Agenda #: 5.4
Meeting Date: March 21, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Fox, City Manager
TITLE: GENERAL PLAN STATUS REPORT FOR 2022
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the report for filing with the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
BACKGROUND:
State law requires all California cities and counties to prepare and adopt a comprehensive, general plan to guide their physical development. General plans establish the long-term community vision for development and include policies to carry out that vision by directing future growth. General plans are organized into chapters, or “elements,” that cover specific topics related to development, such as land use, housing, transportation, conservation, environmental quality, recreation, public services, and safety. Each element contains an actionable list of goals and policies to articulate the community’s priorities and guide decisionmaking.
In the fall of 2016, the City embarked on a comprehensive update to the General Plan to create a community vision and blueprint for the City through 2040. The City Council adopted Diamond Bar General Plan 2040 on December 17, 2019.
Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65400(b), the City is required to submit an annual General Plan status report to the local legislative body (City Council), the State Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), and State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on the status of the General Plan, its implementation progress, and how the City is meeting the region’s housing needs. The attached report lists the City’s progress toward the implementation of the updated General Plan for the period of January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.
Major accomplishments during this period include the following:
• Housing Element Update: The State Department of Housing and Community Development certified the Housing Element Update for the 2021-2029 (6th Cycle) planning period. As of this writing, Diamond Bar’s Housing Element, along with approximately 44 percent of the 197 jurisdictions in the SCAG region, received compliance letters from HCD. Adoption of the Housing Element implements General Plan Goal LU-G-7 to promote a variety of housing and neighborhood types that respond to a range of income, household sizes, and accessibility levels. • Town Center Specific Plan: The City entered into a Consulting Services Agreement with Torti Gallas + Partners to prepare the Town Center Specific Plan in the Town Center Mixed-Use focus area. The TCSP will provide the regulatory and urban design framework to establish a downtown, or “Town Center” in Diamond Bar as a walkable place with entertainment, retail, restaurants, community gathering spaces and urban housing opportunities. Planning activities that took place in 2022 included a community workshop to introduce the specific plan process to residents and stakeholders, and a weeklong design charette where the community’s ideas and feedback were translated into drawings and sketches. The TCSP implements General Plan Goals LU-G-4 and CC-G-4, as well as Policies LU-P-7, LU-P-8, ED-P3, CC-P-5, CC-P-9, CC-P-17 and CC-P-21. • Short-Term Rental Ordinance: The City adopted a short-term rental ordinance to clarify the existing prohibition on short-term rentals. The ordinance also strengthened the City’s enforcement position by establishing not only the rental, but also the advertising of short-term rentals to be misdemeanor offenses. Adoption of this ordinance advances the policies and programs of the General Plan to preserving neighborhoods and expanding housing opportunities. Short-term rentals are at odds with these goals by removing housing, including ADUs, from the City’s housing stock. A reduction in permanent housing units can put an upward pressure on rental prices and negatively affect housing affordability. Adoption of the ordinance implements Housing Element Program 9 to maintain adequate housing sites. • Landscape Assessment District No. 39-2022: Through interactive and cooperative work with the community, the City has been able to go through a successful balloting (Prop 218) process in District 39. District 39 was dissolved and District 39-2022 was formed to replace the dissolved district with an identical service area. Due to the higher assessment (with the option to increase by CPI annually), District 39 is self-supporting again after over a decade of being subsidized by the General Fund. It is a success story of cooperation between the community and the City. A similar successful process was completed for District 41 (now 41-2021) in 2021. This accomplishment implements General Plan Policy PF-P-12.
A complete summary of the City’s progress toward implementing the General Plan is provided in Attachment 1.
On February 28, 2023, the Planning Commission reviewed the report and directed staff to forward it to the City Council with a recommendation to receive and file.
PREPARED BY:
REVIEWED BY:
Attachments:
1. 5.4.a 2022 GP Status Report Matrix