Many local jurisdictions have adopted written specific plan guidelines. These guidelines establish the ground rules for preparing and adopting a specific plan within a particular jurisdiction. The guidelines are effective at keeping specific plans consistent with the local general plan by establishing minimum content requirements and by specifying a common format for all plans that will be adopted by a community. They also provide developers with a written summary of what a specific plan is and how it is used in that jurisdiction.
Guidelines act to facilitate the preparation and adoption of specific plans by standardizing the local procedure for evaluating and considering such plans. Standardizing the specific plan format through local guidelines also helps planners and other staff members familiarize themselves with new plans. This, in turn, reduces the potential for errors to occur during the administration of the plan.
The Office of Planning and Research encourages cities and counties which will be considering several specific plans in the future or that regularly use specific plans to implement their general plans to adopt their own specific plan guidelines. The following outline provides one example of what local guidelines might contain.
SPECIFIC PLAN GUIDELINES
1. Introduction: What is a Specific Plan?
a. Explains what specific plans are and how they are used in the community
b. Discusses the relationship between specific plans and the local general plan’s objectives, policies, and implementation measures
c. Enumerates local policies, regulations or programs that directly relate to specific plans
2. Plan Content
a. Reviews the state-mandated issues per §65451, including projected land uses, infrastructure identification, and implementation and financing programs
b. Reviews locally-required issues that must be addressed in each specific plan
c. Specifies the types of criteria (e.g., policy statements, regulations), standards, text and diagrams that must be included in each specific plan
3. Local Procedures
a. Enumerates the required submittals (i.e., legal description, maps, application form, environmental assessment information, etc.) and submittal specifications (i.e., maps sizes, etc.)
b. Enumerates locally-required studies or reports (i.e., economic impact study, market analysis, archeological survey, geologic report, etc.)
c. Describes the staff review procedure, including pre-filing conference (if applicable) and the initial staff review of the application
d. Defines the roles of the staff and the developer in planning and the related environmental review (i.e., who does what, how many copies of each document must be submitted for review, when does staff review the developer’s work, etc.)
e. Reviews the CEQA/environmental review process and local CEQA guideline requirements, if any
f. Describes the hearing/public meeting process (i.e., public notice requirements, roles of the planning commission, advisory committee, and legislative body, projected number of hearings, etc.)
g. Enumerates the criteria by which the planning commission and legislative body will evaluate the proposed specific plan
h. Specifies the required method of plan adoption (i.e., by resolution, ordinance, or both)
i. Enumerates the required planning and processing fees
4. Plan Format
a. Presents an outline of how the specific plan is to be organized (e.g. the chapters containing policies, regulations, and other topics)
b. Establishes standards for the design and content of the plan’s diagrams/maps
c. Establishes standards for the design and size of the plan and diagrams (i.e., loose-leaf, bound, type-written, size specifications, etc.)
d. Provides examples of acceptable format
5. Application Forms (attachments to the local guidelines)
a. Specific plan application form (contents based on local needs)
b. Environmental analysis form
c. Related application forms (i.e., rezoning, subdivision map, etc.)
d. List of fees