About the E-Plan

A General Plan is a city policy document required by California state law (Government Code §65300-65303.4) that provides a “long term, comprehensive, integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement” of goals and policies that reflect local conditions and the community vision. Within this broad requirement, some aspects of the General Plan are tightly prescribed, while others are left to the discretion of individual cities or counties. State law requires that a General Plan address eight mandatory subject areas, or “elements” including, land use, circulation, housing, open space, conservation, noise, safety, and environmental justice. The elements may be combined in any way a jurisdiction deems appropriate and additional topics, such as arts and culture, may be added to help guide a city into the future.