About the General Plan Update

State law requires that each city adopt a general plan addressing the following seven mandatory components or "elements": Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, and Safety. The City's existing General Plan also includes Community Design, Economic Development, and Parks and Public Facilities and Services elements, which will be retained and the City will be adding a Downtown element and a Sustainability element within this update. Here is a summary of the basic issues, by element:

• The Community Design element ties together strategic land use placement while maintaining community character. In updating the General Plan, the City will be working with the community and experts to identify characteristics that define Chico to preserve and build upon what is working and what needs improvement.
• The Downtown element will focus on preserving the historic aspects of the heart of Chico, while revitalizing areas that need special attention. Revitalizing the downtown core will also provide cultural and economic benefits to the surrounding community.
• The Economic Development element consists of policies focused on balanced land use and opportunities for commercial, technological and industrial use and development.
• The Sustainability element will pool all relevant goals and policies from throughout each element within the General Plan into one specific location. In addition, sustainability goals and policies that did not fit into other elements could be included here, such as greenhouse gas reduction strategies or green building programs.
• The Land Use element designates the general location and intensity of housing, business, industry, open space, education, public buildings and grounds, waste disposal facilities, and other land uses.
• The Transportation element identifies the general location and extent of existing and proposed major roads, transportation routes, terminals, bike routes, bus  routes, and parking. It must be correlated with the land use element.
• The Housing element is a comprehensive assessment of current and projected housing needs for all economic segments of the community. It sets forth local housing policies and programs to implement those policies.
• The Parks and Public Facilities and Services element addresses policies regarding parks, recreational facilities, educational facilities, water and wastewater, and storm drainage and other infrastructure services.
• The Conservation and Open Space element details plans and measures for preserving open space for natural resources, the managed production of resources, outdoor recreation, public health and safety, the identification of agricultural land as well as the conservation, development, and use of natural resources including water, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, and mineral deposits.
• The Noise element identifies and appraises noise problems within the community and forms the basis for distributing new noise-sensitive land uses.
• The Safety and Safety Services element establishes policies and programs to protect the community from risks associated with seismic, geologic, flood, and other hazards.
  

View the Existing Chico General Plan

The Downtown Committee, comprised of fourteen members with diverse interests in the downtown, was formed by the City Council to develop new ideas and enhance community support for the Downtown Element of the new General Plan. The Committee is part of an extensive outreach process which includes stakeholder interviews and public workshops to develop a new downtown vision for Chico. The Committee will meet four times during the year 2008 to provide input. As a result of this public outreach process, the City will develop an achievable vision for the future of downtown, for consideration by the City Council. In addition, to gain a new perspective on the potential of downtown, the City will organize a one day field trip to visit other downtowns in Northern California.