Placer County job growth also expected

By Mike Fitch, Journal Staff WriterPlacer County?s population will almost double by 2025, but job growth should more than keep pace.That?s the latest word from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments or SACOG, which said in a report published this month that it expects South Placer to be the hub for population growth throughout the entire Sacramento region.The report predicts that Placer County will have 415,335 residents in the year 2025, 90 percent more than the 218,034 it had on Jan. 1, 1999. Auburn?s population is projected at 17,350 people, up 48 percent.By comparison, SACOG expects the Sacramento region?s population to increase 54 percent during the same period. If it?s right, the six-county region will have to accommodate approximately 1 million more people over the next 25 years.The report?s population projections aren?t a surprise to local officials, because Placer has long been one of the fastest growing of California?s 58 counties, and no one expects the pace to slow down much anytime soon.For example, population figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau recently show that Placer was the second fastest-growing county in California over the last decade behind only San Benito County. The census data shows Placer had 248,399 residents last year, 43.8 percent more than it had a decade earlier.SACOG?s population estimates for Placer County don?t include people who live in the Lake Tahoe Basin, because it?s not considered part of the Sacramento region.The SACOG report is welcome news to county officials because it expects Placer?s housing supply and job base to grow faster than its population through 2025. If the organization?s projections are accurate, the housing supply will increase by 97 percent and jobs by 128 percent during the 25-year period.Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Santucci said Wednesday he welcomes the news that job growth likely will outpace population increases.?I think that gives us a great balance,? he said. ?This puts the jobs right in your background.?He emphasized that providing local jobs for county residents helps keep traffic congestion and air pollution under control.County officials also want to maintain a strong job base so that Placer doesn?t increasingly become a bedroom community for Sacramento.The report says that South Placer, West Sacramento, Downtown Sacramento and Rancho Cordova will be responsible for 44 percent of the region?s job growth over the 25-year period. The report also is an eye-opener because it predicts South Placer will be the major hub for population growth in the entire Sacramento region.?The population center of the region will be pulled further northward and eastward, with tremendous growth in South Placer and the Sunrise-Douglas area,? the report says. ?It would move much further in that direction were it not for some balance achieved by growth in Yolo County, Elk Grove and North Natomas.?During the 25-year period, SACOG expects Lincoln?s population to increase by more than 500 percent, from 8,825 in 1999 to 57,875 in 2025. Rocklin would wind up with 70,490 residents, a 121 percent jump, and Roseville would have 109,160 residents, up 51 percent.The report predicts Colfax?s population will jump 87 percent to 2,820 and Loomis will grow 71 percent to 10,360 people.Unincorporated areas of the county would end up with 147,280 people, a 71 percent increase.SACOG began collecting data for the report in 1999, using such sources as zoning changes, general plan updates, residential densities, infrastructure and city limit boundaries for communities throughout the six-county region.