65300. Each planning agency shall prepare and the legislative body
of each county and city shall adopt a comprehensive, long-term
general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and
of any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency's
judgment bears relation to its planning. Chartered cities shall adopt
general plans which contain the mandatory elements specified in
Section 65302.
65300.2. (a) For the purposes of this article, a "200-year flood
plain" is an area that has a 1 in 200 chance of flooding in any given
year, based on hydrological modeling and other engineering criteria
accepted by the Department of Water Resources.
(b) For the purposes of this article, a "levee protection zone" is
an area that is protected, as determined by the Central Valley Flood
Protection Board or the Department of Water Resources, by a levee
that is part of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, as
defined under Section 5096.805 of the Public Resources Code.
65300.5. In construing the provisions of this article, the
Legislature intends that the general plan and elements and parts
thereof comprise an integrated, internally consistent and compatible
statement of policies for the adopting agency.
65300.7. The Legislature finds that the diversity of the state's
communities and their residents requires planning agencies and
legislative bodies to implement this article in ways that accommodate
local conditions and circumstances, while meeting its minimum
requirements.
65300.9. The Legislature recognizes that the capacity of California
cities and counties to respond to state planning laws varies due to
the legal differences between cities and counties, both charter and
general law, and to differences among them in physical size and
characteristics, population size and density, fiscal and
administrative capabilities, land use and development issues, and
human needs. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
chapter to provide an opportunity for each city and county to
coordinate its local budget planning and local planning for federal
and state program activities, such as community development, with the
local land use planning process, recognizing that each city and
county is required to establish its own appropriate balance in the
context of the local situation when allocating resources to meet
these purposes.
65301. (a) The general plan shall be so prepared that all or
individual elements of it may be adopted by the legislative body, and
so that it may be adopted by the legislative body for all or part of
the territory of the county or city and any other territory outside
its boundaries that in its judgment bears relation to its planning.
The general plan may be adopted in any format deemed appropriate or
convenient by the legislative body, including the combining of
elements. The legislative body may adopt all or part of a plan of
another public agency in satisfaction of all or part of the
requirements of Section 65302 if the plan of the other public agency
is sufficiently detailed and its contents are appropriate, as
determined by the legislative body, for the adopting city or county.
(b) The general plan may be adopted as a single document or as a
group of documents relating to subjects or geographic segments of the
planning area.
(c) The general plan shall address each of the elements specified
in Section 65302 to the extent that the subject of the element exists
in the planning area. The degree of specificity and level of detail
of the discussion of each element shall reflect local conditions and
circumstances. However, this section shall not affect the
requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 65302, nor be construed to
expand or limit the authority of the Department of Housing and
Community Development to review housing elements pursuant to Section
65585 of this code or Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code.
The requirements of this section shall apply to charter cities.
65301.5. The adoption of the general plan or any part or element
thereof or the adoption of any amendment to such plan or any part or
element thereof is a legislative act which shall be reviewable
pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
65302. The general plan shall consist of a statement of development
policies and shall include a diagram or diagrams and text setting
forth objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals. The plan
shall include the following elements:
(a) A land use element that designates the proposed general
distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land
for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture,
natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty,
education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste
disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses
of land. The location and designation of the extent of the uses of
the land for public and private uses shall consider the
identification of land and natural resources pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subdivision (d). The land use element shall include a
statement of the standards of population density and building
intensity recommended for the various districts and other territory
covered by the plan. The land use element shall identify and annually
review those areas covered by the plan that are subject to flooding
identified by flood plain mapping prepared by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources. The
land use element shall also do both of the following:
(1) Designate in a land use category that provides for timber
production those parcels of real property zoned for timberland
production pursuant to the California Timberland Productivity Act of
1982 (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 51100) of Part 1 of
Division 1 of Title 5).
(2) Consider the impact of new growth on military readiness
activities carried out on military bases, installations, and
operating and training areas, when proposing zoning ordinances or
designating land uses covered by the general plan for land, or other
territory adjacent to military facilities, or underlying designated
military aviation routes and airspace.
(A) In determining the impact of new growth on military readiness
activities, information provided by military facilities shall be
considered. Cities and counties shall address military impacts based
on information from the military and other sources.
(B) The following definitions govern this paragraph:
(i) "Military readiness activities" mean all of the following:
(I) Training, support, and operations that prepare the men and
women of the military for combat.
(II) Operation, maintenance, and security of any military
installation.
(III) Testing of military equipment, vehicles, weapons, and
sensors for proper operation or suitability for combat use.
(ii) "Military installation" means a base, camp, post, station,
yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under
the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense as
defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Section 2687 of Title
10 of the United States Code.
(b) (1) A circulation element consisting of the general location
and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares,
transportation routes, terminals, any military airports and ports,
and other local public utilities and facilities, all correlated with
the land use element of the plan.
(2) (A) Commencing January 1, 2011, upon any substantive revision
of the circulation element, the legislative body shall modify the
circulation element to plan for a balanced, multimodal transportation
network that meets the needs of all users of streets, roads, and
highways for safe and convenient travel in a manner that is suitable
to the rural, suburban, or urban context of the general plan.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "users of streets, roads, and
highways" means bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities,
motorists, movers of commercial goods, pedestrians, users of public
transportation, and seniors.
(c) A housing element as provided in Article 10.6 (commencing with
Section 65580).
(d) (1) A conservation element for the conservation, development,
and utilization of natural resources including water and its
hydraulic force, forests, soils, rivers and other waters, harbors,
fisheries, wildlife, minerals, and other natural resources. The
conservation element shall consider the effect of development within
the jurisdiction, as described in the land use element, on natural
resources located on public lands, including military installations.
That portion of the conservation element including waters shall be
developed in coordination with any countywide water agency and with
all district and city agencies, including flood management, water
conservation, or groundwater agencies that have developed, served,
controlled, managed, or conserved water of any type for any purpose
in the county or city for which the plan is prepared. Coordination
shall include the discussion and evaluation of any water supply and
demand information described in Section 65352.5, if that information
has been submitted by the water agency to the city or county.
(2) The conservation element may also cover all of the following:
(A) The reclamation of land and waters.
(B) Prevention and control of the pollution of streams and other
waters.
(C) Regulation of the use of land in stream channels and other
areas required for the accomplishment of the conservation plan.
(D) Prevention, control, and correction of the erosion of soils,
beaches, and shores.
(E) Protection of watersheds.
(F) The location, quantity and quality of the rock, sand and
gravel resources.
(3) Upon the next revision of the housing element on or after
January 1, 2009, the conservation element shall identify rivers,
creeks, streams, flood corridors, riparian habitats, and land that
may accommodate floodwater for purposes of groundwater recharge and
stormwater management.
(e) An open-space element as provided in Article 10.5 (commencing
with Section 65560).
(f) (1) A noise element that shall identify and appraise noise
problems in the community. The noise element shall recognize the
guidelines established by the Office of Noise Control and shall
analyze and quantify, to the extent practicable, as determined by the
legislative body, current and projected noise levels for all of the
following sources:
(A) Highways and freeways.
(B) Primary arterials and major local streets.
(C) Passenger and freight online railroad operations and ground
rapid transit systems.
(D) Commercial, general aviation, heliport, helistop, and military
airport operations, aircraft overflights, jet engine test stands,
and all other ground facilities and maintenance functions related to
airport operation.
(E) Local industrial plants, including, but not limited to,
railroad classification yards.
(F) Other ground stationary noise sources, including, but not
limited to, military installations, identified by local agencies as
contributing to the community noise environment.
(2) Noise contours shall be shown for all of these sources and
stated in terms of community noise equivalent level (CNEL) or
day-night average level (Ldn). The noise contours shall be prepared
on the basis of noise monitoring or following generally accepted
noise modeling techniques for the various sources identified in
paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive.
(3) The noise contours shall be used as a guide for establishing a
pattern of land uses in the land use element that minimizes the
exposure of community residents to excessive noise.
(4) The noise element shall include implementation measures and
possible solutions that address existing and foreseeable noise
problems, if any. The adopted noise element shall serve as a
guideline for compliance with the state's noise insulation standards.
(g) (1) A safety element for the protection of the community from
any unreasonable risks associated with the effects of seismically
induced surface rupture, ground shaking, ground failure, tsunami,
seiche, and dam failure; slope instability leading to mudslides and
landslides; subsidence, liquefaction, and other seismic hazards
identified pursuant to Chapter 7.8 (commencing with Section 2690) of
Division 2 of the Public Resources Code, and other geologic hazards
known to the legislative body; flooding; and wildland and urban
fires. The safety element shall include mapping of known seismic and
other geologic hazards. It shall also address evacuation routes,
military installations, peakload water supply requirements, and
minimum road widths and clearances around structures, as those items
relate to identified fire and geologic hazards.
