Supervisors Approve General Plan Update

Tulare County now has an updated general plan.

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously voted to approve the Tulare County General Plan 2030 Update. In addition, the Supervisors certified the Final Environmental Impact Report and adopted a Climate Action Plan, a document that outlines how to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as new development occurs.

“On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, I would like to thank staff for years of hard work and dedication,” said Allen Ishida, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “I would also like to thank the residents who participated in the process, especially those who were opposed to the County’s General Plan Update. They were instrumental in helping the County formulate a sound and good General Plan Update.”

The Tulare County General Plan 2030 Update provides a comprehensive, long-term plan for the future land use and physical development of the County though the year 2030.  The Plan promotes healthy sustainable growth while protecting agricultural lands by directing growth to urban areas. The General Plan Update consists of development policies that set forth objectives, principles and standards that guide future land use decisions within the County.

Tulare County Resource Management Agency staff has been working on the General Plan Update since 2003. During the update process a series of 19 workshops, 11 Board of Supervisors meetings, 12 technical advisory committee meetings and four joint Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings were held to discuss, review, recommend and provide public input.

On March 25, 2010, staff released the General Plan Update documents including a Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (RDEIR) for a 60 day review period ending on May 27, 2010. A total of 44 letters were received containing approximately 2,300 comments and 1,500 pages of material. In response to these comments, staff has worked in conjunction with consultants for more than a year to prepare a proposed FEIR responding to these comments. During this time, staff conducted more than 25 public outreach meetings to discuss the General Plan Update materials and process.

The Planning Commission was informed on December 7, 2011, that staff’s review of the additional written and verbal comments received during the Planning Commission public hearing process did not identify any new CEQA issues that would require additional environmental studies.

By a unanimous 7-0 vote in December 2011, the Tulare County Planning Commission approved the following recommendations to the Board of Supervisors: approve the certification of the proposed Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the proposed General Plan 2030 Update and proposed Climate Action Plan; adoption of the proposed General Plan 2030 Update; and adoption of the proposed Climate Action Plan. The vote was not an approval or certification. The General Plan Update and supporting documents had to be brought to the Board of Supervisors for review and final approval.

For further information regarding this project, contact David Bryant, Project Planner, at (559) 624-7000. Information is also available online at http://generalplan.co.tulare.ca.us/.