Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan

Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan Background

City staff worked with redevelopment experts, mall owners, stakeholders, the community, and elected officials to create a Specific Plan that allows mixed use development at the 100-acre Sunrise Mall site

On November 10, 2021, Citrus Heights City Council unanimously voted in favor of adopting the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan and its associated Environmental Impact Report, rezoning, and General Plan amendment.

The Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan:

Introduces new uses to the Sunrise Mall site, like zoning for a variety of residential options, entertainment, and more.
Triples the development allowed on the site, creating an opportunity for the community to diversify its economy, attract quality industry sectors like medical and tech, and more.
Streamlines future development review, so that projects aligned with the Sunrise Tomorrow vision can be expedited, saving developers time and money.
Allows flexibility for redevelopment, empowering responsiveness to changes in the market.
Fulfills CEQA requirements and mitigates development risk, which is one of the most impactful ways local government can stimulate redevelopment.
Aligns market demand with community vision, building grassroots, local support in favor of re-imagining the Sunrise Mall site.

Note: The units of housing, office, hotel, community/institutional, and retail proposed in the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan reflect maximum units permitted. Actual development at the site will vary.

What will the Sunrise Mall site look like in the future?

Now that the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan has been adopted, mall owners may begin redeveloping their properties in alignment with the plan’s new uses and zoning. The Specific Plan was guided by “Five Big Ideas,” that reflect feedback from the community and stakeholders: Community & Regional Destination, Green Network, Streets for People, Livable Neighborhoods, and Economic Engine.

When paired with in depth research and data around the types of development that are realistic for the Citrus Heights market, the Five Big Ideas evolved into a site plan, which staff refer to as a “21^st Century Main Street” concept. The concept includes:

A walkable “main street” through the center of the property featuring dining, retail, and entertainment.
New employment anchors, solidifying the site as an employment hub for the region.
A new town square for Citrus Heights, nick-named “Sunrise Commons,” with space for community events year round.
Entertainment anchors to create a community and regional destination with family oriented entertainment options.
Hotels providing full-service, boutique, and extended-stay hotels to serve a range of travelers.
Housing with connected neighborhoods that provide a variety of choices and amenities for high quality of life.
Open space featuring a network of parks, plazas, and streets that are safe, connected, green, and healthy.
A transit center designed to minimize car use, with streets and paths that make it easy to get around by bike or on foot.

The illustrative plan below exemplifies how the Specific Plan can be implemented.

While the plan incentivizes redevelopment, the city does not own the mall site. The redevelopment will ultimately be driven by the property owners bringing forward projects consistent with the plan vision.

To learn more about Sunrise Tomorrow…