Folsom | Historic District

Folsom, California Historic District: Subareas, the Historic District Commission, Design Review, Homes and Apartments, ADU Styles, Demolition Review and the 2025 and 2026 Ordinances

This page covers the historic district in Folsom, California: the old town around Sutter Street and the homes around it. The district has its own commission and its own rules in Chapter 17.52, and they sit on top of the base zone of each lot. Section 17.52.010 sets the goal "To preserve and enhance the historic, small-town atmosphere of the historic district as it developed between the years 1850 and 1950," and "To retain the residential areas within the historic district." New homes, apartments, ADUs, additions and demolitions all pass through extra review here. The Folsom overview has the summary.

Where the District Is and How It Is Divided

Section 17.52.140 describes the district boundary by street centerlines and county parcel numbers, from Stafford Street and Dean Way to the railroad and Folsom Boulevard corridor and the state park lands. The map that shows these lines was not read; ask the City whether a lot is inside. The district is split into primary areas and subareas, each with "specialized development standards." Permitted uses are those of the subarea "and those permitted in the applicable base zoning district."

Sources: Folsom Municipal Code 17.52.150, 17.52.210, 17.52.510, 17.52.520, 17.52.530, 17.52.540 and 17.52.570.

The historic residential primary area "is divided into four subareas: Figueroa subarea, Central subarea, Persifer-Dean subarea, and The Preserve subarea." The code says "The Central subarea is the largest subarea of the historic district and the one with the greatest variety in housing types."

The Historic District Commission

Section 17.52.020 creates "a historic district commission of 7 members, appointed by the mayor with the consent of the city council." The seats are fixed: a preservation advocate, a resident of the district, a Sutter Street business owner, "Two planning commissioners," another district business owner, and a design professional with preservation expertise. The commission "shall meet at least once each month."

• Its powers. The commission reviews "the design and architecture of any new structure, or alteration to any existing structures within the historic district," determines historical significance, and reviews "sign permits, conditional use permits, variances, land divisions and mergers."
• Use permits and variances. Inside the district the commission has "final authority" over conditional use permits and variances, using the procedures of Chapters 17.60 and 17.62. Outside the district the Planning Commission holds those powers.
• Appeals. A decision of the director may be appealed to the commission, and a decision of the commission to the City Council, "not later than 10 calendar days after the date of the action being appealed," with a fee set by Council resolution.
• 2026 meetings. The City's agenda system lists Historic District Commission meetings on February 4, March 4, June 24 (special), August 5 and September 2, 2026, and one on November 4, 2026. The archive posts video for these meetings but no agendas, so their items were not read.

Design Review: Commission or Director

Section 17.52.300, as amended by Ordinance 1353 in 2025, decides who reviews a project. Projects in the district skip the citywide design review of Chapter 17.06 and "follow the guidelines of said district."

• To the commission. "All new office, industrial, commercial and residential buildings," except accessory buildings and some ADUs; all exterior work on properties in the City's cultural resources inventory or on a historic resource; additions "over twenty-five percent of the total square footage of the existing building or over five hundred square feet, whichever is less"; and projects in a planned development or tentative map.
• To the director. Other exterior renovations, smaller additions, and "All new accessory buildings, including but not limited to garages and sheds."
• Exempt. Like-for-like roof, window and door replacement, exterior colors on homes, small patio covers outside the front and side yards, solar panels, and "Privacy walls and fencing, excluding chain link, which is not allowed."
• What reviewers weigh. Compliance with the General Plan and zoning, the district design guidelines, any project-specific standards, and "Compatibility of building materials, textures and colors with surrounding development."
• Notice. The City posts notice on its website and mails it "to property owners directly adjacent to the project site," including those across an alley or street, at least five days before the review.
• Time limit. A design approval lapses "unless the applicant submits a complete application for a building permit within two years," and may be extended one year on request.

Building Homes in the Historic Residential Area

Section 17.52.540 governs the residential subareas. "One-family dwellings, including accessory structures and uses, are permitted," with garage limits: in the Figueroa subarea "attached garages are not permitted in the general view shed of the public, unless not identifiable as a garage," and carports must look like historical features such as porte cocheres, which are covered drive-through entries.

• Lot. "The minimum lot area is 7,000 square feet," and "The minimum lot width is 50 feet."
• Pervious surface. "A minimum of 45 percent of the lot area must be maintained as pervious surface," meaning ground that lets water soak in.
• Yards. Front 20 feet, interior side 5 feet, street side 10 feet, rear 20 feet, 10 feet between structures, and garages 20 feet from the public right-of-way.
• Landscaping. Sixty percent of the front 20 feet of the lot and fifty percent of the rest must be landscaped.
• Height. The section reads "Structural heights shall extend 15 feet above the main structure, subject to design review." The sentence states no base height; ask the City how it reads it.
• Parking. All spaces on site, outside front and street side yards, and screened. On-street parking "may not be counted toward required parking ratios."

Multifamily homes are allowed with limits: "All multifamily projects, except second units as permitted in Section 17.52.500, require a conditional use permit from the historic district commission," "A project may not exceed a total of 12 units," and "In The Preserve subarea multifamily units are not permitted due to the small lot size and recorded design guidelines."

