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Placer Ranch is a 2,200-acre property owned by Eli Broad
and located on the boundaries of the cities of Roseville,
Rocklin and Lincoln. It was designated by Placer County in
their 1994 General Plan to attract and retain businesses and
industries that provide job opportunities to Placer County
residents, and will include industrial, office and retail
uses to accommodate more than 25,000 employees at full build
out. Placer Ranch enhances the original Placer County vision
with the addition of a public university and amenities that
will benefit businesses and residents from throughout the
region.
The university campus, initially a satellite of Sacramento
State, will accommodate up to 25,000 students when complete.
It will provide a unique opportunity for the region’s residents
to take advantage of the educational, cultural, and creative
opportunities an institution of higher learning offers. In
addition to providing area businesses with an educated workforce,
it will foster public/private collaboration opportunities
between Sacramento State and local industry, a formula that
has proven to be immensely successful with many universities
throughout the country.
Placer Ranch is designed to maximize the community benefits of two key elements: the University and business core. Walkable residential districts, higher density urban areas with convenient commercial, work force housing and live-work space, and “pedestrian-first” transportation are essential assets.
The community is designed around multiple distinct districts, each with its own focus. These include the University, business centers and residential neighborhoods. A district may include retail or industrial uses, live-work space, single-family or multi-family housing, commercial or professional space and parks or open space.
Miles of bike and walking paths lace Placer Ranch, linking the districts and making it easy to travel throughout the community. The districts are designed so more than 80 percent of the business and residential units will be within a five to 10 minute walk to goods and services that community residents, students or employees seek on a regular basis.
Placer Ranch is located in the Sunset Industrial Area (SIA), an 8,000-acre area north of Roseville, west of Rocklin and south of Lincoln. The swath of land was designated by Placer County in 1980 as the primary area for job growth and economic development in the County.
The Sunset Industrial Area Plan, finalized in 1997, set specific objectives for the area and updated the original Sunset General Plan, approved in 1980. The SIA is the largest area set aside for commercial development in the four-county Sacramento region. Placer County Supervisor Robert Weygandt has been heavily involved in planning the SIA, which is located in his district, since the early 1980s.
“I got involved around 1982 on what is now called the Economic Development Commission to help figure out how to bring new companies to the area and how to encourage companies already based here to expand their operations,” said Supervisor Weygandt. “We took a strategic view toward site selection and collaborating with the local cities to ensure the area chosen for economic development would benefit the entire County.”
One of the main goals for the SIA is the creation of primary wage-earner jobs, or jobs that include the benefits needed to support a family, such as health insurance and retirement plans. A related goal is to reduce out-commuting, or the number of residents who commute to the Sacramento area for jobs, by bringing those kinds of jobs to Placer County.
“In the past, companies found Placer County through casual scouting and liking the area,” said Weygandt. “While that still happens today, we're being more proactive with the SIA, because we want to maximize the quantity and the quality of those primary wage-earner jobs. No one envisioned the possibility of a university in the SIA and the synergies that could create, but it offers some interesting options.”
To make the SIA more attractive to developers and companies, the County is continuing to look for ways to streamline the permitting process, including considering the establishment of a conservation plan and dedicating redevelopment funds to speed infrastructure construction. These efforts are directed at creating and sustaining a healthy local economy that will benefit each person and business in Placer County.
“There is a vision of what we're trying to accomplish here, and we're making progress in that direction,” said Weygandt. “The vision has been adapted as Placer County has grown and changed, and we will continue to work toward creative and innovative ways to make everything come together.” |
