About the General Plan

Sacramento County General Plan
About the General Plan

Background​​​​

The General Plan is a set of goals, objectives, policies, implementation measures and maps that form a blueprint for physical development in the unincorporated County. The plan addresses important community issues such as new growth, housing needs and environmental protection. Its policies are instrumental in planning infrastructure to accommodate future growth. State law requires that all California Counties and Cities adopt General Plans which include seven mandatory elements (chapters): Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise and Safety. Additionally, State law also mandates that if Disadvantaged Communities are present, a jurisdiction must also address Environmental Justice within the General Plan. Sacramento County has met this mandate by adopting an Environmental Justice Element. Sacramento County also has eight additional elements: Air Quality, Public Facilities, Hazardous Materials, Agricultural, Scenic Highways, Economic Development, Delta Protection, and Energy.

About the 2030 General Plan

On November 9, 2011, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors adopted an updated General Plan. The planning horizon of the County’s previous General Plan was 1990 to 2010; the updated General Plan’s planning horizon looks out to 2030. Key changes from the previous version include a new growth management strategy, a stronger focus on addressing existing communities and revitalizing aging commercial corridors, a new Economic Development Element, and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions consistent with state law.​

2030 General Plan Basics

Updated August 2019

Purpose and Requirements

California law requires each city and county to adopt a general plan “for the physical development of the county or city, and any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency’s judgment bears relation to its planning” (Gov. Code § 65300).

The general plan is more than the legal underpinning for land use decisions; it is a vision about how a community will grow, reflecting community priorities and values while shaping the future.

The purpose of a general plan is to guide land use planning decisions. Under State law, subdivisions, capital improvements, development agreements, and many other land use actions must be consistent with the adopted general plan. In counties and general law cities, zoning and specific plans are also required to conform to the general plan. In addition, preparing, adopting, implementing, and maintaining the general plan serves to identify the community’s land use, circulation, environmental, economic, and social goals and policies as they relate to future growth and development.

CONTENTS AND FORMAT

While a general plan contains the community vision for future growth, California law also requires each plan to address the mandated elements listed in Government Code Section 65302. The mandatory elements for all jurisdictions are Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, and Safety. Cities and counties with disadvantaged communities must also address environmental justice in their general plans. Sacramento County has adopted an Environmental Justice Element for addressing the unique and compounded needs of its disadvantaged communities.

In addition to the state-mandated elements, jurisdictions may also adopt other non-mandatory general plan elements. Sacramento County has adopted the following non-mandatory elements: Agricultural, Air Quality, Delta Protection, Economic Development, Energy, Hazardous Materials, Human Services, and Public Facilities.

There are many formats for general plans and they may contain the following components:

Development Policy – a general plan statement that guides action, including goals and objectives, principles, policies, standards, and plan proposals.

Diagram – a graphic expression of a general plan’s development policies, particularly its plan proposals, which must be consistent with the general plan text. (Gov Code § 65300.5).

Goal – a general expression of community values and direction, expressed as ends (not actions).

Objective – a specified end, condition, or state that is a measurable intermediate step toward attaining a goal.

Principle – an assumption, fundamental rule, or doctrine guiding general plan policies, proposals, standards, and implementation measures.

Policy – a specific statement that guides decision-making and helps implement a general plan’s vision.

Standards – a rule or measure establishing a level of quality or quantity that must be complied with or satisfied.

Plan Proposal – describes the development intended to take place in an area. Plan proposals are often expressed on the general plan diagram.

Implementation Measure – an action, procedure, program, or technique that carries out general plan policy.

Sacramento County’s General Plan uses some but not all of the above components and each element may differ from another in terms of overall organization. However, the bulk of the elements follow a hierarchy of Goals, Objectives, Policies and Implementation Measures. Diagrams are also utilized; some of the most referenced are the Land Use Diagram, Transportation Plan and Open Space Vision Map.

2005-2030 GENERAL PLAN UPDATE

General Plans are updated periodically to encompass current standards, community identity, changes in priorities, and most importantly to update a jurisdiction’s blueprint for growth. The “planning horizon” is the term that describes the extent of the forward-look that a general plan takes. The Sacramento County General Plan was last updated in November 2011, a process that started in 2005, and has a planning horizon to 2030.