(2) The safety element, upon the next revision of the housing
element on or after January 1, 2009, shall also do the following:
(A) Identify information regarding flood hazards, including, but
not limited to, the following:
(i) Flood hazard zones. As used in this subdivision, "flood hazard
zone" means an area subject to flooding that is delineated as either
a special hazard area or an area of moderate or minimal hazard on an
official flood insurance rate map issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The identification of a flood hazard zone does not
imply that areas outside the flood hazard zones or uses permitted
within flood hazard zones will be free from flooding or flood damage.
(ii) National Flood Insurance Program maps published by FEMA.
(iii) Information about flood hazards that is available from the
United States Army Corps of Engineers.
(iv) Designated floodway maps that are available from the Central
Valley Flood Protection Board.
(v) Dam failure inundation maps prepared pursuant to Section
8589.5 that are available from the California Emergency Management
Agency.
(vi) Awareness Floodplain Mapping Program maps and 200-year flood
plain maps that are or may be available from, or accepted by, the
Department of Water Resources.
(vii) Maps of levee protection zones.
(viii) Areas subject to inundation in the event of the failure of
project or nonproject levees or floodwalls.
(ix) Historical data on flooding, including locally prepared maps
of areas that are subject to flooding, areas that are vulnerable to
flooding after wildfires, and sites that have been repeatedly damaged
by flooding.
(x) Existing and planned development in flood hazard zones,
including structures, roads, utilities, and essential public
facilities.
(xi) Local, state, and federal agencies with responsibility for
flood protection, including special districts and local offices of
emergency services.
(B) Establish a set of comprehensive goals, policies, and
objectives based on the information identified pursuant to
subparagraph (A), for the protection of the community from the
unreasonable risks of flooding, including, but not limited to:
(i) Avoiding or minimizing the risks of flooding to new
development.
(ii) Evaluating whether new development should be located in flood
hazard zones, and identifying construction methods or other methods
to minimize damage if new development is located in flood hazard
zones.
(iii) Maintaining the structural and operational integrity of
essential public facilities during flooding.
(iv) Locating, when feasible, new essential public facilities
outside of flood hazard zones, including hospitals and health care
facilities, emergency shelters, fire stations, emergency command
centers, and emergency communications facilities or identifying
construction methods or other methods to minimize damage if these
facilities are located in flood hazard zones.
(v) Establishing cooperative working relationships among public
agencies with responsibility for flood protection.
(C) Establish a set of feasible implementation measures designed
to carry out the goals, policies, and objectives established pursuant
to subparagraph (B).
(3) After the initial revision of the safety element pursuant to
paragraph (2), upon each revision of the housing element, the
planning agency shall review and, if necessary, revise the safety
element to identify new information that was not available during the
previous revision of the safety element.
(4) Cities and counties that have flood plain management
ordinances that have been approved by FEMA that substantially comply
with this section, or have substantially equivalent provisions to
this subdivision in their general plans, may use that information in
the safety element to comply with this subdivision, and shall
summarize and incorporate by reference into the safety element the
other general plan provisions or the flood plain ordinance,
specifically showing how each requirement of this subdivision has
been met.
(5) Prior to the periodic review of its general plan and prior to
preparing or revising its safety element, each city and county shall
consult the California Geological Survey of the Department of
Conservation, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, if the city
or county is located within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water
Code, and the California Emergency Management Agency for the purpose
of including information known by and available to the department,
the agency, and the board required by this subdivision.
(6) To the extent that a county's safety element is sufficiently
detailed and contains appropriate policies and programs for adoption
by a city, a city may adopt that portion of the county's safety
element that pertains to the city's planning area in satisfaction of
the requirement imposed by this subdivision.
65302.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The San Joaquin Valley has a serious air pollution problem
that will take the cooperation of land use and transportation
planning agencies, transit operators, the development community, the
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the public to
solve. The solution to the problem requires changes in the way we
have traditionally built our communities and constructed the
transportation systems. It involves a fundamental shift in priorities
from emphasis on mobility for the occupants of private automobiles
to a multimodal system that more efficiently uses scarce resources.
It requires a change in attitude from the public to support
development patterns and transportation systems different from the
status quo.
(2) In 2003 the district published a document entitled, Air
Quality Guidelines for General Plans. This report is a comprehensive
guidance document and resource for cities and counties to use to
include air quality in their general plans. It includes goals,
policies, and programs that when adopted in a general plan will
reduce vehicle trips and miles traveled and improve air quality.
(3) Air quality guidelines are recommended strategies that do,
when it is feasible, all of the following:
(A) Determine and mitigate project level and cumulative air
quality impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code).
(B) Integrate land use plans, transportation plans, and air
quality plans.
(C) Plan land uses in ways that support a multimodal
transportation system.
(D) Local action to support programs that reduce congestion and
vehicle trips.
(E) Plan land uses to minimize exposure to toxic air pollutant
emissions from industrial and other sources.
(F) Reduce particulate matter emissions from sources under local
jurisdiction.
(G) Support district and public utility programs to reduce
emissions from energy consumption and area sources.
(4) The benefits of including air quality concerns within local
general plans include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Lower infrastructure costs.
(B) Lower public service costs.
(C) More efficient transit service.
(D) Lower costs for comprehensive planning.
(E) Streamlining of the permit process.
(F) Improved mobility for the elderly and children.
(b) The legislative body of each city and county within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the district shall amend the appropriate
elements of its general plan, which may include, but are not limited
to, the required elements dealing with land use, circulation,
housing, conservation, and open space, to include data and analysis,
goals, policies, and objectives, and feasible implementation
strategies to improve air quality.
(c) The adoption of air quality amendments to a general plan to
comply with the requirements of subdivision (d) shall include all of
the following:
(1) A report describing local air quality conditions including air
quality monitoring data, emission inventories, lists of significant
source categories, attainment status and designations, and applicable
state and federal air quality plans and transportation plans.
(2) A summary of local, district, state, and federal policies,
programs, and regulations that may improve air quality in the city or
county.
(3) A comprehensive set of goals, policies, and objectives that
may improve air quality consistent with the strategies listed in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(4) A set of feasible implementation measures designed to carry
out those goals, policies, and objectives.
(d) At least 45 days prior to the adoption of air quality
amendments to a general plan pursuant to this section, each city and
county shall send a copy of its draft document to the district. The
district may review the draft amendments to determine whether they
may improve air quality consistent with the strategies listed in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a). Within 30 days of receiving the
draft amendments, the district shall send any comments and advice to
the city or county. The legislative body of the city or county shall
consider the district's comments and advice prior to the final
adoption of air quality amendments to the general plan. If the
district's comments and advice are not available by the time
scheduled for the final adoption of air quality amendments to the
general plan, the legislative body of the city or county may act
without them. The district's comments shall be advisory to the city
or county.
(e) The legislative body of each city and county within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the district shall comply with this
section no later than one year from the date specified in Section
65588 for the next revision of its housing element that occurs after
January 1, 2004.
(f) As used in this section, "district" means the San Joaquin
Valley Air Pollution Control District.
65302.2. Upon the adoption, or revision, of a city or county's
general plan, on or after January 1, 1996, the city or county shall
utilize as a source document any urban water management plan
submitted to the city or county by a water agency.
65302.3. (a) The general plan, and any applicable specific plan
prepared pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 65450), shall
be consistent with the plan adopted or amended pursuant to Section
21675 of the Public Utilities Code.
(b) The general plan, and any applicable specific plan, shall be
amended, as necessary, within 180 days of any amendment to the plan
required under Section 21675 of the Public Utilities Code.
(c) If the legislative body does not concur with any provision of
the plan required under Section 21675 of the Public Utilities Code,
it may satisfy the provisions of this section by adopting findings
pursuant to Section 21676 of the Public Utilities Code.
(d) In each county where an airport land use commission does not
exist, but where there is a military airport, the general plan, and
any applicable specific plan prepared pursuant to Article 8
(commencing with Section 65450), shall be consistent with the safety
and noise standards in the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone
prepared for that military airport.
65302.4. The text and diagrams in the land use element that address
the location and extent of land uses, and the zoning ordinances that
implement these provisions, may also express community intentions
regarding urban form and design. These expressions may differentiate
neighborhoods, districts, and corridors, provide for a mixture of
land uses and housing types within each, and provide specific
measures for regulating relationships between buildings, and between
buildings and outdoor public areas, including streets.
65302.5. (a) At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the
safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California
Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a
draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies
used for developing the safety element. The division may review
drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known
seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its
findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the
draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this
subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the division's
findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment
unless the division's findings are not available within the above
prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the
city or county that the division will not review the safety element.
If the division's findings are not available within those prescribed
time limits, the legislative body may take the division's findings
into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the
safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with
a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may
review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings.
All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning
agency and legislative body.
(1) The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element
of a county or a city's general plan shall be submitted to the State
Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that
provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least
90 days prior to either of the following:
(A) The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general
plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B) The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general
plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard
severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
51177.
(2) A county that contains state responsibility areas and a city
or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as
defined pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51177 shall submit for
review the safety element of its general plan to the State Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides
fire protection to territory in the city or county in accordance with
the following dates, as specified, unless the local government
submitted the element within five years prior to that date:
(A) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the San
Diego Association of Governments: December 31, 2010.
