General Plan Update - Draft General Plan

The latest version of the Draft General Plan documents, including the Draft Plan, Land Use Map, Implementation Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report is available under the October 20, 2010 Board of Supervisors Hearing Page.

 

Previous editions of Draft General Plan Document

Compiled Draft General Plan (March 2010) (52 mb)

Compiled Draft General Plan (July 2009) (63 mb)

Compiled Draft General Plan (November 2008) (56 mb)

Comments on the Draft General Plan

DPLU has prepared responses to the comments received on the Draft General Plan that was released in November 2008, these responses are available below, in alphabetical order by group, comments on the Draft General Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report that was released on July 1, 2009 are available under Environmental Review.

Additionally the original comments, without responses, and are still available in the following two forms, a List of Persons, Organizations and Public Agencies that commented on the General Plan with imbedded links to each comment (pdf), or that same list with all comments following in one document (44 mb). Both versions are below:

Overview

General Plans are the supreme document, the “constitutions,” that guide the future development of the communities they represent. They provide a vision of the community’s future. They set the philosophy and policies that decide, in general, what gets built where ---- how communities will accommodate growth while preserving character and protecting what the community values.

The importance of the County’s General Plan within our region cannot be understated. While the unincorporated county houses just 15 percent of the region’s population, its size is immense. Its 800,000 acres of privately-owned land is more than three times the size of the City of San Diego, and nearly twice the combined size of the region’s 18 cities. It is home to a significant agricultural economy and contains open space that is critical to countless rare species and provides valuable recreational space for everyone.

This update is the first comprehensive overhaul of the County’s General Plan in 30 years. It is guided by the County’s three strategic initiatives: to improve opportunities for our children; to protect the environment; and to promote safe and livable communities.

The General Plan Update would improve the current plan by balancing the need to accommodate growth with the needs to control traffic congestion, protect environmental habitat, and ease the strain on essential services such as water supplies and fire protection. That will be accomplished in part by shifting 20 percent of future growth to western unincorporated communities with established infrastructure such as roads.

The General Plan Update would reduce the growth that the current general plan would allow by 15 percent. But it would still allow 168,000 to 198,000 more people to live in the unincorporated communities that now house roughly 491,800 people.

The update contains numerous goals and policies aimed at respecting community character, climate change, infrastructure planning and environmental preservation.

The General Plan Update’s chapters are set around the seven elements required by State law. They set the foundation to create innovative Land Use policy; increase Mobility for drivers, riders, bicyclists and others; provide Housing choices that would benefit all residents; manage natural resources through Conservation and by preserving Open Space; provide protection from wildfires and other natural hazards to ensure public Safety; and protect communities from intrusive Noise.

This General Plan was developed with broad public input ---- from builders, business owners, environmentalists, farmers, homeowners, landowners and renters ---- in a process that seeks to balance competing interests and reach consensus.