In the prior 1993 General Plan, planning for growth in Sacramento County was accomplished with the Urban Services Boundary (USB) and the Urban Policy Area (UPA). The USB indicated the ultimate extent of growth in the County and the UPA indicated that area of the County expected to receive urban levels of service within the planning horizon. The concept was that the UPA would be expanded with each General Plan Update to accommodate planned new growth based on an analysis of existing capacity and projected demand. The UPA would be expanded when projected demand exceeded planned capacity and new growth would be steered to areas within the UPA.

The County took a different direction with the 2005-2030 General Plan Update and instead of expanding the UPA in defined and discrete areas based on demand and capacity analysis, created policies to allow expansion of the UPA anywhere within the USB regardless of demand or existing capacity. Instead of the County defining areas of expansion, any applicant could make an application to expand the UPA. The County did not want to pick winners and losers by defining the areas where growth was to occur and desired instead to let the market determine the need and location for growth. However, in response to AB32 and SB375 and facing criticism and threat of lawsuit from the California Attorney General, the County armored the new growth policies with “Smart Growth Criteria” (Policies LU-119 and LU-120) to assist in directing growth in a fashion that was compatible with the State’s focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These policies require that new growth achieve lower vehicle miles travelled by directing development more adjacent to the urban core, with higher densities and better jobs-housing balances. In addition to the Smart Growth Criteria, the General Plan also adopted implementation measures requiring the preparation of a comprehensive Climate Action Plan to inventory and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a County-wide level.

IMPLICATIONS

The result of the new growth policies in the 2030 General Plan has been the emergence of six major master planning efforts focused in the Jackson Highway and Natomas areas of unincorporated Sacramento County. These six master plans include approximately 17,000 acres and 61,500 planned residential units. According to the Sacramento Area Council of Government’s (SACOG) Blueprint Vision, the unincorporated area of Sacramento County was expected to grow by 50,000 housing units by 2030. Updated numbers from SACOG’s 2016 Metropolitan Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy predict a growth of 48,380 housing units by 2036. When considering that the General Plan estimates that there are 1,215 acres of vacant land and 1,927 acres of underutilized land inside the UPA; and that there are 30,000 residential units that can be accommodated within existing planned communities, it is apparent that the growth represented by the six master plans when combined with existing planned capacity, far exceeds the growth needs of the County within the planning horizon of the 2005-2030 General Plan.

In addition, the development slow down due to the Great Recession affected development and infrastructure planning in existing master planned areas such as North Vineyard Station, Florin-Vineyard Gap, Vineyard Springs, East Antelope and Elverta. Although some individual subdivision maps have been approved in these areas, per-unit infrastructure costs have increased due to fewer funding partners and lack of incoming development fees. A situation has emerged where the early-phase developers must front more infrastructure costs and wait longer for reimbursement as other later development phases take longer to build-out.

Another result of the slowdown of development in the existing communities is the County has seen very little new affordable housing built under the 2030 General Plan. Due to the lagging infrastructure and lack of services in the existing communities, it has been difficult for the County to push the need for affordable housing and to site it where already planned because the transit, jobs, and services needed to support it have not yet come to those communities.

The General Plan recognized that loosening of growth control could cause a shift in resources from existing and planned communities. According to the General Plan:

Since both proactive strategies (commercial corridor planning and new growth areas) will require the County to invest significant financial and staff resources to achieve successful implementation, a balance must be achieved so that reinvestment in existing communities is not overshadowed by planning and development activity in new growth areas. The County must ensure that resources are not prematurely shifted away from corridor revitalization efforts and buildout of planned communities to plan for development in the new growth areas.

As understanding of the total infrastructure costs for new-growth master plans are being realized in conjunction with the infrastructure financing lessons learned in the County’s existing, approved growth areas, Master Plan developers may be looking towards interim uses and seeking to add additional funding partners until such time as enough demand exists to make it financially feasible to extend the infrastructure. This combined with a renewed understanding of the need to build affordable housing, the need for infill, and changes in the retail marketplace create a synergy of factors driving the County towards suburban renewal and re-investment in its existing communities. According to the 2030 General Plan Executive Summary…

The Sacramento County 2030 General Plan will guide growth and development within the unincorporated County over the next 20 years. Key strategies of this updated Plan include a focus on economic growth and environmental sustainability, addressing the issues and needs of existing communities, and establishing a new framework for accommodating the growth of new communities based on smart growth principles. The many individual Elements of the General Plan address the wide variety of issues and proactive actions to be taken by the County to enhance and preserve the quality of life for County residents, enhance our economic strengths, and preserve our agricultural heritage.

