GENERAL PLANWhat is the City of Carlsbad's General Plan?California State law (Government Code Section 63500) requires each city and county to prepare and adopt " ...a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and any land outside its boundaries which ...bears relation to its planning." The role of the community's general plan is to act as the policy "blue print", constitution, and vision for all of the land use actions of the city. It is fundamentally a policy document that articulates the goals, strategies, and, in some areas, regulations regarding the distribution of land and its type and intensity of use, both public and private. It is not so much a picture of what Carlsbad is, but, rather, the collective vision of what Carlsbad should become. Under state law the document must address seven elements or major topics, with the option for the local agency to add to that list. The Carlsbad General Plan contains the following elements (laid out as chapters of the document):
* Optional Under State Law Each element contains: maps and figures, policy statements, over-arching goals, more specific objectives, implementing programs, and, in some instances, development standards (for example, the number of allowed dwelling units per acre of land). The Carlsbad General Plan last underwent a comprehensive update in 1994. However, it is not intended that, once adopted, a general plan is static. Both by state statute and case law it is intended that a general plan is a dynamic document that may be reviewed and changed when it is in the interests of the jurisdiction to do so. Pursuant to state law, each element can be amended up to four times per year, and, in practice the Carlsbad General Plan undergoes minor amendments each year. Proposed general plan amendments are reviewed by the Planning Commission and approved by the City Council through formal public hearing processes. Because of the importance of housing policies in California, any proposal to amend a jurisdiction's Housing Element must also be formally reviewed by the California Department of Housing and Community Development for consistency with state housing laws. The general plan governs most land use approvals and development within the city. For example, the city must make a formal finding that each of the following is consistent with the general plan before it is approved: zoning, subdivision maps, building and housing regulations, master plans and specific plans, capital improvements, conditional use permits, and open space and parks dedications. In practice, many other agencies and private parties use our general plan as the base for developing their own long-range plans for things like schools, wastewater treatment facilities, power plants, telephone systems, and interregional transportation systems. Our general plan has been developed in close cooperation with (among others) San Diego County with regard to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for McClellan-Palomar Airport and regional solid waste disposal facilities, and with the San Diego Association of Governments with regard to a range of planning initiatives affecting open space, transportation, housing, and other matters of regional consequence. For more detailed information, please see the "Guidebook to the Carlsbad General Plan" at the link to the right. Other links will take you to a copy of the Land Use Map, an extract from the Land Use Element that describes the classes of land use, as well as information about the City's growth management plan. |
General Information For more information Planning Department General Plan
Land Use Map
* This is a large document and may take several minutes to download. General Plan Elements
* This is a large document and may take several minutes to download. If you would like a FREE subscription to receive e-mail notifications of future General Plan Elements updates. Click here. |
