Assembly Local Government informational hearing reviews general plan role, costs and state support

The Assembly Local Government Committee held an informational hearing on March 12 to examine how California jurisdictions prepare, update and implement general plans, and what state support local governments need to keep their plans current.

University of California Davis researcher Dr. Catherine Brinkley opened the hearing with an overview of general plans and presented PlanSearch, a publicly available database her team developed to catalogue adopted general plans across the state. Brinkley told the committee that all 482 California cities and 58 counties are required to adopt a general plan; many jurisdictions’ plans are more than 10 years old and some elements—she said—have not been updated since the 1970s. Her presentation described required elements (for example, housing, safety/hazard, conservation and land use) and optional elements jurisdictions frequently adopt, and noted state statutes such as Senate Bill 1000 (environmental justice) and statutes requiring coordination with metropolitan planning organization transportation plans.

Local elected officials and planning directors described practical constraints. Amanda Follendorf, a county supervisor from Calaveras County, said smaller and rural jurisdictions often rely on general‑fund revenue and sometimes must hire consultants to complete updates; she said one…