(B) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Southern California Association of Governments: December 31, 2011.
(C) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2012.
(D) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Council of Fresno County Governments, the Kern County Council of
Governments, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments: June 30,
2013.
(E) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2014.
(F) All other local governments: December 31, 2015.
(3) The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a
local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and
report its written recommendations to the planning agency within 60
days of its receipt of the draft or existing safety element. The
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and local agency shall
review the draft or existing safety element and may offer written
recommendations for changes to the draft or existing safety element
regarding both of the following:
(A) Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and
very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life,
property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated
with wildland fires.
(B) Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and
prevention within state responsibility areas and very high hazard
severity zones.
(b) Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment,
the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city
shall consider the recommendations made by the State Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire
protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of
supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of
the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and
Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city
council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry
and Fire Protection or to the local agency, its reasons for not
accepting the recommendations.
(c) If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local
agency's recommendations are not available within the time limits
required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council
may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or
city council shall take the recommendations into consideration at the
next time it considers amendments pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).
65302.6. (a) A city, county, or a city and county may adopt with
its safety element pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 65302 a
local hazard mitigation plan (HMP) specified in the federal Disaster
Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390). The hazard mitigation
plan shall include all of the following elements called for in the
federal act requirements:
(1) An initial earthquake performance evaluation of public
facilities that provide essential services, shelter, and critical
governmental functions.
(2) An inventory of private facilities that are potentially
hazardous, including, but not limited to, multiunit, soft story,
concrete tilt-up, and concrete frame buildings.
(3) A plan to reduce the potential risk from private and
governmental facilities in the event of a disaster.
(b) Local jurisdictions that have not adopted a local hazard
mitigation plan shall be given preference by the California Emergency
Management Agency in recommending actions to be funded from the
Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program,
and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program to assist the local
jurisdiction in developing and adopting a local hazard mitigation
plan, subject to available funding from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
65302.7. (a) For the purposes of complying with Section 65302.5,
each county or city located within the boundaries of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of
the Water Code, shall submit the draft element of, or draft amendment
to, the safety element to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board
and to every local agency that provides flood protection to territory
in the city or county at least 90 days prior to the adoption of, or
amendment to, the safety element of its general plan.
(b) The Central Valley Flood Protection Board and each local
agency described in paragraph (1) shall review the draft or an
existing safety element and report their respective written
recommendations to the planning agency within 60 days of the receipt
of the draft or existing safety element. The Central Valley Flood
Protection Board and each local agency shall review the draft or
existing safety element and may offer written recommendations for
changes to the draft or existing safety element regarding both of the
following:
(1) Uses of land and policies in areas subjected to flooding that
will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable
risks associated with flooding.
(2) Methods and strategies for flood risk reduction and protection
within areas subjected to flooding.
(c) Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendments
to the safety element, the board of supervisors of the county or the
city council of a city shall consider the recommendations made by
the Central Valley Flood Protection Board and any local agency that
provides flood protection to territory in the city or county. If the
board of supervisors or the city council determines not to accept all
or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the Central Valley
Flood Protection Board or the local agency, the board of supervisors
or the city council shall make findings that state its reasons for
not accepting a recommendation and shall communicate those findings
in writing to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board or to the
local agency.
(d) If the Central Valley Flood Protection Board's or the local
agency's recommendations are not available within the time limits
required by this section, the board of supervisors or the city
council may act without those recommendations. The board of
supervisors or city council shall consider the recommendations at the
next time it considers amendments to its safety element.
65302.8. If a county or city, including a charter city, adopts or
amends a mandatory general plan element which operates to limit the
number of housing units which may be constructed on an annual basis,
such adoption or amendment shall contain findings which justify
reducing the housing opportunities of the region. The findings shall
include all of the following:
(a) A description of the city's or county's appropriate share of
the regional need for housing.
(b) A description of the specific housing programs and activities
being undertaken by the local jurisdiction to fulfill the
requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 65302.
(c) A description of how the public health, safety, and welfare
would be promoted by such adoption or amendment.
(d) The fiscal and environmental resources available to the local
jurisdiction.
65302.9. (a) Within 24 months of the adoption of the Central Valley
Flood Protection Plan by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board
pursuant to Section 9612 of the Water Code, each city and county
within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley, shall amend its general
plan to contain all of the following:
(1) The data and analysis contained in the Central Valley Flood
Protection Plan, including, but not limited to, the locations of the
facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, the locations of other
flood management facilities, the locations of the real property
protected by those facilities, and the locations of flood hazard
zones.
(2) Goals, policies, and objectives, based on the data and
analysis identified pursuant to paragraph (1), for the protection of
lives and property that will reduce the risk of flood damage.
(3) Feasible implementation measures designed to carry out the
goals, policies, and objectives established pursuant to paragraph
(2).
(b) To assist each city or county in complying with this section,
the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the Department of Water
Resources, and local flood agencies shall collaborate with cities or
counties by providing them with information and other technical
assistance.
(c) In implementing this section, each city and county, both
general law and charter, within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley,
shall comply with this article, including, but not limited to,
Sections 65300.5, 65300.7, 65300.9, and 65301.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this section
applies to all cities, including charter cities, and counties within
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. The Legislature finds and declares
that flood protection in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
drainage areas is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal
affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the
California Constitution.
65303. The general plan may include any other elements or address
any other subjects which, in the judgment of the legislative body,
relate to the physical development of the county or city.
65303.4. The Department of Water Resources or the Central Valley
Flood Protection Board, as appropriate, and the Department of Fish
and Game may develop site design and planning policies to assist
local agencies which request help in implementing the general plan
guidelines for meeting flood control objectives and other land
management needs.
65300. Each planning agency shall prepare and the legislative body
of each county and city shall adopt a comprehensive, long-term
general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and
of any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency's
judgment bears relation to its planning. Chartered cities shall adopt
general plans which contain the mandatory elements specified in
Section 65302.
65300.2. (a) For the purposes of this article, a "200-year flood
plain" is an area that has a 1 in 200 chance of flooding in any given
year, based on hydrological modeling and other engineering criteria
accepted by the Department of Water Resources.
(b) For the purposes of this article, a "levee protection zone" is
an area that is protected, as determined by the Central Valley Flood
Protection Board or the Department of Water Resources, by a levee
that is part of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, as
defined under Section 5096.805 of the Public Resources Code.
65300.5. In construing the provisions of this article, the
Legislature intends that the general plan and elements and parts
thereof comprise an integrated, internally consistent and compatible
statement of policies for the adopting agency.
65300.7. The Legislature finds that the diversity of the state's
communities and their residents requires planning agencies and
legislative bodies to implement this article in ways that accommodate
local conditions and circumstances, while meeting its minimum
requirements.
65300.9. The Legislature recognizes that the capacity of California
cities and counties to respond to state planning laws varies due to
the legal differences between cities and counties, both charter and
general law, and to differences among them in physical size and
characteristics, population size and density, fiscal and
administrative capabilities, land use and development issues, and
human needs. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
chapter to provide an opportunity for each city and county to
coordinate its local budget planning and local planning for federal
and state program activities, such as community development, with the
local land use planning process, recognizing that each city and
county is required to establish its own appropriate balance in the
context of the local situation when allocating resources to meet
these purposes.
65301. (a) The general plan shall be so prepared that all or
individual elements of it may be adopted by the legislative body, and
so that it may be adopted by the legislative body for all or part of
the territory of the county or city and any other territory outside
its boundaries that in its judgment bears relation to its planning.
The general plan may be adopted in any format deemed appropriate or
convenient by the legislative body, including the combining of
elements. The legislative body may adopt all or part of a plan of
another public agency in satisfaction of all or part of the
requirements of Section 65302 if the plan of the other public agency
is sufficiently detailed and its contents are appropriate, as
determined by the legislative body, for the adopting city or county.
(b) The general plan may be adopted as a single document or as a
group of documents relating to subjects or geographic segments of the
planning area.
(c) The general plan shall address each of the elements specified
in Section 65302 to the extent that the subject of the element exists
in the planning area. The degree of specificity and level of detail
of the discussion of each element shall reflect local conditions and
circumstances. However, this section shall not affect the
requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 65302, nor be construed to
expand or limit the authority of the Department of Housing and
Community Development to review housing elements pursuant to Section
65585 of this code or Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code.
The requirements of this section shall apply to charter cities.
65301.5. The adoption of the general plan or any part or element
thereof or the adoption of any amendment to such plan or any part or
element thereof is a legislative act which shall be reviewable
pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
65302. The general plan shall consist of a statement of development
policies and shall include a diagram or diagrams and text setting
forth objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals. The plan
shall include the following elements:
(a) A land use element that designates the proposed general
distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land
for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture,
natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty,
education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste
disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses
of land. The location and designation of the extent of the uses of
the land for public and private uses shall consider the
identification of land and natural resources pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subdivision (d). The land use element shall include a
statement of the standards of population density and building
intensity recommended for the various districts and other territory
covered by the plan. The land use element shall identify and annually
review those areas covered by the plan that are subject to flooding
identified by flood plain mapping prepared by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources. The
land use element shall also do both of the following:
(1) Designate in a land use category that provides for timber
production those parcels of real property zoned for timberland
production pursuant to the California Timberland Productivity Act of
1982 (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 51100) of Part 1 of
Division 1 of Title 5).