The above concepts and ideas are addressed through General Plan Policy LU-3 which states the following:

It is the intent of the County to focus investment of public resources on revitalization efforts within existing communities, especially within commercial corridors, while also allowing planning and development to occur within strategic new growth areas.

2030 GENERAL PLAN OVERVIEW

The 2030 Sacramento County General Plan was adopted November 9, 2011. It contains 16 adopted elements, 6 adopted policy plans and 10 background sections. The table below summarizes the 2030 General Plan components.

Components of Sacramento County’s 2030 General Plan

Elements

Elements	Mandatory/Optional	Background Sections
Agricultural	Optional	N/A
Air Quality	Optional	Air Quality
Circulation	Mandatory	N/A
Conservation	Mandatory	Conservation
Economic Development	Optional	N/A
Delta Protection	Optional	N/A
Energy	Optional	Energy
Environmental Justice	Mandatory	EJ Research Document
Hazardous Materials	Optional	Hazardous Materials
Housing	Mandatory	N/A
Human Services	Optional	N/A
Land Use	Mandatory	Land Use
Noise	Mandatory	Noise
Open Space	Mandatory	Open Space
Public Facilities	Optional	Public Facilities
Safety	Mandatory	Safety

Policy Plans

• American River Parkway Plan
• Bicycle Master Plan
• Hazardous Waste Management Plan
• Land Use and Resource Management Plan for the Primary Zone of the Delta
• Pedestrian Master Plan
• Transit Oriented Development Guidelines

The following element by element summary of the 2030 Sacramento County General Plan highlights its organization, objectives, policy and implementation framework that is supportive of infill development, existing communities, smart growth, reduced vehicle miles traveled, economic vitality and the County’s agricultural heritage. The components of the general plan are listed followed by a summary of each element and its major strategies, selected policies and implementation measures.

AGRICULTURAL ELEMENT

The Agricultural Element contains two major sections, one focusing on protection of farmlands and agricultural resources, and the other focusing on strengthening the County’s agricultural economy. It contains 29 policies and 45 implementation measures with major focuses on farmland preservation, buffers, agri-tourism and preventing encroachment.

AIR QUALITY

The Air Quality Element contains one major goal, “Improve air quality to promote the public health, safety, welfare, and environmental quality of the community.” The Element focuses on the integration of air quality into transportation and energy planning, reduction in motor vehicle emissions through reduced vehicle miles traveled and low emission vehicles, and compliance with State and federal standards. The element contains 22 policies and 21 implementation measures.

CIRCULATION

The main theme of the Circulation Element is to provide for mobility through choices. Rather than invest in one or two modes of travel, the intent is to invest in all modes of travel so that the residents of Sacramento County have access to multiple viable and efficient transportation alternatives. This integrated and balanced transportation system requires investment in not only the roadway and transit system, but also substantial investment in bicycling and pedestrian modes of travel. The Circulation Element consists of the Transportation Plan and Transportation Policy Plan.

The Transportation Plan is the diagrammatic representation of the existing and planned transportation facilities in the County. Importantly, California law requires that the transportation network shown on the plan is consistent with the Land Use Element and can be funded within the planning horizon of the General Plan.

The Transportation Policy Plan contains the supporting policies and implementation measures to achieve the Plan’s vision of mobility through choices. There is emphasis on establishing a multi-modal transportation system that not only facilitates travel choice, but also helps to disperse the travel demand among the alternative modes, especially at times of peak demand. By developing a more balanced transportation system, especially through increased public transportation and bicycle and pedestrian opportunities, the plan will improve the mobility of those who cannot own or drive an automobile due to age, illness, income, or disability. This falls into strategic alignment with the Environmental Justice Element.

The Transportation Policy Plan has nine sub-sections, Mobility; Roadways; Transit; Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities; Transportation System Management; Rail Transportation; Air Transportation; Smart Growth Streets; and Scenic Highways. There are 79 policies and 25 implementation measures in the Circulation Element.

CONSERVATION

The Conservation Element addresses the protection and management of specific resources. Topics include, Water Resources, Mineral Resources, Materials Recycling, Soil Resources, Vegetation and Wildlife, and Cultural Resources.

The Vegetation and Wildlife section consist of four main subsections, Habitat Protection and Management, Special Status Species and their Respective Habitats, Aquatic Resources, and Terrestrial Resources.

