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Lompoc Planning Commission delays vote on 2030 General Plan safety element, requests redlines
Summary
The commission reviewed the proposed safety element for the 2030 General Plan, heard public concerns about a pending Olive Avenue housing project and hazardous materials, and moved the item to the June 11, 2025 meeting while asking staff for redlined changes and the public comments record.
The Lompoc Planning Commission on the evening of the meeting reviewed the proposed 2030 General Plan safety element and voted to return the document to the commission at its June 11, 2025 meeting after requesting a redlined version and the public comment record.
Laurie Tamura, a contract planner for the City of Lompoc, opened the presentation by summarizing why the safety element is being updated and the supporting studies that were prepared, including a climate vulnerability assessment by Rincon and an evacuation analysis by DKS. Tamura told commissioners that “the environmental document had the date wrong on the cover page. The date is actually August 2024, not October 2023.”
Commissioners discussed new hazard maps and policy additions embedded in the draft. Tamura highlighted new Cal Fire wildfire maps published in March 2025 and said the safety element now shows higher fire hazard ratings along the southern edge of the city and near Harris Grade and Highway 1. She also said Lompoc High School will be added to the critical facilities layer.
Consultant Brent Gibbons said the analysis identified three neighborhoods with a single primary access: Glen Ellyn, Crown Point and the Hawthorne/Clemens neighborhood, and that “single access points will not qualify anymore per SB 99,” referencing state rules that require secondary access for new subdivision maps. He and staff clarified that accessory dwelling units are treated differently from new subdivisions under state law.
During public comment, Nicholas Gonzales, a Lompoc resident, asked the commission to ensure the safety element would not be applied in a way that would automatically block a pending builder’s remedy housing project on Olive Avenue. He also raised safety concerns about a facility north of Walmart that uses chlorine gas and about increased fuel transport on Ocean Avenue, asking how evacuation and notification plans would be practiced and made available to residents.
Commissioner Bridal pressed staff for transparency about roughly 20 measures she said were newly added to the draft. Tamura said those measures were included in a public review draft circulated in March–April and that some additions reflect climate-change policies and required revisions submitted by Cal Fire during the public review period. Tamura offered to provide a tracked-changes (redline) version of the document and the comments the consultants received.
After discussion, Chair (name not specified in the transcript) moved to continue the item to the commission’s regular meeting on June 11, 2025 and asked staff to return the safety element with redlines, the public comments record, and color-coding to indicate which policies were state-mandated. The motion was seconded; the transcript does not record a formal roll-call tally for that motion.
What’s next: The planning commission requested delivery of a redlined draft, the public comments log and clearer marking of state-mandated provisions so commissioners can review the 20 added measures before the next hearing on June 11, 2025.