(2) Consider the impact of new growth on military readiness
activities carried out on military bases, installations, and
operating and training areas, when proposing zoning ordinances or
designating land uses covered by the general plan for land, or other
territory adjacent to military facilities, or underlying designated
military aviation routes and airspace.
(A) In determining the impact of new growth on military readiness
activities, information provided by military facilities shall be
considered. Cities and counties shall address military impacts based
on information from the military and other sources.
(B) The following definitions govern this paragraph:
(i) "Military readiness activities" mean all of the following:
(I) Training, support, and operations that prepare the men and
women of the military for combat.
(II) Operation, maintenance, and security of any military
installation.
(III) Testing of military equipment, vehicles, weapons, and
sensors for proper operation or suitability for combat use.
(ii) "Military installation" means a base, camp, post, station,
yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under
the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense as
defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Section 2687 of Title
10 of the United States Code.
(b) (1) A circulation element consisting of the general location
and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares,
transportation routes, terminals, any military airports and ports,
and other local public utilities and facilities, all correlated with
the land use element of the plan.
(2) (A) Commencing January 1, 2011, upon any substantive revision
of the circulation element, the legislative body shall modify the
circulation element to plan for a balanced, multimodal transportation
network that meets the needs of all users of streets, roads, and
highways for safe and convenient travel in a manner that is suitable
to the rural, suburban, or urban context of the general plan.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "users of streets, roads, and
highways" means bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities,
motorists, movers of commercial goods, pedestrians, users of public
transportation, and seniors.
(c) A housing element as provided in Article 10.6 (commencing with
Section 65580).
(d) (1) A conservation element for the conservation, development,
and utilization of natural resources including water and its
hydraulic force, forests, soils, rivers and other waters, harbors,
fisheries, wildlife, minerals, and other natural resources. The
conservation element shall consider the effect of development within
the jurisdiction, as described in the land use element, on natural
resources located on public lands, including military installations.
That portion of the conservation element including waters shall be
developed in coordination with any countywide water agency and with
all district and city agencies, including flood management, water
conservation, or groundwater agencies that have developed, served,
controlled, managed, or conserved water of any type for any purpose
in the county or city for which the plan is prepared. Coordination
shall include the discussion and evaluation of any water supply and
demand information described in Section 65352.5, if that information
has been submitted by the water agency to the city or county.
(2) The conservation element may also cover all of the following:
(A) The reclamation of land and waters.
(B) Prevention and control of the pollution of streams and other
waters.
(C) Regulation of the use of land in stream channels and other
areas required for the accomplishment of the conservation plan.
(D) Prevention, control, and correction of the erosion of soils,
beaches, and shores.
(E) Protection of watersheds.
(F) The location, quantity and quality of the rock, sand and
gravel resources.
(3) Upon the next revision of the housing element on or after
January 1, 2009, the conservation element shall identify rivers,
creeks, streams, flood corridors, riparian habitats, and land that
may accommodate floodwater for purposes of groundwater recharge and
stormwater management.
(e) An open-space element as provided in Article 10.5 (commencing
with Section 65560).
(f) (1) A noise element that shall identify and appraise noise
problems in the community. The noise element shall recognize the
guidelines established by the Office of Noise Control and shall
analyze and quantify, to the extent practicable, as determined by the
legislative body, current and projected noise levels for all of the
following sources:
(A) Highways and freeways.
(B) Primary arterials and major local streets.
(C) Passenger and freight online railroad operations and ground
rapid transit systems.
(D) Commercial, general aviation, heliport, helistop, and military
airport operations, aircraft overflights, jet engine test stands,
and all other ground facilities and maintenance functions related to
airport operation.
(E) Local industrial plants, including, but not limited to,
railroad classification yards.
(F) Other ground stationary noise sources, including, but not
limited to, military installations, identified by local agencies as
contributing to the community noise environment.
(2) Noise contours shall be shown for all of these sources and
stated in terms of community noise equivalent level (CNEL) or
day-night average level (Ldn). The noise contours shall be prepared
on the basis of noise monitoring or following generally accepted
noise modeling techniques for the various sources identified in
paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive.
(3) The noise contours shall be used as a guide for establishing a
pattern of land uses in the land use element that minimizes the
exposure of community residents to excessive noise.
(4) The noise element shall include implementation measures and
possible solutions that address existing and foreseeable noise
problems, if any. The adopted noise element shall serve as a
guideline for compliance with the state's noise insulation standards.
(g) (1) A safety element for the protection of the community from
any unreasonable risks associated with the effects of seismically
induced surface rupture, ground shaking, ground failure, tsunami,
seiche, and dam failure; slope instability leading to mudslides and
landslides; subsidence, liquefaction, and other seismic hazards
identified pursuant to Chapter 7.8 (commencing with Section 2690) of
Division 2 of the Public Resources Code, and other geologic hazards
known to the legislative body; flooding; and wildland and urban
fires. The safety element shall include mapping of known seismic and
other geologic hazards. It shall also address evacuation routes,
military installations, peakload water supply requirements, and
minimum road widths and clearances around structures, as those items
relate to identified fire and geologic hazards.
(2) The safety element, upon the next revision of the housing
element on or after January 1, 2009, shall also do the following:
(A) Identify information regarding flood hazards, including, but
not limited to, the following:
(i) Flood hazard zones. As used in this subdivision, "flood hazard
zone" means an area subject to flooding that is delineated as either
a special hazard area or an area of moderate or minimal hazard on an
official flood insurance rate map issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The identification of a flood hazard zone does not
imply that areas outside the flood hazard zones or uses permitted
within flood hazard zones will be free from flooding or flood damage.
(ii) National Flood Insurance Program maps published by FEMA.
(iii) Information about flood hazards that is available from the
United States Army Corps of Engineers.
(iv) Designated floodway maps that are available from the Central
Valley Flood Protection Board.
(v) Dam failure inundation maps prepared pursuant to Section
8589.5 that are available from the California Emergency Management
Agency.
(vi) Awareness Floodplain Mapping Program maps and 200-year flood
plain maps that are or may be available from, or accepted by, the
Department of Water Resources.
(vii) Maps of levee protection zones.
(viii) Areas subject to inundation in the event of the failure of
project or nonproject levees or floodwalls.
(ix) Historical data on flooding, including locally prepared maps
of areas that are subject to flooding, areas that are vulnerable to
flooding after wildfires, and sites that have been repeatedly damaged
by flooding.
(x) Existing and planned development in flood hazard zones,
including structures, roads, utilities, and essential public
facilities.
(xi) Local, state, and federal agencies with responsibility for
flood protection, including special districts and local offices of
emergency services.
(B) Establish a set of comprehensive goals, policies, and
objectives based on the information identified pursuant to
subparagraph (A), for the protection of the community from the
unreasonable risks of flooding, including, but not limited to:
(i) Avoiding or minimizing the risks of flooding to new
development.
(ii) Evaluating whether new development should be located in flood
hazard zones, and identifying construction methods or other methods
to minimize damage if new development is located in flood hazard
zones.
(iii) Maintaining the structural and operational integrity of
essential public facilities during flooding.
(iv) Locating, when feasible, new essential public facilities
outside of flood hazard zones, including hospitals and health care
facilities, emergency shelters, fire stations, emergency command
centers, and emergency communications facilities or identifying
construction methods or other methods to minimize damage if these
facilities are located in flood hazard zones.
(v) Establishing cooperative working relationships among public
agencies with responsibility for flood protection.
(C) Establish a set of feasible implementation measures designed
to carry out the goals, policies, and objectives established pursuant
to subparagraph (B).
(3) After the initial revision of the safety element pursuant to
paragraph (2), upon each revision of the housing element, the
planning agency shall review and, if necessary, revise the safety
element to identify new information that was not available during the
previous revision of the safety element.
(4) Cities and counties that have flood plain management
ordinances that have been approved by FEMA that substantially comply
with this section, or have substantially equivalent provisions to
this subdivision in their general plans, may use that information in
the safety element to comply with this subdivision, and shall
summarize and incorporate by reference into the safety element the
other general plan provisions or the flood plain ordinance,
specifically showing how each requirement of this subdivision has
been met.
(5) Prior to the periodic review of its general plan and prior to
preparing or revising its safety element, each city and county shall
consult the California Geological Survey of the Department of
Conservation, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, if the city
or county is located within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water
Code, and the California Emergency Management Agency for the purpose
of including information known by and available to the department,
the agency, and the board required by this subdivision.
(6) To the extent that a county's safety element is sufficiently
detailed and contains appropriate policies and programs for adoption
by a city, a city may adopt that portion of the county's safety
element that pertains to the city's planning area in satisfaction of
the requirement imposed by this subdivision.
