Salinas planning commission reviews general plan and zoning-code update, flags West Area parking and tentative-map reviews

The Salinas Planning Commission met Oct. 1, 2025, for a study session on a proposed 2040 general plan, related zoning-code updates and a public engagement plan; staff said a consultant will draft much of the zoning code and that tentative subdivision maps for the West Area are expected to come before the commission in the coming months. Chairperson McKelvey Day opened the meeting and staff presented the planning-documents hierarchy, the three-phase approach to the zoning-code work and outreach steps.

The session focused on how the general plan (a long-range 20-to-30-year policy document) fits above specific plans and municipal ordinances, and on the sequence staff proposes for bringing the zoning code into compliance with state law, aligning it with the adopted general plan, then pursuing any broader overhaul. Jonathan Morrison, senior planner, summarized the schedule and materials and pointed commissioners to an adapted Institute for Local Government training series used in staff materials.

Why it matters: staff emphasized that the general plan will set policy direction that the zoning code must implement and that state housing laws and other state requirements already force more frequent updates. Successful alignment affects future subdivision approvals, design standards and developers’ expectations.

Staff described a three-phase zoning-code process: phase 1 to update code language for state-law compliance; phase 2 to make the code consistent with the adopted general plan and manage a transition so development can…