About the 2050 General Plan Update
Every city, town, and county in California must have a general plan, which is the local government’s long-term framework for future growth and development. The general plan represents the community’s aspiration for its future growth and development. The general plan contains the goals and polices upon which the City Council and Planning Commission will base their land use decisions. California State law requires that each town, city, or county must adopt a general plan for the physical development of the jurisdiction and any land outside its boundaries that bears relation to its planning. Typically, a general plan is designed to address the issues facing the City for the next 20 years.
A general plan is made up of a collection of “elements,” or topic categories. There are currently seven mandatory elements: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise, and safety. Jurisdictions may also be required to adopt environmental justice and air quality policies, depending on existing conditions. Additionally, communities may include other elements that address issues of local concern, such as economic development, community character, or urban design. Communities can also organize their general plan any way they choose, as long as they address each of the required topical categories.
The General Plan and its various elements are required to function as an integrated, internally consistent, and compatible statement of policies. The General Plan serves as a foundation for making land-use decisions based on goals and policies related to land use, transportation, population growth and distribution, development, open space, resource preservation and utilization, air and water quality, noise impacts, public safety, infrastructure and other related physical, social and economic factors. In addition to serving as a basis for local decision making, the General Plan establishes a clear set of development guidelines for citizens, developers, neighboring jurisdictions and agencies, and provides the community with an opportunity to participate in the planning process.
The City initiated the 2050 General Plan in November 2025. The multi-faceted project includes updates to the City’s General Plan, Housing Element, and Development Code. The Project is estimated for completion in December 2028.
General Plans have three defining features:
General
A general plan provides general policy guidance that will be relied on to guide future land use and resource decisions.
Comprehensive
A general plan is comprehensive in nature, covering a range of topics, such as land use, housing, economic development, infrastructure, public safety, recreation, natural resources, and much more.
Long-range
A general plan provides guidance on reaching a future envisioned 20 or more years in the future. To achieve the vision, a comprehensive plan includes goals, policies, and actions that address both immediate and long-term needs.
Existing General Plan Elements
How is a general plan different from a development or zoning code?
Although both a general plan and a development code (also known as a zoning code) designate how land may be developed, they do so in different ways. A general plan has a broad, long-term outlook that identifies the types of development that will be allowed, the spatial relationships among land uses, and the general pattern of future development. Whereas a development code regulates development through specific standards such as lot size, building setbacks, height, and allowable uses. While the land uses shown on the general plan diagram are typically similar to the zoning map, upon adoption of the updated General Plan, the City must amend the Development Code to ensure consistency with the adopted 2050 General Plan.
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Get involved!
For the 2050 General Plan to be a success, we need your input! We’ve done our best to make it easy for you. Here’s all you have to do:
- Sign up for the Project email list: Click the orange “Join Email List” button on the right side of this page.
- We’ll send links to published documents and a deadline for public comments.
- Use the green “Comments” button on the Project website to send us your input!