General Plan Reference Materials

There is a wealth of information on General Plans and the planning and zoning law in California. The following lists some of the most useful resources available on the web.

California Planning and Zoning Law – The basic statute governing planning and zoning law appears in the Government Code beginning with section 65300 and running through section 66103. This, and all other portions of the California Codes can be accessed here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html

General Plan Guidelines – The Office of Planning and Research has prepared detailed guidelines regarding each element of the General Plan and major court cases regarding the legal adequacy of General Plans. These Guidelines and other useful planning reports are available here: http://www.opr.ca.gov/index.php?a=planning/gpg.html

Attorney General Guidance – The California Attorney General’s office has useful background information and model general plan policies on its website at: http://ag.ca.gov/globalwarming/ceqa/resources.php

Specific Plans – A specific plan is similar to a General Plan but is focused on a particular area with unique resources or apparent suitability for focused treatment in a separate planning document. For more information on specific plans see: http://ceres.ca.gov/planning/specific/

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) – Adoption and amendment of General Plans is subject to CEQA. This site contains the statute, CEQA Guidelines, and links to all reported court decisions concerning CEQA: http://www.ceres.ca.gov/ceqa/

Annexations – General Plans may address possible expansions of city boundaries or changes to the boundaries of sewer, water, or other service districts. These boundary changes or annexations are governed by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). For more information on LAFCOs see: http://ceres.ca.gov/planning/lafco/lafco.htm

Planning Commissions – Most cities and counties have a Planning Commission to advise the City Council or Board of Supervisors on planning issues. All General Plans and plan amendments must be considered by the Planning Commission. For an overview of the responsibilities of the Planning Commission see: http://ceres.ca.gov/planning/plan_comm/ and http://www.ca-ilg.org/pch

Planning Guides – The Institute for Local Government has prepared a number of publications on planning written for an audience of elected officials, Planning Commissioners, and agency staff. These are useful for members of the public as well and can be valuable tools for activists wishing to help elected officials get up to speed on planning in California. Links to download the publications are here:
http://www.ca-ilg.org/landusepubs

Court Cases – Many of the guides mentioned above refer to court cases regarding General Plans. Google Scholar is a great free tool for finding court cases from California (and other states as well): http://scholar.google.com/

Prepared by: Richard Taylor, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP, rtaylor@smwlaw.com