What is the Fullerton General Plan?

A General Plan identifies the community’s priorities and their vision for the future of their City. The City’s current General Plan was prepared in 1996 and, since that time, Fullerton has experienced many changes in and around the City. A new General Plan will provide a “blueprint” for growth and development in Fullerton and will include long-range goals, policies, and maps addressing important community topics ranging from the natural environment to public health and safety, and from transportation to public participation.

The General Plan Update will incorporate nine elements that focus on specific topics.

• Introduction. This chapter is an introduction to the Fullerton General Plan and will discuss what’s in the General Plan document, including legislative requirements and overall strategies and assumptions.
• Vision Element. This chapter describes the overall goals and visions for the future of Fullerton emerging out of the community workshops, open houses, and other means of community input.
• Land Use Element. The Land Use Element describes Fullerton’s built environment. The chapter will include policies and maps identifying land use designations and population estimates.
• Circulation Element. This element of the General Plan focuses on traffic and circulation, including roadways, transit routes, and alternative modes of transportation.
• Resource Management Element. This Element focuses on water, air, biological, land, energy, mineral, and historic and scenic resources in Fullerton.
• Community Health and Safety Element. Included in this element are polices to protect the community from natural and manmade disasters, such as, floods, drainage, noise, hazardous materials, fire, and crime.
• Community Services Element. This element describes future need for services, including water, sewer, drainage, solid waste facilities, and public facilities and buildings.
• Regional Coordination Element. The Regional Coordination Element addresses regional issues and coordination efforts with local, county, and regional bodies.
• Implementation and Public Participation Element. This element describes how to implement the proposed policies of the General Plan. It also includes public participation methods for making planning decisions.

General Plan Update Process

The General Plan Update process is divided into eight steps:

• STEP 1: Initiation of the General Plan Update Program will set the organizational foundation for the update planning process;
  
• Step 2: Citizen Participation Program will include community workshops and charrettes, discussion groups, and recommendations from the General Plan Advisory Committee in order to gain feedback from residents, business owners, community members, and other stakeholders throughout the General Plan process. Click here for more information;
  
• Step 3: Data Collection for the General Plan Update and Program EIR will serve to compile information and studies of the existing conditions in the City;
  
• Step 4: Land Use Alternatives will analyze various land use alternatives for the City of Fullerton. Data and information during this Step will be presented to the community during the Alternative Futures Land Use Charrettes;
  
• Step 5: Revise the Fullerton General Plan will result in the preparation of the updated General Plan elements;
  
• Step 6: Environmental Review Process will develop a Program Environmental Impact Review (PEIR) to review impacts of the General Plan;
  
• Step 7: Public Hearings on the Draft General Plan and Draft Program EIR will present recommendations on the updated General Plan document and Program EIR to Fullerton’s Planning Commission; and
  
• Step 8: Adopt the General Plan and Final Program EIR, the final step, is City Council adoption of the Fullerton General Plan and Final Program EIR.

For more information contact: Bob St. Paul, Senior Planner, at (714) 738-6559.