The City of Folsom is launching a planning effort for the Central Business District. This important retail and commercial corridor is located along East Bidwell Street from Riley Street to Blue Ravine

The City is developing a Master Plan for the Central Business District.  A Master Plan is a long-range vision (10-20-year plan) that helps guide development going forward by aligning land uses, public infrastructure projects and the vision/branding of the area with the values of the community.  No land use changes such as a General Plan amendment or rezoning are proposed as part of this effort.  The Master Plan was funded with American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

• Mixed-use residential development
• Economic development
• Commercial corridor revitalization
• Placemaking and design, lighting, and landscaping
• Traffic calming
• Pedestrian and bicycle improvements
• Safety
• Parking strategies
• Outreach strategies

Through a competitive process, the City selected Jacobs Engineering to prepare the Master Plan.  In addition to Jacobs, the consultant team includes Aim Consulting which specializes in public outreach and will be instrumental in leading the Citizen Advisory Committee and other public outreach efforts, Kimley-Horn will provide transportation expertise and is familiar with the project area, having completed the East Bidwell Complete Streets Corridor Plan, and Bay Area Economics (BAE) will provide expertise on economic development strategies.

On August 22, 2023, the City Council formed the Central Business Advisory Committee and appointed 18 stakeholders representing economic development, local business and property owners, residents, recreation, transportation and mobility, tourism, and education/student advisors to help provide input into the process.   Meeting agendas are posted (see agenda link below) and the public is welcome to attend.  To date, two Advisory Committee meetings have been held and the next meeting is tentatively scheduled to occur in April. 

• Click Here for Meeting Summary 1
• Meeting Summary 2 Coming Soon

Public Outreach Touchpoint: Community Questionnaire and Pop-Up Activities

As part of an ongoing collaborative planning effort, the City’s project team hosted an online community questionnaire to obtain early input on community values, priorities, and vision for the planning area from Folsom residents and visitors.  The survey was open for three weeks and more than 800 participants responded. Please find the summary of the questionnaire results here.

The project team also hosted several pop-up events to build awareness about the planning effort and encourage participation in the community questionnaire. On Saturday, December 16, 2023, two project team members hosted a pop-up event outside Karen’s Bakery as well as at the Historic Folsom Farmers Market. In addition to providing community members with cards that included a QR code link to the questionnaire, project team members asked the community to respond to two questions:  what uses/amenities would you like to see expanded or created in the project area? And what ideas could support the area as a “destination” with a unique identity and “sense of place”? 

Contact Information:

If you have questions, need additional information, or would like to be added to the project mailing list, contact Kathy Pease, AICP, the city’s planning consultant, at 916-812-0749 or kpease@masfirm.com