HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2025-08-26_09f General Plan Update Progress ReportItem 9.f.
MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council
FROM: Brian Pedrotti, Director of Community Development
BY: Andrew Perez, Planning Manager
SUBJECT: General Plan Update Progress Report – August 2025
DATE: August 26, 2025
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file a progress report on the Comprehensive General Plan Update.
IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES:
The financial and personnel impacts associated with this progress report are included in
the budget for the Comprehensive General Plan Update.
BACKGROUND:
Last month’s progress report was provided for the City Council on July 22, 20251. The
report described the status of the supporting documents for the preparation of the Safety
Element and Circulation Element, including the Climate Change Vulnerability
Assessment and Emergency Evacuation Analysis. The report included a discussion about
the suggested modifications to the Circulation Element map as it relates to the areas
designated for Specific Plans. It also described the progress that has been made on the
overall project and confirmed that it remains on schedule with the timeline2 provided to
Council in February 2025.
ANALYSIS OF ISSUES:
Since the last update, significant progress has been made in drafting the individual
elements. The Safety Element, Agriculture and Open Space, and Parks and Recreation
element drafts are nearly complete. Upon their completion in late August, internal review
of these elements by staff, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and the General
Plan Citizen Advisory Group (GPCAG) will begin. The TAC is comprised of department
directors, managers, or their designees, and the GPCAG is a seven-member group
comprised of residents from a wide range of professional backgrounds. Both the TAC and
1 https://pub-arroyogrande.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=15396
2 https://pub-arroyogrande.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=13849
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Item 9.f.
City Council
General Plan Update Progress Report – August 2025
August 26, 2025
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GPCAG have been involved in the process since Phase 4 of the project, which was the
adoption of a vision statement and guiding principles for the project, and are tasked with
reviewing administrative drafts of deliverables.
Public Outreach
Outreach events to obtain community input for the Economic Development and
Environmental Justice elements are planned for August and early September. On August
26, 2025, a small business workshop will be held to better understand existing conditions
from the perspective of local small businesses, identify any pressing barriers to their
continued operation in the city, discuss potential opportunities for growth, and define
specific policies or programs that the City could implement to foster small business
development. Targeted outreach was conducted for this workshop since the intended
audience is owners and operators of small businesses, as well as property managers. As
a result, citywide announcements via the City’s website and social media were not made.
The feedback obtained from this workshop will inform policies and programs in the
Economic Development Element.
City staff will also be present at a minimum of two community events to gain feedback to
inform the Environmental Justice Element and the healthy community component of the
General Plan. State law only requires jurisdictions with disadvantaged communities to
include an Environmental Justice Element in their General Plan. The purpose of the
element is to address the “unique or compounded health risks” in communities by
decreasing pollution exposure, increasing community assets, and improving overall
health with policies and programs in their General Plan. A disadvantaged community is
defined by the State as “an area that is a low-income area that is disproportionately
affected by environmental pollution and other hazards that can lead to negative health
effects, exposure, or environmental degradation.” The City does not have any areas that
meet this definition; however, the Council identified this as a critical community-wide topic
and directed staff to prepare an Environmental Justice element. The outreach will seek
to identify which resources that lead to a healthy lifestyle are widely available and which
may be lacking, with a focus on equitable outcomes, including such resources as access
to healthy food, safe multimodal transportation options, services for youth and seniors,
community spaces, and accessible parks. Feedback obtained through the outreach
process will guide staff in policy development for this element.
Schedule and Timeline Progress
As stated above, staff review of the draft elements is anticipated to begin in August. A
public hearing with the Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled for December 3,
2025. The Council’s review will occur in January 2026; however, that timing is dependent
on the direction from the Planning Commission. A short-term project schedule that shows
tasks through the end of the calendar year is provided as Attachment 1. The overall
project remains on schedule with the timeline3 provided to the City Council as an
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Item 9.f.
City Council
General Plan Update Progress Report – August 2025
August 26, 2025
Page 3
attachment to the February 2025 progress report. As shown in the simplified schedule
table below, the project is on schedule, with Phase 6: General Plan, Phase 10: Economic
Development Tools, and Phase 11: Climate Action Plan Update currently in process.
Phases 1 through 5 have been completed.
Phase Status Completion Expected
1: Project Initiation Complete N/A
2: Public Outreach Strategy Complete N/A
3: Gather and Analyze Data Complete N/A
4: Visioning and Guiding Principles Complete N/A
5: Land Use Scenarios Complete N/A
6: General Plan In Process December 2025
7: Program EIR Not started August 2026
8: Public Review and Adoption Not started November 2026
9: Comprehensive Dev Code Not started March 2027
10:Economic Development Tasks In Process – draft analysis November 2025
11:Climate Action Plan Update In Process – draft analysis January 2027
ALTERNATIVES:
The following alternatives are provided for the Council’s consideration:
1. Receive and file this progress report on the Comprehensive General Plan Update;
or
2. Provide other direction to staff.
ADVANTAGES:
Regular updates to the City Council will inform decision -makers and the community on
the status of the project.
DISADVANTAGES:
None identified.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
No environmental review is required to receive and file this progress report on the Gen eral
Plan Update because it has no potential to result in either a direct, or reasonably
foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment. (State CEQA Guidelines, Cal.
Code Regs., tit. 14, §§ 15060, subd. (c)(2)-(3), 15378.).
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS:
The Agenda was posted at City Hall and on the City’s website in accordance with
Government Code Section 54954.2.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Short-term Project Schedule
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ATTACHMENT 1
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