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Staff outlines cross‑element approach to meet SB 1425 open‑space requirements; commission offers edits
Summary
City planning staff proposed adding SB 1425 open‑space policies to existing general plan elements rather than creating a new open‑space element; commissioners expressed general support and requested minor wording edits and that staff return with a draft amendment for recommendation to the City Council.
City planning staff on Sept. 17 presented an approach to amend the San Clemente Centennial General Plan to comply with California Senate Bill 1425, recommending integration of open‑space, resilience and equity policies into existing elements instead of creating a separate open‑space element.
Brandon Hanley, planning technician, told the Planning Commission that SB 1425 requires local governments to review and update open‑space planning by Jan. 1, 2026, and that the city can comply either by creating a new open‑space element or by adding targeted policies and implementation actions to related elements. "Staff recommends a cross element integration strategy as the most cost efficient and minimally invasive approach to compliance," Hanley said during his presentation.
Hanley described the proposed scope: add language tying the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) into the Safety Element to address climate resilience and rewilding strategies, insert equitable access language into the Coastal and Natural Resources elements, and pull existing LHMP rewilding text into the Natural Resources element. Staff said the cross‑element approach would also help preserve competitiveness for grants related to wildfire mitigation and vegetation management.
Commissioners generally supported the proposed approach but offered edits and questions about specific phrasing. Commissioner McCann asked staff to remove or reword a policy phrase that said the city would "protect natural resources by restricting the encroachment of development," arguing that the phrasing could be read to discourage needed, compatible facilities in open space areas. Hanley and other staff clarified that the highlighted text in the meeting materials showed which policies were existing and which were proposed, and said the cross‑element method was chosen to avoid the added cost of producing a full, standalone open‑space element.
Commissioners asked for clarity on the process and timeline. Hanley said staff plans to return to the commission at a future public hearing with a draft general plan amendment and a resolution recommending action to the City Council; that draft would be noticed and subject to public comment. He reiterated that the deadline for compliance is Jan. 1, 2026, and that the city has not yet received formal state implementation guidance for SB 1425.
No final action or vote was taken at the Sept. 17 hearing. The commission provided direction and support for staff’s cross‑element integration approach and asked staff to bring back a draft amendment and a formal recommendation for the commission to forward to the City Council.
