General Plan
Live -> 11:59am   Air/Ocean: 63.7/63.0   Wind: WSW 4.0   Surf: 1-2ft. SW   Rippled Ocean Surface   Sky: Clear 6 miles   Coastal Camera
Information > Plans > General > General Plan
Show Index
General Plan
The General Plan serves as the foundational planning document for San Clemente, providing policies regarding the management of new development, economic development , and conservation of natural resources, as well as many other issues affecting the City. It defines the framework by which the City will change and grow, detailing how physical and economic resources are to be managed and utilized over time. Approximately every ten years, the City of San Clemente comprehensively updates it General Plan. San Clemente’s 1992 General Plan, the most recent update, was prepared through an extensive public participation process, with over 25 public workshops, meetings, and hearings. Accordingly, the General Plan represents the vision the community has for itself and its future. The General Plan contains four chapters: 1) Community Development; 2) Infrastructure and Community Services; 3) Environmental Resources; and 4)Hazards. Each of these chapters has several "elements," which summarize constraints and opportunities and establishes goals, objectives, policies, and implementation programs for future development in San Clemente. A complete copy of the General Plan is presented in the chapters listed below. Each section is a downloadable in Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®. format

Introduction

Table of Contents (23KB) - This section, along with providing the table of contents for the General Plan, summarizes participants in its development.

San Clemente Vision and Introduction (1.3 MB) - This brief section provides an overview of the General Plan’s key policies forming the vision for San Clemente’s future.  It also contains a description of the General Plan, including its purpose, organization and content


Chapter 1 - Community Development

Land Use Element (3.2 MB) - The Land Use Element has the broadest scope of the General Plan elements required by the State.  It regulates how land is to be utilized.  Many of the issues and policies contained in all other plan elements are impacted and/or impact this element.

Urban Design Element (4.8 MB) - The focus of the Urban Design Element is the physical and design characteristics of San Clemente, components which link and unify the community.  Among the topics discussed in this element are its streetscape, signs, and architecture.  The urban design goals, objectives, policies, and programs are inextricably lined to those contained in the Land Use Element.

Economic Design Element (110KB) - The Economic Development Element provides demographic and economic statistics for the City of San Clemente.  It also establishes goals, objectives, policies, and implementation programs that will guide the manner in which the economic needs for the community will be met.


Chapter 2 - Infrastructure and Community Services:
This chapter contains sections related to traffic circulation, scenic highways, utilities, public facilities and services, parks and recreation, and growth management.

The Circulation Element (1.4 MB) - The Circulation Element guides the development and maintenance of the community’s circulation systems and provides for the accommodation of vehicular trips, or how people, goods and services circulate through the community.  This element is largely dependent upon, and related to, the issues and policies contained within the Land Use Element.

The Scenic Highways Element (206 KB) - This element guides the development, maintenance and protection of scenic highways and corridors in the community.  The policies in this section address presenting and creating visual corridors, integrating scenic highways with open spaces and recreational corridors, and siting and designing future development of scenic highways to protect visual corridors and open space/landscape areas.

The Utilities Element (137KB) - This element guides the manner in which utility services will be provided for in the City, including water, sanitation treatment and sewerage, storm drainage, and solid waste.  The element also provides goals for water quality, supply and distribution.

Public Facilities and Services Element (135KB) - This element guides the manner in which public facilities and institutions serve the community, including police, fire, marine safety, educational facilities, and cultural facilities.

Parks and Recreation Element (528KB) - This element provides the goals, objectives, and policies for the parks and recreation in the City, including recreational programming, acquisition of park land, park development, park planning and design, renovation and upgrading of existing parks, open space and environmental quality, beach access, joint use of park and recreation facilities, park operation and maintenance, and park economics and financing.  It includes policies for neighborhood and community parks, beaches, and trail systems.

Growth Management Element (653KB) - This element represents the City of San Clemente’s growth management program.  Beyond goals, policies and objectives, this element provides standards (levels of service) and implementation, mitigation, and funding programs for 12 public facility/service categories: civic center facilities and services, drainage and flood control facilities, fire/emergency medical services, library facilities and services, open space, parking standards, parks facilities and services, police facilities and services, school facilities, sewer facilities, circulation, and water facilities and services.


Chapter 3 - Environmental Resources:
This chapter contains sections related to natural and historic/cultural resources and energy conservation.

Natural and Historic/Cultural Resources Element (1.4 MB) - This element guides the preservation and enhancement of natural and historic/cultural resources in the City, including protecting and preserving significant plants and wildlife and other biological resources, air quality, aesthetic resources such as public views of the Pacific, coastal bluffs, ridgelines, canyons and significant public views, and historical and archaeological resources.

Energy Conservation Element (73KB) - This element guides the manner in which energy is consumed within the community. Policies address minimizing transportation-related energy consumption, reducing energy consumption in buildings, increasing public awareness and encouraging feasible energy conservation methods, and increasing the energy efficiency of City operations.


Chapter 4 - Hazards:
This chapter contains sections related to protecting human life and property from natural and man-made hazards.

Geologic, Seismic, and Soils Hazards Element (724KB) - This element provides for the protection of human life and property, including policies which address the reduction of damage from fault rupture, slope instability, landslides and soils, preparing and maintaining an effective response system to seismic events, implementing effective seismic design standards, reducing damage resulting from liquefaction, minimizing major social and economic disruption created by severe community damage, and ensuring that the community is adequately prepared for emergencies.

Natural Hazards Element (560KB) - This element provides for the protection of human life and property from natural hazards.  Policies are included which address maintaining flood control systems, restricting development in flood hazard zones, establishing and maintaining emergency response operations for flooding, obtaining available information on tsunami and tidal/marine hazard susceptibility, and minimizing the potential for damage and injury to the community from tsunami’s and tidal/marine hazards.

Noise Element (1.2 MB) - This element guides the evaluation of existing and future noise conditions and minimization of the impacts of noise on the community.  Policies address noise regulations and guidelines, excessive noise exposure, traffic-generated noise, non-residential noise impacts upon residential areas, construction noise, minimizing noise impacts from entertainment, noise impacts of rail transit, and the proper acoustical analysis of potential significant noise generators.

Hazardous Materials and Uses Element (89KB) - This element is intended to provide for the safety of the community in the presence of hazardous materials and uses.  Policies address protecting surface and groundwater quality, land, air, and environmental resources; the safe transportation, handling, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes; and preventing loss of life, serious injuries, and major economic disruption caused by accidents related to hazardous uses/materials.

Nuclear Element (69KB) - This element guides the City’s response and reaction to a nuclear emergency, including planning for the protection of public health, safety, welfare and the environment in the event of an emergency.


Housing Element
The Housing Element of General Plan is a component of the General Plan which identifies the housing needs of all economic segments of the community and recommends ways to meet these needs while balancing community objectives and resources.   State law requires that all cities adopt a Housing Element and requires that the Element be revised as appropriate but not less than every five years, unless extended by the State.

Coastal Element
The Coastal Element is an element of the General Plan and it is the adopted policy statement for growth, development, and preservation of the Coastal Zone. As such, the Coastal Element is the primary planning document for reviewing coastal related issues and development within the Coastal Zone. To view the Coastal Element, please choose the appropriate section from the section below. All of the files below open as PDF.

City of San Clemente, 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente, CA 92672
Phone (949) 361-8200  |  FAX (949) 361-8285  |  AlertOC  |  Mail Web Master  |  Mail City Hall  |  Hit Count  |  Contact Us!  |  Disclaimer  |