The goals, policies, and objectives of these sections have been developed to be congruous with the major goal of the Conservation Element itself: the management and protection of natural resources for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations while maintaining the long-term ecological health and balance of the environment.

The Conservation Element contains 175 policies and 140 implementation measures.

DELTA PROTECTION

The Delta Protection Element is based on the (2010) Delta Protection Commission’s Land Use and Resource Management Plan for the Primary Zone of the Delta (DPC Plan), as required by Public Resources Code Section 29725. The policies contained in the Delta Protection Element apply only to the Primary Zone of the Delta within Sacramento County, unless specifically noted otherwise.

Sacramento County adapted the Delta Protection Commission’s Plan to create the Delta Protection Element. The goals are to “protect, maintain, and where possible, enhance and restore the overall quality of the Delta environment, including but not limited to agriculture, wildlife habitat, and recreational activities; assure orderly, balanced conservation and development of Delta land resources and improve flood protection by structural and nonstructural means to ensure an increased level of public health and safety.”

The element is organized into the following sections: Land Use, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Recreation and Access, Water, Levees, and Utilities and Infrastructure. Each section begins with stated goals.

The goals of the Land Use section are:

Protect the unique character and qualities of the Primary Zone by preserving the cultural heritage and strong agricultural/economic base, unique recreational resources, and biological diversity of the Primary Zone. Direct new non- agriculturally oriented non-farmworker residential development within the existing unincorporated towns in Sacramento County (Walnut Grove, Courtland, Hood, Locke, and Ryde).

Encourage a critical mass of farms, agriculturally-related businesses, and supporting infrastructure to support the economic vitality of agriculture within the Delta.

The goals of the Agriculture Section are:

To support long-term viability of commercial agriculture and to discourage inappropriate development of agricultural lands.

Support the continued capability for agricultural operations to diversify and remain flexible to meet changing market demands and crop production technology. Promote the ability for agriculture operations to change the crops or commodities produced to whatever is most economically viable at the time. Support the use of new crop production technologies that keep Delta agricultural operations competitive and economically sustainable.

The priority land use of areas in the Primary Zone shall be oriented toward agriculture and open space. If agriculture is no longer appropriate, land uses that protect other beneficial uses of Delta resources and that would not adversely affect agriculture on surrounding lands or the viability or cost of levee maintenance, may be permitted. If temporarily taken out of agriculture production due to lack of adequate water supply or

water quality, the land shall remain reinstateable to agriculturally-oriented uses for the future.

The goal of the Natural Resources section is:

Preserve and protect the natural resources of the Delta. Promote protection of remnants of riparian habitat and aquatic habitat. Encourage compatibility between agricultural practices and wildlife habitat.

The goal of the Recreation and Access section is:

To promote continued recreational use of the land and waters of the Delta; to promote facilities that support the construction, maintenance and supervision of recreational uses; to protect landowners from unauthorized recreational uses on private lands; and to maximize dwindling public funds for recreation by promoting public-private partnerships and multiple uses of Delta lands.

The goal of the Water section is:

Protect and enhance long-term water quality in the Delta for agriculture, municipal, industrial, water-contact recreation, and fish and wildlife habitat uses, as well as all other beneficial uses.

The goals of the levee section are:

Support the improvement, emergency repair, and long-term maintenance of Delta levees and channels

Promote levee rehabilitation and maintenance to preserve the land areas and channel configurations in the Delta as consistent with the objectives of the Delta Protection Act.

The goal of the Utilities and Infrastructure section is:

Support construction of new utilities and infrastructure facilities appropriate to the Delta which avoid, minimize and mitigate the impacts of such new construction on the integrity of levees, wildlife, recreation, and agriculture.

The Delta Protection Element has 65 policies and no implementation measures.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Economic Development Element recognizes that a healthy local economy is of vital importance to Sacramento County’s ability to provide public services to its citizenry. The goal of the element is to formulate a strategy for Sacramento County as both a local and regional entity while recognizing that the success of local and regional economies are interdependent.

The element has the following focus areas:

• Setting policy to sustain a healthy economy allowing policy makers the ability to fund public services and enhance the quality of life in Sacramento County;

• Serving to integrate Economic Development issues as a component/consideration in evaluating land use, transportation, and other policy issues; and

• Allowing the County to remain competitive in a jurisdictional landscape that focuses both on regional and jurisdictional goals.