65302.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The San Joaquin Valley has a serious air pollution problem
that will take the cooperation of land use and transportation
planning agencies, transit operators, the development community, the
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the public to
solve. The solution to the problem requires changes in the way we
have traditionally built our communities and constructed the
transportation systems. It involves a fundamental shift in priorities
from emphasis on mobility for the occupants of private automobiles
to a multimodal system that more efficiently uses scarce resources.
It requires a change in attitude from the public to support
development patterns and transportation systems different from the
status quo.
(2) In 2003 the district published a document entitled, Air
Quality Guidelines for General Plans. This report is a comprehensive
guidance document and resource for cities and counties to use to
include air quality in their general plans. It includes goals,
policies, and programs that when adopted in a general plan will
reduce vehicle trips and miles traveled and improve air quality.
(3) Air quality guidelines are recommended strategies that do,
when it is feasible, all of the following:
(A) Determine and mitigate project level and cumulative air
quality impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code).
(B) Integrate land use plans, transportation plans, and air
quality plans.
(C) Plan land uses in ways that support a multimodal
transportation system.
(D) Local action to support programs that reduce congestion and
vehicle trips.
(E) Plan land uses to minimize exposure to toxic air pollutant
emissions from industrial and other sources.
(F) Reduce particulate matter emissions from sources under local
jurisdiction.
(G) Support district and public utility programs to reduce
emissions from energy consumption and area sources.
(4) The benefits of including air quality concerns within local
general plans include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Lower infrastructure costs.
(B) Lower public service costs.
(C) More efficient transit service.
(D) Lower costs for comprehensive planning.
(E) Streamlining of the permit process.
(F) Improved mobility for the elderly and children.
(b) The legislative body of each city and county within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the district shall amend the appropriate
elements of its general plan, which may include, but are not limited
to, the required elements dealing with land use, circulation,
housing, conservation, and open space, to include data and analysis,
goals, policies, and objectives, and feasible implementation
strategies to improve air quality.
(c) The adoption of air quality amendments to a general plan to
comply with the requirements of subdivision (d) shall include all of
the following:
(1) A report describing local air quality conditions including air
quality monitoring data, emission inventories, lists of significant
source categories, attainment status and designations, and applicable
state and federal air quality plans and transportation plans.
(2) A summary of local, district, state, and federal policies,
programs, and regulations that may improve air quality in the city or
county.
(3) A comprehensive set of goals, policies, and objectives that
may improve air quality consistent with the strategies listed in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(4) A set of feasible implementation measures designed to carry
out those goals, policies, and objectives.
(d) At least 45 days prior to the adoption of air quality
amendments to a general plan pursuant to this section, each city and
county shall send a copy of its draft document to the district. The
district may review the draft amendments to determine whether they
may improve air quality consistent with the strategies listed in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a). Within 30 days of receiving the
draft amendments, the district shall send any comments and advice to
the city or county. The legislative body of the city or county shall
consider the district's comments and advice prior to the final
adoption of air quality amendments to the general plan. If the
district's comments and advice are not available by the time
scheduled for the final adoption of air quality amendments to the
general plan, the legislative body of the city or county may act
without them. The district's comments shall be advisory to the city
or county.
(e) The legislative body of each city and county within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the district shall comply with this
section no later than one year from the date specified in Section
65588 for the next revision of its housing element that occurs after
January 1, 2004.
(f) As used in this section, "district" means the San Joaquin
Valley Air Pollution Control District.
65302.2. Upon the adoption, or revision, of a city or county's
general plan, on or after January 1, 1996, the city or county shall
utilize as a source document any urban water management plan
submitted to the city or county by a water agency.
65302.3. (a) The general plan, and any applicable specific plan
prepared pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 65450), shall
be consistent with the plan adopted or amended pursuant to Section
21675 of the Public Utilities Code.
(b) The general plan, and any applicable specific plan, shall be
amended, as necessary, within 180 days of any amendment to the plan
required under Section 21675 of the Public Utilities Code.
(c) If the legislative body does not concur with any provision of
the plan required under Section 21675 of the Public Utilities Code,
it may satisfy the provisions of this section by adopting findings
pursuant to Section 21676 of the Public Utilities Code.
(d) In each county where an airport land use commission does not
exist, but where there is a military airport, the general plan, and
any applicable specific plan prepared pursuant to Article 8
(commencing with Section 65450), shall be consistent with the safety
and noise standards in the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone
prepared for that military airport.
65302.4. The text and diagrams in the land use element that address
the location and extent of land uses, and the zoning ordinances that
implement these provisions, may also express community intentions
regarding urban form and design. These expressions may differentiate
neighborhoods, districts, and corridors, provide for a mixture of
land uses and housing types within each, and provide specific
measures for regulating relationships between buildings, and between
buildings and outdoor public areas, including streets.
65302.5. (a) At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the
safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California
Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a
draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies
used for developing the safety element. The division may review
drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known
seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its
findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the
draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this
subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the division's
findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment
unless the division's findings are not available within the above
prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the
city or county that the division will not review the safety element.
If the division's findings are not available within those prescribed
time limits, the legislative body may take the division's findings
into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the
safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with
a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may
review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings.
All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning
agency and legislative body.
(1) The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element
of a county or a city's general plan shall be submitted to the State
Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that
provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least
90 days prior to either of the following:
(A) The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general
plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B) The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general
plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard
severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
51177.
(2) A county that contains state responsibility areas and a city
or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as
defined pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51177 shall submit for
review the safety element of its general plan to the State Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides
fire protection to territory in the city or county in accordance with
the following dates, as specified, unless the local government
submitted the element within five years prior to that date:
(A) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the San
Diego Association of Governments: December 31, 2010.
(B) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Southern California Association of Governments: December 31, 2011.
(C) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2012.
(D) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Council of Fresno County Governments, the Kern County Council of
Governments, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments: June 30,
2013.
(E) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2014.
(F) All other local governments: December 31, 2015.
(3) The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a
local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and
report its written recommendations to the planning agency within 60
days of its receipt of the draft or existing safety element. The
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and local agency shall
review the draft or existing safety element and may offer written
recommendations for changes to the draft or existing safety element
regarding both of the following:
(A) Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and
very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life,
property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated
with wildland fires.
(B) Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and
prevention within state responsibility areas and very high hazard
severity zones.
(b) Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment,
the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city
shall consider the recommendations made by the State Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire
protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of
supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of
the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and
Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city
council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry
and Fire Protection or to the local agency, its reasons for not
accepting the recommendations.
(c) If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local
agency's recommendations are not available within the time limits
required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council
may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or
city council shall take the recommendations into consideration at the
next time it considers amendments pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).
65302.6. (a) A city, county, or a city and county may adopt with
its safety element pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 65302 a
local hazard mitigation plan (HMP) specified in the federal Disaster
Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390). The hazard mitigation
plan shall include all of the following elements called for in the
federal act requirements:
(1) An initial earthquake performance evaluation of public
facilities that provide essential services, shelter, and critical
governmental functions.
(2) An inventory of private facilities that are potentially
hazardous, including, but not limited to, multiunit, soft story,
concrete tilt-up, and concrete frame buildings.
(3) A plan to reduce the potential risk from private and
governmental facilities in the event of a disaster.
(b) Local jurisdictions that have not adopted a local hazard
mitigation plan shall be given preference by the California Emergency
Management Agency in recommending actions to be funded from the
Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program,
and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program to assist the local
jurisdiction in developing and adopting a local hazard mitigation
plan, subject to available funding from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
65302.7. (a) For the purposes of complying with Section 65302.5,
each county or city located within the boundaries of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of
the Water Code, shall submit the draft element of, or draft amendment
to, the safety element to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board
and to every local agency that provides flood protection to territory
in the city or county at least 90 days prior to the adoption of, or
amendment to, the safety element of its general plan.
(b) The Central Valley Flood Protection Board and each local
agency described in paragraph (1) shall review the draft or an
existing safety element and report their respective written
recommendations to the planning agency within 60 days of the receipt
of the draft or existing safety element. The Central Valley Flood
Protection Board and each local agency shall review the draft or
existing safety element and may offer written recommendations for
changes to the draft or existing safety element regarding both of the
following:
(1) Uses of land and policies in areas subjected to flooding that
will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable
risks associated with flooding.
(2) Methods and strategies for flood risk reduction and protection
within areas subjected to flooding.
(c) Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendments
to the safety element, the board of supervisors of the county or the
city council of a city shall consider the recommendations made by
the Central Valley Flood Protection Board and any local agency that
provides flood protection to territory in the city or county. If the
board of supervisors or the city council determines not to accept all
or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the Central Valley
Flood Protection Board or the local agency, the board of supervisors
or the city council shall make findings that state its reasons for
not accepting a recommendation and shall communicate those findings
in writing to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board or to the
local agency.
(d) If the Central Valley Flood Protection Board's or the local
agency's recommendations are not available within the time limits
required by this section, the board of supervisors or the city
council may act without those recommendations. The board of
supervisors or city council shall consider the recommendations at the
next time it considers amendments to its safety element.
