General Plan Update

In 1990 the California Supreme Court held that the General Plan is the “constitution for all future developments” and confirmed that it is “the single most important planning document” for municipalities in California. Government Code Section 65302 mandates that a city's General Plan contain seven mandatory "elements," or chapters, and may include other optional elements.  The mandatory elements address land use, circulation, conservation, open space, safety, noise and housing.  

 

While State law does not dictate General Plan update time-frames for most elements, the housing element must be updated regularly every 8 years.  Brisbane's Housing Element is for the period 2015-2022.  Other elements that have been updated since the General Plan was adopted in 1994 include the Circulation and Land Use elements.   An update to the Circulation Element was adopted in September 2015, to address the state’s Complete Streets requirements. Then in October 2017 and January 2018, the Land Use Element was updated to include the Parkside Plan Area, at the southeast edge of Crocker Park, and to separate the former Northwest Bayshore subarea to a newly defined Northwest Bayshore and Guadalupe Hills subarea and to extend Crocker Park to a new northern boundary, including the Technology Park on the north side of Guadalupe Canyon Parkway. Also, included with the update to the Land Use Element were updates to The Planning Area and Policies and Programs by Subarea chapters 

 

 

The City of Brisbane’s 1994 General Plan, including the subsequent amendments, has over 900 policies and programs. The policies provide guidance to the Planning Commission and the City Council when making decisions on development proposals. The programs are additional actions to implement the policies in the plan.  The General Plan divides the City into 15 geographic subareas (i.e., Central Brisbane, Sierra Point, etc.), each governed by unique policies based on the community's goals for those areas.   

 

In 2004, the City of Brisbane began the process of updating its General Plan as a whole.  However, in 2006 Universal Paragon Corporation submitted a draft specific plan for development of the Baylands subarea.  Given the far reaching implications of that proposed plan, the General Plan update process was put on hold pending completion of the Environmental Impact Report for the Baylands and decisions on its potential build-out.  Once those decisions are made by City Council, it’s anticipated that the General Plan updated process will be re-initiated.