The element has the following strategic objectives:

• Create a Balanced Land Use Policy Providing for Adequate Commercial, Office, Industrial, and Residential Land

• Identify New Growth Areas

• Promote and Support Commercial Corridor Redevelopment

• Attract Key Regional Sales Tax Generators

• Promote Agriculture and Agri-Tourism

• Continue Redevelopment of Mather Airfield and McClellan Park

• Support County Airport Systems

• Develop Regional and Local Partnerships and Programs

• Intensify Business Retention, Attraction, Development, and Business Recruitment

• Develop International Trade

• Increase Sports, Tourism, and the Arts in the Region

• Attract Institutions of Higher Education

The element has goals and supporting policies and implementation measures for the following topical areas: a balanced mix of land uses; a regional sales tax strategy; new growth areas; commercial corridor revitalization; agriculture and agricultural tourism; McClellan Park and Mather Airfield; airport systems; regional and local partnerships and programs; business retention, attraction, development and recruitment; international trade strategy; sports, tourism, and the arts; and institutions of higher education.

The element contains 69 policies and 59 implementation measures.

ENERGY

The Energy Element states the following goals of Sacramento County:

• Reverse the historical trend of increasing per capita consumption of energy, and

• Shift toward using a greater share of renewable sources of energy, and

• Shift seasonal and daily peak energy demands to increase the load factor of electrical generating facilities, while

• Maintaining or enhancing the general standard of living, the level of employment, and the quality of the environment.

The element is organized by these four objectives:

• Reduce the per capita consumption of energy (includes transportation)

• Reduce the reliance on non-renewable energy sources with an emphasis on those in shortest supply

• Reduce seasonal and daily peak electrical energy demand, and distribute future growth in electrical energy consumption throughout the day and year, thereby increasing the annual system load factor

• Exercise County leadership.

The Energy Element contains 33 policies and 33 implementation measures.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Environmental Justice (EJ) seeks to minimize and equalize effects of environmental hazards among marginalized and disadvantaged communities regardless of income, ethnicity, or race. The California Government Code (Section 65040.12) defines Environmental Justice as: “The fair treatment and meaningful participation of people of all races, cultures and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

The County has elected to emphasize the importance of EJ by preparing a separate element rather than integrating EJ policies among existing General Plan elements. As provided by State Government Code 65302(h), the EJ element carries the same weight as the mandatory elements of the General Plan and is internally consistent with the other elements. State Government Code 65302(h) requires a city or county to “identify objectives and policies to reduce unique or compounded health risks in disadvantaged communities” within their jurisdiction.

The EJ element objectives and policies must cover the following topical areas:

• Reduce pollution exposure, including improving air quality

• Promote public facilities

• Food access

• Safe and sanitary homes

• Physical activity

• Meaningful participation in the public decision-making process

The Phase 1 Environmental Justice element contains 2 policies and 2 implementation measures. The Phase 2 Environmental Justice Element is estimated to be adopted in December 2019.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

The Hazardous Materials Element is intended to minimize the impact of hazardous materials on human health and the environment. The Element contains five sections including education and outreach, public health and safety, interagency coordination, enforcement, and funding. It contains 15 policies and 46 implementation measures.

HOUSING

The Housing Element is one of the mandatory elements of the General Plan and is required to be updated every eight years with reports provided annually. The Housing Element identifies and analyzes existing and projected housing needs of all income groups and also includes strategies, policies, and implementation programs to meet those identified housing needs. An important component of the Housing Element is the Vacant Land Inventory where the County must show that it has sufficient vacant land to meet the projected housing needs of all income groups.

The County is assigned a Regional Housing Needs Allocation by SACOG and must incorporate a plan, approved by State Housing and Community Development, into the Housing Element to meet the assigned housing needs. In the annual update, the County reports on the number of housing units constructed, especially with reference to lower income households.

With the recent housing legislation of 2017, the County will be required to be even more detailed in this reporting and will have to spend more time examining barriers to the construction of affordable housing.

The Housing Element contains 60 policies and 96 implementation measures.

HUMAN SERVICES

The Human Services Element establishes a framework for considering social and health consequences as part of the land use planning process, with a goal of locating services throughout the County within the communities they serve. The Human Services Element contains 10 policies and 10 implementation measures.

LAND USE

The Land Use Element is composed of three sections: the Land Use Diagram, Land Use Strategies and Policies, and General Plan Administration and Implementation.

