In 2022 and 2023, the city secured grant funding from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments’ (SACOG) Green Means Go Program to help Folsom expand its infill housing capacity consistent with the city’s Housing Element requirements. In 2022, based on public and expert input, the city prepared and the City Council approved design and development recommendations for housing in targeted areas of the city. Following that, in August 2024 the City Council approved amendments to the General Plan and Folsom Plan Area Specific Plan (FPASP) to allow for more intensive housing development in targeted areas of the City including the East Bidwell Corridor, the areas near the Iron Point and Glenn light rail stations, and in the FPASP Town Center. As the final part of this three-part effort, the city selected an architectural design and planning firm, Opticos Design, Inc., to assist with the development of Objective Development and Design Standards (ODDS) for mixed-use and multi-family housing in these targeted areas.
The city pursued adoption of the ODDS because state legislation, including Senate Bill 330 (2019) and Senate Bill 8 (2021) require that jurisdictions conduct design review for residential projects, especially for multi-family development, using objective design standards. Objective standards are requirements that involve no personal or subjective judgment and are clear to both project applicants and public officials. Since the General Plan amendments allow for taller and denser development, Objective Development and Design Standards are needed to ensure the design of new multi-family residential development in Folsom complements and enhances these targeted areas.
A Public Review Draft of the City of Folsom ODDS was made available in late summer 2025, with a public workshop on the draft held with the City Planning Commission on September 17, 2025. The Planning Commission considered the ODDS at their October 15, 2025, hearing and voted unanimously to recommend approval to the City Council.
The City Council initially considered the ODDS at the October 28, 2025, meeting. While generally supportive, the Council requested more detailed standards to allow reductions in required parking. The Council also expressed concern about making Design Review to determine consistency with the ODDS a ministerial process, as it would not allow for public awareness and discussion of proposed multi-family or mixed-use projects. They requested that Design Reviews remain a discretionary process with the Planning Commission.
The Council reconsidered the ODDS and related Folsom Municipal Code Title 17 (Zoning) language reflecting their direction at the November 12, 2025, hearing and voted unanimously to adopt the ODDS. A second reading and adoption of the Ordinance amending Title 17 were adopted by the Council at the December 9, 2025, hearing. The ODDS take effect on January 9, 2026.
