Feasibility Studies in Sacramento, CA

Place the project in the right community-plan context

Sacramento’s 2040 General Plan includes citywide land-use, mobility and public-facility elements alongside community plans for areas such as the Central City, North Natomas and South Sacramento. Locate the parcel in the relevant plan area and record the land-use information used for the concept. Ask planning staff which current zoning provisions and project-specific reviews need to be considered. For an acquisition, compare the existing operation with any proposed expansion. The purpose is to identify assumptions that need confirmation before assigning units, rooms, retail space or development costs to the feasibility model.

Keep the regional market and the site’s catchment distinct

SACOG’s Data Resource Center brings together information about the six-county Sacramento region and tools used in transportation planning. Regional evidence can help organize a comparison of candidate locations, but the relevant customers still need to be connected to the actual property. Identify the geography, observation period and travel measure used in each dataset. For a hotel, examine the demand generators the site can reach; for a neighborhood service, examine nearby households and competing options. Record where the regional picture needs to be supplemented by local access observations or operating information.

Identify the utility and area-specific budget questions

Sacramento’s commercial new-building fee information identifies several categories that may matter to a development budget, including water, sewer and certain geographic impact areas. It also distinguishes combined-sewer development considerations from other sewer connections. Use the page to prepare a question list for the relevant city staff, not to calculate a final project charge from a generic example. Submit the proposed use, service sizes and known parcel history when seeking confirmation. A car wash, laundromat or lodging concept should carry unresolved capacity, connection and utility-cost assumptions into its sensitivity analysis until project-specific information is available.