65302.8. If a county or city, including a charter city, adopts or
amends a mandatory general plan element which operates to limit the
number of housing units which may be constructed on an annual basis,
such adoption or amendment shall contain findings which justify
reducing the housing opportunities of the region. The findings shall
include all of the following:
(a) A description of the city's or county's appropriate share of
the regional need for housing.
(b) A description of the specific housing programs and activities
being undertaken by the local jurisdiction to fulfill the
requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 65302.
(c) A description of how the public health, safety, and welfare
would be promoted by such adoption or amendment.
(d) The fiscal and environmental resources available to the local
jurisdiction.
65302.9. (a) Within 24 months of the adoption of the Central Valley
Flood Protection Plan by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board
pursuant to Section 9612 of the Water Code, each city and county
within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley, shall amend its general
plan to contain all of the following:
(1) The data and analysis contained in the Central Valley Flood
Protection Plan, including, but not limited to, the locations of the
facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, the locations of other
flood management facilities, the locations of the real property
protected by those facilities, and the locations of flood hazard
zones.
(2) Goals, policies, and objectives, based on the data and
analysis identified pursuant to paragraph (1), for the protection of
lives and property that will reduce the risk of flood damage.
(3) Feasible implementation measures designed to carry out the
goals, policies, and objectives established pursuant to paragraph
(2).
(b) To assist each city or county in complying with this section,
the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the Department of Water
Resources, and local flood agencies shall collaborate with cities or
counties by providing them with information and other technical
assistance.
(c) In implementing this section, each city and county, both
general law and charter, within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley,
shall comply with this article, including, but not limited to,
Sections 65300.5, 65300.7, 65300.9, and 65301.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this section
applies to all cities, including charter cities, and counties within
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. The Legislature finds and declares
that flood protection in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
drainage areas is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal
affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the
California Constitution.
65303. The general plan may include any other elements or address
any other subjects which, in the judgment of the legislative body,
relate to the physical development of the county or city.
65303.4. The Department of Water Resources or the Central Valley
Flood Protection Board, as appropriate, and the Department of Fish
and Game may develop site design and planning policies to assist
local agencies which request help in implementing the general plan
guidelines for meeting flood control objectives and other land
management needs.
65300. Each planning agency shall prepare and the legislative body
of each county and city shall adopt a comprehensive, long-term
general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and
of any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency's
judgment bears relation to its planning. Chartered cities shall adopt
general plans which contain the mandatory elements specified in
Section 65302.
65300.2. (a) For the purposes of this article, a "200-year flood
plain" is an area that has a 1 in 200 chance of flooding in any given
year, based on hydrological modeling and other engineering criteria
accepted by the Department of Water Resources.
(b) For the purposes of this article, a "levee protection zone" is
an area that is protected, as determined by the Central Valley Flood
Protection Board or the Department of Water Resources, by a levee
that is part of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, as
defined under Section 5096.805 of the Public Resources Code.
65300.5. In construing the provisions of this article, the
Legislature intends that the general plan and elements and parts
thereof comprise an integrated, internally consistent and compatible
statement of policies for the adopting agency.
65300.7. The Legislature finds that the diversity of the state's
communities and their residents requires planning agencies and
legislative bodies to implement this article in ways that accommodate
local conditions and circumstances, while meeting its minimum
requirements.
65300.9. The Legislature recognizes that the capacity of California
cities and counties to respond to state planning laws varies due to
the legal differences between cities and counties, both charter and
general law, and to differences among them in physical size and
characteristics, population size and density, fiscal and
administrative capabilities, land use and development issues, and
human needs. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
chapter to provide an opportunity for each city and county to
coordinate its local budget planning and local planning for federal
and state program activities, such as community development, with the
local land use planning process, recognizing that each city and
county is required to establish its own appropriate balance in the
context of the local situation when allocating resources to meet
these purposes.
65301. (a) The general plan shall be so prepared that all or
individual elements of it may be adopted by the legislative body, and
so that it may be adopted by the legislative body for all or part of
the territory of the county or city and any other territory outside
its boundaries that in its judgment bears relation to its planning.
The general plan may be adopted in any format deemed appropriate or
convenient by the legislative body, including the combining of
elements. The legislative body may adopt all or part of a plan of
another public agency in satisfaction of all or part of the
requirements of Section 65302 if the plan of the other public agency
is sufficiently detailed and its contents are appropriate, as
determined by the legislative body, for the adopting city or county.
(b) The general plan may be adopted as a single document or as a
group of documents relating to subjects or geographic segments of the
planning area.
(c) The general plan shall address each of the elements specified
in Section 65302 to the extent that the subject of the element exists
in the planning area. The degree of specificity and level of detail
of the discussion of each element shall reflect local conditions and
circumstances. However, this section shall not affect the
requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 65302, nor be construed to
expand or limit the authority of the Department of Housing and
Community Development to review housing elements pursuant to Section
65585 of this code or Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code.
The requirements of this section shall apply to charter cities.
65301.5. The adoption of the general plan or any part or element
thereof or the adoption of any amendment to such plan or any part or
element thereof is a legislative act which shall be reviewable
pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
65302. The general plan shall consist of a statement of development
policies and shall include a diagram or diagrams and text setting
forth objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals. The plan
shall include the following elements:
(a) A land use element that designates the proposed general
distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land
for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture,
natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty,
education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste
disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses
of land. The location and designation of the extent of the uses of
the land for public and private uses shall consider the
identification of land and natural resources pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subdivision (d). The land use element shall include a
statement of the standards of population density and building
intensity recommended for the various districts and other territory
covered by the plan. The land use element shall identify and annually
review those areas covered by the plan that are subject to flooding
identified by flood plain mapping prepared by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources. The
land use element shall also do both of the following:
(1) Designate in a land use category that provides for timber
production those parcels of real property zoned for timberland
production pursuant to the California Timberland Productivity Act of
1982 (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 51100) of Part 1 of
Division 1 of Title 5).
(2) Consider the impact of new growth on military readiness
activities carried out on military bases, installations, and
operating and training areas, when proposing zoning ordinances or
designating land uses covered by the general plan for land, or other
territory adjacent to military facilities, or underlying designated
military aviation routes and airspace.
(A) In determining the impact of new growth on military readiness
activities, information provided by military facilities shall be
considered. Cities and counties shall address military impacts based
on information from the military and other sources.
(B) The following definitions govern this paragraph:
(i) "Military readiness activities" mean all of the following:
(I) Training, support, and operations that prepare the men and
women of the military for combat.
(II) Operation, maintenance, and security of any military
installation.
(III) Testing of military equipment, vehicles, weapons, and
sensors for proper operation or suitability for combat use.
(ii) "Military installation" means a base, camp, post, station,
yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under
the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Defense as
defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Section 2687 of Title
10 of the United States Code.
(b) (1) A circulation element consisting of the general location
and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares,
transportation routes, terminals, any military airports and ports,
and other local public utilities and facilities, all correlated with
the land use element of the plan.
(2) (A) Commencing January 1, 2011, upon any substantive revision
of the circulation element, the legislative body shall modify the
circulation element to plan for a balanced, multimodal transportation
network that meets the needs of all users of streets, roads, and
highways for safe and convenient travel in a manner that is suitable
to the rural, suburban, or urban context of the general plan.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "users of streets, roads, and
highways" means bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities,
motorists, movers of commercial goods, pedestrians, users of public
transportation, and seniors.
(c) A housing element as provided in Article 10.6 (commencing with
Section 65580).
(d) (1) A conservation element for the conservation, development,
and utilization of natural resources including water and its
hydraulic force, forests, soils, rivers and other waters, harbors,
fisheries, wildlife, minerals, and other natural resources. The
conservation element shall consider the effect of development within
the jurisdiction, as described in the land use element, on natural
resources located on public lands, including military installations.
That portion of the conservation element including waters shall be
developed in coordination with any countywide water agency and with
all district and city agencies, including flood management, water
conservation, or groundwater agencies that have developed, served,
controlled, managed, or conserved water of any type for any purpose
in the county or city for which the plan is prepared. Coordination
shall include the discussion and evaluation of any water supply and
demand information described in Section 65352.5, if that information
has been submitted by the water agency to the city or county.
(2) The conservation element may also cover all of the following:
(A) The reclamation of land and waters.
(B) Prevention and control of the pollution of streams and other
waters.
(C) Regulation of the use of land in stream channels and other
areas required for the accomplishment of the conservation plan.
(D) Prevention, control, and correction of the erosion of soils,
beaches, and shores.
(E) Protection of watersheds.
(F) The location, quantity and quality of the rock, sand and
gravel resources.
(3) Upon the next revision of the housing element on or after
January 1, 2009, the conservation element shall identify rivers,
creeks, streams, flood corridors, riparian habitats, and land that
may accommodate floodwater for purposes of groundwater recharge and
stormwater management.
(e) An open-space element as provided in Article 10.5 (commencing
with Section 65560).
(f) (1) A noise element that shall identify and appraise noise
problems in the community. The noise element shall recognize the
guidelines established by the Office of Noise Control and shall
analyze and quantify, to the extent practicable, as determined by the
legislative body, current and projected noise levels for all of the
following sources:
(A) Highways and freeways.