LAND USE DIAGRAM

The Land Use Diagram is required by State law and must identify land use designations and permitted intensities. The text of the General Plan describes the various land use designations and densities, as well as provides instructions on the use and interpretation of the Land Use Diagram.

LAND USE STRATEGIES AND POLICIES

The overall goal of the Land Use Strategies and Policies is as follows:

An orderly pattern of land use that concentrates urban development, enhances community character and identity through the creation and maintenance of neighborhoods, is functionally linked with transit, promotes public health, and protects the County’s natural, environmental and agricultural resources.

Within the Land Use Strategies and Policies Section there are four strategies each with their own goals.

STRATEGY I: LOGICAL PROGRESSION OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

GOAL: Direct new growth to previously urbanized areas, planned growth areas and strategically located new growth areas to promote efficient use of land, to reduce urban sprawl and its impacts, to preserve valuable environmental resources, and to protect agricultural and rangeland operations.

STRATEGY II: GROWTH ACCOMMODATION

GOAL: Accommodate projected population and employment growth in areas where the appropriate level of public infrastructure and services are or will be available during the planning period.

STRATEGY III: GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND DESIGN

GOAL: Land use patterns that maximize the benefits of new and existing development while maintaining the quality, character, and identity of neighborhood and community areas.

STRATEGY IV: BUILT ENVIRONMENT PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT

GOAL: Reinvestment in and revitalization of existing communities through comprehensive and coordinated planning strategies and public participation that addresses housing, economic development, commercial development, employment opportunities, public facilities and infrastructure improvements.

GENERAL PLAN ADMINISTRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

The General Plan Administration and Implementation section has the following goal:

Policies and programs of County departments and other governmental agencies and jurisdictions mutually consistent with one another and with the policies contained in this plan.

County Departments can assume lead roles in implementing many General Plan policies; however, much policy implementation remains dependent upon a coordinated planning approach between multiple parties. Key to effectively implementing most of the policies addressed in this plan is coordination and cooperation between various County Departments. Also instrumental to the General Plan’s success is coordination with city governments, joint City and County agencies, the Local Agency Formation Commission, and various independent public service districts.

The Land Use Element contains 128 policies and 105 implementation measures.

NOISE

The Noise Element contains goals to protect citizens from excessive noise exposure, to protect existing noise-producing uses from encroachment by noise-sensitive uses, and to provide information to make informed decisions. Noise sources include traffic, railroads, aircraft, and construction. The noise element contains 16 policies.

OPEN SPACE

The Open Space Element is largely based on the Open Space Vision Diagram, which is an illustrative representation of lands that the County views as supporting its overall conservation vision. The Open Space Vision Diagram identifies priority areas based on a composite of four maps showing agricultural, habitat, flood protection, and recreation components. It contains 15 policies and 14 implementation measures.

PUBLIC FACILITIES

The Public Facilities Element contains nine sections dealing with water and wastewater, solid waste, public schools, libraries, law enforcement, fire protection, energy facilities, and parks. These sections cover financing, building, operating and maintaining the public facilities and services. It contains 131 policies and 61 implementation measures.

SAFETY

The Safety Element focuses on minimizing loss of life and preventing property damage from seismic and geologic hazards, flooding, and fires. The Safety Element also addresses emergency response, as well as incorporates the County’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) by reference achieving compliance with AB2140.

The flood hazards section addresses flood avoidance, interagency coordination, location and design of public facilities and new development, floodplain fill, levee protection, and the requirements of drainage plans. It also incorporates the State’s required Urban Level of Flood Protection (ULOP) standards.

The Safety Element contains 44 policies and 10 implementation measures.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ENGAGEMENT/IMPLEMENTATION

Every year around March, the Board of Supervisors hears the General Plan annual report. The report serves to inform the Board of completed implementation measures and other issues surrounding the General Plan with special attention paid to the implementation of the Housing Element and Environmental Justice Element. In ideal circumstances, the update would also report on implementation measures that have not yet been met, however, with 893 policies and 667 implementation measures in the General Plan, this has proven difficult given the sheer volume and staffing limitations. However, for the 2018 annual report, the completion status of all Land Use Element implementation measures was provided and staff intends to provide a similar status update of other Elements with each subsequent annual report.

The General Plan annual report also summarizes major accomplishments and provides a public venue for stakeholders to comment on suggested implementation priorities for the coming year. Staff’s recommendation is to use the General Plan annual reporting process to set a strategic, near-term vision for implementation of the General Plan.