General Plan Update

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY GENERAL PLAN UPDATE

The General Plan is a policy document that guides all aspects of land use within the County. The current San Bernardino County General Plan is the product of a comprehensive update completed in June of 1989, that was a major overhaul of the previous General Plan. The 1989 General Plan established land use policies for a 20-year planning horizon. In addition to being available on-line, copies of the General Plan text are available at County libraries throughout the County, as well as Land Use Services Department offices, as listed on this web page. Copies of the General Plan Environmental Impact Report are not available on-line, but can be purchased at the Land Use Services Department office in San Bernardino.

Recognizing a need to update the 1989 General Plan, the Board of Supervisors has approved a General Plan Update (GPU) process that consists of two phases, the first of which was completed in 2002. During Phase I of the GPU, the Hogle-Ireland consultant team conducted a strategic analysis of the 1989 General Plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The results of the Phase I consultant’s analysis can be found in their report, Evaluation for County of San Bernardino General Plan/EIR.

The comprehensive recommendations contained in the Executive Summary (July 1, 2002) to this Report serve as the basis for the scope of work to be accomplished in Phase II of the General Plan Update.

PHASE II

The actual General Plan Update, Phase II, is anticipated to be a three-year process which began in mid-2003. The Board of Supervisors has selected a consulting team to complete the work. They have also appointed a 15-member General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) which is made up of representatives from across the County. They will meet approximately once a month throughout the update process. The committee’s responsibilities include:

Monitor the quality and effectiveness of the public outreach program;
Provide feedback to the consulting team and County staff on recommended General Plan goals, objectives, policies and implementation programs;
Provide continuing assessment of County expectations, traditions and values;

The first major step in the General Plan Update was the adoption of a Vision Statement by the Board of Supervisors in June 2004.

Since that time, County staff and the consultant team has prepared Background Reports, Draft Community Plans, Draft Goals and Policies, all of which can be viewed through other links. Staff will release the Notice of Preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in early October 2005. It is anticipated that the Draft EIR will be release at the end of 2005.

Public hearings on the General Plan Update should begin in late Spring 2006, with an anticipated adoption in the Summer 2006.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding the current General Plan or the update process, please contact County staff at (909) 387-4147.

Most of the General Planning Publications listed at this link are available in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat PDF formats. The PDF format facilitates the viewing and printing of documents in a form closely resembling the original printed version. Viewing PDF documents requires Acrobat Reader, available as a free download from Adobe Systems.

One of the documents included at this web site is the State of California General Plan Guidelines, dated November 1998. This is a guide for local planners in preparing general plans and also for other local government officials and community members who may have less familiarity with planning theory, practice and land use law. This advisory guide is the state's only official document interpreting and explaining California's legal requirements for general plans. The Guidelines present a foundation upon which planning agencies can prepare their general plans to meet state legal requirements.