(B) Primary arterials and major local streets.
(C) Passenger and freight online railroad operations and ground
rapid transit systems.
(D) Commercial, general aviation, heliport, helistop, and military
airport operations, aircraft overflights, jet engine test stands,
and all other ground facilities and maintenance functions related to
airport operation.
(E) Local industrial plants, including, but not limited to,
railroad classification yards.
(F) Other ground stationary noise sources, including, but not
limited to, military installations, identified by local agencies as
contributing to the community noise environment.
(2) Noise contours shall be shown for all of these sources and
stated in terms of community noise equivalent level (CNEL) or
day-night average level (Ldn). The noise contours shall be prepared
on the basis of noise monitoring or following generally accepted
noise modeling techniques for the various sources identified in
paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive.
(3) The noise contours shall be used as a guide for establishing a
pattern of land uses in the land use element that minimizes the
exposure of community residents to excessive noise.
(4) The noise element shall include implementation measures and
possible solutions that address existing and foreseeable noise
problems, if any. The adopted noise element shall serve as a
guideline for compliance with the state's noise insulation standards.
(g) (1) A safety element for the protection of the community from
any unreasonable risks associated with the effects of seismically
induced surface rupture, ground shaking, ground failure, tsunami,
seiche, and dam failure; slope instability leading to mudslides and
landslides; subsidence, liquefaction, and other seismic hazards
identified pursuant to Chapter 7.8 (commencing with Section 2690) of
Division 2 of the Public Resources Code, and other geologic hazards
known to the legislative body; flooding; and wildland and urban
fires. The safety element shall include mapping of known seismic and
other geologic hazards. It shall also address evacuation routes,
military installations, peakload water supply requirements, and
minimum road widths and clearances around structures, as those items
relate to identified fire and geologic hazards.
(2) The safety element, upon the next revision of the housing
element on or after January 1, 2009, shall also do the following:
(A) Identify information regarding flood hazards, including, but
not limited to, the following:
(i) Flood hazard zones. As used in this subdivision, "flood hazard
zone" means an area subject to flooding that is delineated as either
a special hazard area or an area of moderate or minimal hazard on an
official flood insurance rate map issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The identification of a flood hazard zone does not
imply that areas outside the flood hazard zones or uses permitted
within flood hazard zones will be free from flooding or flood damage.
(ii) National Flood Insurance Program maps published by FEMA.
(iii) Information about flood hazards that is available from the
United States Army Corps of Engineers.
(iv) Designated floodway maps that are available from the Central
Valley Flood Protection Board.
(v) Dam failure inundation maps prepared pursuant to Section
8589.5 that are available from the California Emergency Management
Agency.
(vi) Awareness Floodplain Mapping Program maps and 200-year flood
plain maps that are or may be available from, or accepted by, the
Department of Water Resources.
(vii) Maps of levee protection zones.
(viii) Areas subject to inundation in the event of the failure of
project or nonproject levees or floodwalls.
(ix) Historical data on flooding, including locally prepared maps
of areas that are subject to flooding, areas that are vulnerable to
flooding after wildfires, and sites that have been repeatedly damaged
by flooding.
(x) Existing and planned development in flood hazard zones,
including structures, roads, utilities, and essential public
facilities.
(xi) Local, state, and federal agencies with responsibility for
flood protection, including special districts and local offices of
emergency services.
(B) Establish a set of comprehensive goals, policies, and
objectives based on the information identified pursuant to
subparagraph (A), for the protection of the community from the
unreasonable risks of flooding, including, but not limited to:
(i) Avoiding or minimizing the risks of flooding to new
development.
(ii) Evaluating whether new development should be located in flood
hazard zones, and identifying construction methods or other methods
to minimize damage if new development is located in flood hazard
zones.
(iii) Maintaining the structural and operational integrity of
essential public facilities during flooding.
(iv) Locating, when feasible, new essential public facilities
outside of flood hazard zones, including hospitals and health care
facilities, emergency shelters, fire stations, emergency command
centers, and emergency communications facilities or identifying
construction methods or other methods to minimize damage if these
facilities are located in flood hazard zones.
(v) Establishing cooperative working relationships among public
agencies with responsibility for flood protection.
(C) Establish a set of feasible implementation measures designed
to carry out the goals, policies, and objectives established pursuant
to subparagraph (B).
(3) After the initial revision of the safety element pursuant to
paragraph (2), upon each revision of the housing element, the
planning agency shall review and, if necessary, revise the safety
element to identify new information that was not available during the
previous revision of the safety element.
(4) Cities and counties that have flood plain management
ordinances that have been approved by FEMA that substantially comply
with this section, or have substantially equivalent provisions to
this subdivision in their general plans, may use that information in
the safety element to comply with this subdivision, and shall
summarize and incorporate by reference into the safety element the
other general plan provisions or the flood plain ordinance,
specifically showing how each requirement of this subdivision has
been met.
(5) Prior to the periodic review of its general plan and prior to
preparing or revising its safety element, each city and county shall
consult the California Geological Survey of the Department of
Conservation, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, if the city
or county is located within the boundaries of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of the Water
Code, and the California Emergency Management Agency for the purpose
of including information known by and available to the department,
the agency, and the board required by this subdivision.
(6) To the extent that a county's safety element is sufficiently
detailed and contains appropriate policies and programs for adoption
by a city, a city may adopt that portion of the county's safety
element that pertains to the city's planning area in satisfaction of
the requirement imposed by this subdivision.
65302.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The San Joaquin Valley has a serious air pollution problem
that will take the cooperation of land use and transportation
planning agencies, transit operators, the development community, the
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the public to
solve. The solution to the problem requires changes in the way we
have traditionally built our communities and constructed the
transportation systems. It involves a fundamental shift in priorities
from emphasis on mobility for the occupants of private automobiles
to a multimodal system that more efficiently uses scarce resources.
It requires a change in attitude from the public to support
development patterns and transportation systems different from the
status quo.
(2) In 2003 the district published a document entitled, Air
Quality Guidelines for General Plans. This report is a comprehensive
guidance document and resource for cities and counties to use to
include air quality in their general plans. It includes goals,
policies, and programs that when adopted in a general plan will
reduce vehicle trips and miles traveled and improve air quality.
(3) Air quality guidelines are recommended strategies that do,
when it is feasible, all of the following:
(A) Determine and mitigate project level and cumulative air
quality impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code).
(B) Integrate land use plans, transportation plans, and air
quality plans.
(C) Plan land uses in ways that support a multimodal
transportation system.
(D) Local action to support programs that reduce congestion and
vehicle trips.
(E) Plan land uses to minimize exposure to toxic air pollutant
emissions from industrial and other sources.
(F) Reduce particulate matter emissions from sources under local
jurisdiction.
(G) Support district and public utility programs to reduce
emissions from energy consumption and area sources.
(4) The benefits of including air quality concerns within local
general plans include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Lower infrastructure costs.
(B) Lower public service costs.
(C) More efficient transit service.
(D) Lower costs for comprehensive planning.
(E) Streamlining of the permit process.
(F) Improved mobility for the elderly and children.
(b) The legislative body of each city and county within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the district shall amend the appropriate
elements of its general plan, which may include, but are not limited
to, the required elements dealing with land use, circulation,
housing, conservation, and open space, to include data and analysis,
goals, policies, and objectives, and feasible implementation
strategies to improve air quality.
(c) The adoption of air quality amendments to a general plan to
comply with the requirements of subdivision (d) shall include all of
the following:
(1) A report describing local air quality conditions including air
quality monitoring data, emission inventories, lists of significant
source categories, attainment status and designations, and applicable
state and federal air quality plans and transportation plans.
(2) A summary of local, district, state, and federal policies,
programs, and regulations that may improve air quality in the city or
county.
(3) A comprehensive set of goals, policies, and objectives that
may improve air quality consistent with the strategies listed in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(4) A set of feasible implementation measures designed to carry
out those goals, policies, and objectives.
(d) At least 45 days prior to the adoption of air quality
amendments to a general plan pursuant to this section, each city and
county shall send a copy of its draft document to the district. The
district may review the draft amendments to determine whether they
may improve air quality consistent with the strategies listed in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a). Within 30 days of receiving the
draft amendments, the district shall send any comments and advice to
the city or county. The legislative body of the city or county shall
consider the district's comments and advice prior to the final
adoption of air quality amendments to the general plan. If the
district's comments and advice are not available by the time
scheduled for the final adoption of air quality amendments to the
general plan, the legislative body of the city or county may act
without them. The district's comments shall be advisory to the city
or county.
(e) The legislative body of each city and county within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the district shall comply with this
section no later than one year from the date specified in Section
65588 for the next revision of its housing element that occurs after
January 1, 2004.
(f) As used in this section, "district" means the San Joaquin
Valley Air Pollution Control District.
65302.2. Upon the adoption, or revision, of a city or county's
general plan, on or after January 1, 1996, the city or county shall
utilize as a source document any urban water management plan
submitted to the city or county by a water agency.
