Council of Infill Builders’ David Mogavero’s Infill Presentation

On July 12, 2021, at a Special Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) meeting (Joint Session: Land Use & Transportation, Air Quality and Climate Change Committees) architect David Mogavero spoke to ECOS.

How can we encourage infill development and discourage green-field development?

David Mogavero is a Board Member of the Council of Infill Builders, and a past president of ECOS.

David Mogavero addressed these questions:

  • How do we calculate infill capacity?
    • How many market-rate and affordable dwelling units will we need in our region?
    • How much infill housing development capacity do we have?
    • Would still we need more greenfield development?
    • What density criteria are used to determine needed infill development capacity?
  • What are potential problems with larger high-density infill developments?
    • Nearby residents often resist higher density, affordable housing near transit hubs.
  • Small, high-density infill development problems:
    • Do we need accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and multiplex housing?
    • How can we make small projects easier to finance and build?

Missed it?

Click here for David Mogavero’s slideshow.

More Info

Learn more about ECOS committees here: https://www.ecosacramento.net/about-us/committees.

To learn more about the Council of Infill Developers, visit their website at http://www.councilofinfillbuilders.org/.

See where apartment rent is rising fastest in the Sacramento region, as demand surges

Sacramento’s housing crisis continues to worsen, recent evidence confirms. Our region will not reach our greenhouse emission reduction targets as long as there is a jobs-housing imbalance in our urban core.

By Phillip Reese and Tony Bizjak | February 10, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Apartment rents jumped faster around Sacramento than in almost any other metro nationwide last year, adding to a long-simmering housing crunch, new data show.

Click here to read the article in full.


Photo by Maria Orlova from Pexels

Sacramento has a plan to address its housing crisis. Some neighborhoods are fighting it

By Theresa Clift | January 10, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento is in a seemingly untenable housing crisis, and city officials have proposed a change to the zoning code to encourage more housing by allowing duplexes, triplexes and four-plexes to be built in neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family homes. The change would improve equity, city leaders say, by providing housing for low- and moderate-income families in neighborhoods with nice parks, high-performing schools and other amenities.

But the proposal has sparked a conflict that has galvanized some of the city’s wealthiest – and most influential – neighborhoods behind a common cause, pitting those communities against affordable housing advocates and some members of the City Council.

Click here to read the full article.

A $1.1 billion project will mean thousands of jobs in Sacramento. Will renters be displaced?

By Theresa Clift | September 14, 2020 | The Sacramento Bee

Guadalupe Del Angel-Garcia moved into her North Oak Park apartment 14 years ago. Three years ago, her rent was about $800 a month. Now it’s $1,100.

The rent is increasingly difficult for her family to pay, especially since her husband was laid off from his restaurant job due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Oak Park is home. She’s lived there more than two decades and belongs to a close-knit community through her church.

When she heard about Aggie Square, a sprawling new project bringing thousands of jobs to the UC Davis Medical Center about a mile away, she was deeply concerned.

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to learn how ECOS is involved in trying to get UC Davis to uphold the community development principles taught in their classes and make sure Aggie Square doesn’t cause more displacement in Sacramento’s underserved neighborhoods.


Image by Leroy Skalstad from Pixabay

SACOG land use forecast 2019-09 sept

MTP/SCS 2020 Update – Comments due Nov 7, 2019

Posted September 29, 2019

Do you live in the County of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo or Yuba?

Is there some way your daily commute could improve? Wish you could take public transit, walk or bicycle?

There is a plan, and your input is welcome.

The Draft 2020 Update of the Sacramento Region Metropolitan Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy was recently issued by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) for a 45-day review period, ending November 7th, 2019.

The ECOS Transportation, Air Quality and Climate Change (TAQCC) Committee is planning to make comments.

The Draft MTP/SCS and the accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Report are available on the SACOG website.

The last comments submitted by ECOS on the plan can be read by clicking here.

ECOS Comments on 19J Project

September 5, 2016

ECOS supports the 19J project particularly for its sustainability and “affordable by design” features. We find the urban design features, building scale and location to have an approach consistent with the intent of the City General Plan, despite its modest height increase beyond the Plan’s approved limits. We recommend approval of the project, but strongly recommend that three conditions be applied to its approval.

  1. A deed restriction shall be recorded whereby the rental cost of the 300 to 445 square foot units shall not exceed 30% of Sacramento’s median income.
  2. A deed restriction shall also be recorded stating that no units shall be sold for 15 years from the date of initial occupancy.
  3. Approval of the project shall require that the project owner/operators submit an annual report to the Planning Department verifying compliance with conditions 1 & 2 above.

We believe that in order to maintain the integrity of the project, these conditions must be applied.

View our letter here.