Homes in the Commercial Subareas

• Sutter Street. Section 17.52.510 permits homes but says "Street-level frontage space is intended for retail and other commercial use and is generally not appropriate for residential use." A conditional use permit is needed for a building whose primary use is residential and "for a commercial or residential project containing three or more dwelling units." Buildings may be 35 feet next to the Sutter or Leidesdorff Street sidewalk and 50 feet elsewhere, and new buildings follow a pre-1900 design concept.
• River Way. Section 17.52.520 prefers "Combined studios, sales space, and/or residences of artists and craftspersons." Homes alone are permitted, "A conditional use permit is required for a project containing three or more dwelling units," lots need 7,000 square feet or 6,000 to recreate "the 50 feet by 120 feet River Street lots as shown on the 1855 Theodore Judah map," and buildings may be 35 feet.
• Natoma-Riley-Bidwell. Section 17.52.530 permits homes, but "Apartment complexes may not exceed a density of twelve d.u./acre," and three or more homes need a conditional use permit. New construction uses "residential architectural design," and at least twenty-five percent of the lot stays pervious.
• Parking for homes. In Sutter Street, River Way and Natoma-Riley-Bidwell, a home needs one space, or two "if building square footage is greater than 600 square feet."

ADUs and Accessory Buildings in the District

ADUs in the district follow the citywide Chapter 17.105, with three differences. No parking space is required for "The accessory dwelling unit is located within the historic district." An ADU that is not a 66323 unit, a unit the state requires the City to approve, must use one of the styles listed for its subarea in Section 17.105.200 and meet that style's roof, window and siding rules. And the Historic District Commission decides the design of an ADU "not exempt from design review by California Government Code Section 66321 based on height."

Source: Folsom Municipal Code 17.105.200, adopted by Ordinance 1361 in 2026.

• Style rules. Each style has its own requirements. A Craftsman ADU, for example, needs a roof pitch "between 3/12 and 8/12," exposed rafters or braces under the gables, and front windows "with at least three small panes above one large pane." A Spanish Eclectic ADU needs red tile roofing, stucco walls and one arched window larger than the others.
• Carriage House. This style is only for detached ADUs with garage space, which "may include garage space on the main story not to exceed eight hundred square feet," and single-car garage doors.
• Accessory buildings. Garages and sheds in the district "shall not exceed fifteen feet in height" and may not be taller than the main building, sit 20 feet from the front line, 5 feet from the rear and interior side lines and 10 feet from a street side line, and together may not exceed fifty percent of the main building's floor area.

Demolition Review

Section 17.52.660, rewritten by Ordinance 1353 in 2025, uses the building's age. A building "originally constructed less than fifty years before submittal of a demolition permit application" is exempt. For older buildings, "Review and approval of a historic district demolition application is required."

• Who decides. The commission decides where the building is "an existing or potentially eligible historic resource," using the state environmental law test. The community development director decides the rest.
• What the commission weighs. Whether public health or safety warrants demolition, what accommodations could make preservation feasible, whether the owner will sell to someone who wants to preserve it, and whether a public agency wants to acquire it.
• Records. Before approval, the applicant documents the building with "photographs of all sides of the structure," construction details and any known history.
• Unknown age. If the director cannot tell whether the building is fifty years old, it goes through the full review.

State housing law reacts to the district too. SB 9 two-unit projects and lot splits exclude work on "A contributing structure" in "a historic district listed or designated pursuant to a city or county ordinance," under Government Code 66411.7 and 65852.21. Ask the City which buildings it treats as contributing.

Ordinances of 2025 and 2026

• Ordinance 1349 (2025). Added Section 17.52.510(E)(7) and amended (E)(4), Sutter Street sign standards.
• Ordinance 1353 (2025). Amended "§§ 17.52.130, 17.52.300 through 17.52.390, 17.52.480 and 17.52.660, historic district," the design review, accessory building and demolition sections on this page.
• Ordinance No. 1375 (2026). The July 14, 2026 agenda lists it for introduction and the August 11, 2026 agenda for "Second Reading and Adoption." Its title: "Re-Adopting Ordinance 1353 To Amend Chapter 17.52 of the Folsom Municipal Code for the Historic District Relating to Design Review, Sign Permits, Demolitions, and Accessory Buildings." The staff report explaining why was not read.
• A Sutter Street project. The August 11, 2026 agenda also lists Resolution No. 11677, approving "the Historic District Commission's Recommendation for Approval of a Design Review Application for a Commercial Addition Project Located at 705 Sutter Street."

Where the District Rules Disagree With Other Text

• Second units. Section 17.52.540 says that in Figueroa "consistency with pre1910 design principles is of greater value to the community than provision of a second unit," and that in The Preserve "successful design of a second unit is unlikely." Government Code 66323 requires approval of qualifying ADUs, and Chapter 17.105 follows it. The statute controls.
• Which ADUs get design standards. Section 17.52.500 applies the design standards to ADUs "larger than eight hundred square feet or taller than sixteen feet." Section 17.105.110 applies them to every ADU that is not a 66323 unit. The 2026 chapter is newer.
• Parking pointer. Section 17.57.040 sends readers to Section 17.57.090 for historic district parking, a section on bicycle parking. The ratios are in Sections 17.52.510 to 17.52.540.

Limits of This Page

The City website answered 403, so the district map, the historic district design and development guidelines, the cultural resources inventory, the historic preservation master plan and the staff report on Ordinance No. 1375 were not read. The agenda system posts no Historic District Commission agendas. The code is current through Ordinance 1369, passed April 28, 2026; Ordinance No. 1375 is newer. Ask the Planning Division which text of Chapter 17.52 is in force.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Folsom overview, the California ADU law page and the California SB 9 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)