65302.3. (a) The general plan, and any applicable specific plan
prepared pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 65450), shall
be consistent with the plan adopted or amended pursuant to Section
21675 of the Public Utilities Code.
(b) The general plan, and any applicable specific plan, shall be
amended, as necessary, within 180 days of any amendment to the plan
required under Section 21675 of the Public Utilities Code.
(c) If the legislative body does not concur with any provision of
the plan required under Section 21675 of the Public Utilities Code,
it may satisfy the provisions of this section by adopting findings
pursuant to Section 21676 of the Public Utilities Code.
(d) In each county where an airport land use commission does not
exist, but where there is a military airport, the general plan, and
any applicable specific plan prepared pursuant to Article 8
(commencing with Section 65450), shall be consistent with the safety
and noise standards in the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone
prepared for that military airport.
65302.4. The text and diagrams in the land use element that address
the location and extent of land uses, and the zoning ordinances that
implement these provisions, may also express community intentions
regarding urban form and design. These expressions may differentiate
neighborhoods, districts, and corridors, provide for a mixture of
land uses and housing types within each, and provide specific
measures for regulating relationships between buildings, and between
buildings and outdoor public areas, including streets.
65302.5. (a) At least 45 days prior to adoption or amendment of the
safety element, each county and city shall submit to the California
Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation one copy of a
draft of the safety element or amendment and any technical studies
used for developing the safety element. The division may review
drafts submitted to it to determine whether they incorporate known
seismic and other geologic hazard information, and report its
findings to the planning agency within 30 days of receipt of the
draft of the safety element or amendment pursuant to this
subdivision. The legislative body shall consider the division's
findings prior to final adoption of the safety element or amendment
unless the division's findings are not available within the above
prescribed time limits or unless the division has indicated to the
city or county that the division will not review the safety element.
If the division's findings are not available within those prescribed
time limits, the legislative body may take the division's findings
into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the
safety element. Each county and city shall provide the division with
a copy of its adopted safety element or amendments. The division may
review adopted safety elements or amendments and report its findings.
All findings made by the division shall be advisory to the planning
agency and legislative body.
(1) The draft element of or draft amendment to the safety element
of a county or a city's general plan shall be submitted to the State
Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that
provides fire protection to territory in the city or county at least
90 days prior to either of the following:
(A) The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general
plan for each county that contains state responsibility areas.
(B) The adoption or amendment to the safety element of its general
plan for each city or county that contains a very high fire hazard
severity zone as defined pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
51177.
(2) A county that contains state responsibility areas and a city
or county that contains a very high fire hazard severity zone as
defined pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51177 shall submit for
review the safety element of its general plan to the State Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection and to every local agency that provides
fire protection to territory in the city or county in accordance with
the following dates, as specified, unless the local government
submitted the element within five years prior to that date:
(A) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the San
Diego Association of Governments: December 31, 2010.
(B) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Southern California Association of Governments: December 31, 2011.
(C) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2012.
(D) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Council of Fresno County Governments, the Kern County Council of
Governments, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments: June 30,
2013.
(E) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: December 31, 2014.
(F) All other local governments: December 31, 2015.
(3) The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection shall, and a
local agency may, review the draft or an existing safety element and
report its written recommendations to the planning agency within 60
days of its receipt of the draft or existing safety element. The
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and local agency shall
review the draft or existing safety element and may offer written
recommendations for changes to the draft or existing safety element
regarding both of the following:
(A) Uses of land and policies in state responsibility areas and
very high fire hazard severity zones that will protect life,
property, and natural resources from unreasonable risks associated
with wildland fires.
(B) Methods and strategies for wildland fire risk reduction and
prevention within state responsibility areas and very high hazard
severity zones.
(b) Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment,
the board of supervisors of the county or the city council of a city
shall consider the recommendations made by the State Board of
Forestry and Fire Protection and any local agency that provides fire
protection to territory in the city or county. If the board of
supervisors or city council determines not to accept all or some of
the recommendations, if any, made by the State Board of Forestry and
Fire Protection or local agency, the board of supervisors or city
council shall communicate in writing to the State Board of Forestry
and Fire Protection or to the local agency, its reasons for not
accepting the recommendations.
(c) If the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local
agency's recommendations are not available within the time limits
required by this section, the board of supervisors or city council
may act without those recommendations. The board of supervisors or
city council shall take the recommendations into consideration at the
next time it considers amendments pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).
65302.6. (a) A city, county, or a city and county may adopt with
its safety element pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 65302 a
local hazard mitigation plan (HMP) specified in the federal Disaster
Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390). The hazard mitigation
plan shall include all of the following elements called for in the
federal act requirements:
(1) An initial earthquake performance evaluation of public
facilities that provide essential services, shelter, and critical
governmental functions.
(2) An inventory of private facilities that are potentially
hazardous, including, but not limited to, multiunit, soft story,
concrete tilt-up, and concrete frame buildings.
(3) A plan to reduce the potential risk from private and
governmental facilities in the event of a disaster.
(b) Local jurisdictions that have not adopted a local hazard
mitigation plan shall be given preference by the California Emergency
Management Agency in recommending actions to be funded from the
Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program,
and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program to assist the local
jurisdiction in developing and adopting a local hazard mitigation
plan, subject to available funding from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
65302.7. (a) For the purposes of complying with Section 65302.5,
each county or city located within the boundaries of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin Drainage District, as set forth in Section 8501 of
the Water Code, shall submit the draft element of, or draft amendment
to, the safety element to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board
and to every local agency that provides flood protection to territory
in the city or county at least 90 days prior to the adoption of, or
amendment to, the safety element of its general plan.
(b) The Central Valley Flood Protection Board and each local
agency described in paragraph (1) shall review the draft or an
existing safety element and report their respective written
recommendations to the planning agency within 60 days of the receipt
of the draft or existing safety element. The Central Valley Flood
Protection Board and each local agency shall review the draft or
existing safety element and may offer written recommendations for
changes to the draft or existing safety element regarding both of the
following:
(1) Uses of land and policies in areas subjected to flooding that
will protect life, property, and natural resources from unreasonable
risks associated with flooding.
(2) Methods and strategies for flood risk reduction and protection
within areas subjected to flooding.
(c) Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendments
to the safety element, the board of supervisors of the county or the
city council of a city shall consider the recommendations made by
the Central Valley Flood Protection Board and any local agency that
provides flood protection to territory in the city or county. If the
board of supervisors or the city council determines not to accept all
or some of the recommendations, if any, made by the Central Valley
Flood Protection Board or the local agency, the board of supervisors
or the city council shall make findings that state its reasons for
not accepting a recommendation and shall communicate those findings
in writing to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board or to the
local agency.
(d) If the Central Valley Flood Protection Board's or the local
agency's recommendations are not available within the time limits
required by this section, the board of supervisors or the city
council may act without those recommendations. The board of
supervisors or city council shall consider the recommendations at the
next time it considers amendments to its safety element.
65302.8. If a county or city, including a charter city, adopts or
amends a mandatory general plan element which operates to limit the
number of housing units which may be constructed on an annual basis,
such adoption or amendment shall contain findings which justify
reducing the housing opportunities of the region. The findings shall
include all of the following:
(a) A description of the city's or county's appropriate share of
the regional need for housing.
(b) A description of the specific housing programs and activities
being undertaken by the local jurisdiction to fulfill the
requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 65302.
(c) A description of how the public health, safety, and welfare
would be promoted by such adoption or amendment.
(d) The fiscal and environmental resources available to the local
jurisdiction.
65302.9. (a) Within 24 months of the adoption of the Central Valley
Flood Protection Plan by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board
pursuant to Section 9612 of the Water Code, each city and county
within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley, shall amend its general
plan to contain all of the following:
(1) The data and analysis contained in the Central Valley Flood
Protection Plan, including, but not limited to, the locations of the
facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, the locations of other
flood management facilities, the locations of the real property
protected by those facilities, and the locations of flood hazard
zones.
(2) Goals, policies, and objectives, based on the data and
analysis identified pursuant to paragraph (1), for the protection of
lives and property that will reduce the risk of flood damage.
(3) Feasible implementation measures designed to carry out the
goals, policies, and objectives established pursuant to paragraph
(2).
(b) To assist each city or county in complying with this section,
the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the Department of Water
Resources, and local flood agencies shall collaborate with cities or
counties by providing them with information and other technical
assistance.
(c) In implementing this section, each city and county, both
general law and charter, within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley,
shall comply with this article, including, but not limited to,
Sections 65300.5, 65300.7, 65300.9, and 65301.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this section
applies to all cities, including charter cities, and counties within
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. The Legislature finds and declares
that flood protection in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
drainage areas is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal
affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the
California Constitution.
65303. The general plan may include any other elements or address
any other subjects which, in the judgment of the legislative body,
relate to the physical development of the county or city.
65303.4. The Department of Water Resources or the Central Valley
Flood Protection Board, as appropriate, and the Department of Fish
and Game may develop site design and planning policies to assist
local agencies which request help in implementing the general plan
guidelines for meeting flood control objectives and other land
management needs.
