

“This is the people’s plan,” said Steve Miklos, mayor of Folsom. “This is the plan that was requested by the community.”