The 2008 City of San Diego General Plan expresses a citywide long-range vision and provides a comprehensive policy framework for how the City should plan for projected growth and development, provide public services, address sustainability, and maintain the qualities that define San Diego over the next 20 to 30 years.

San Diego’s General Plan was last updated comprehensively in 1979 – a time when approximately half of the City’s developable acreage was still vacant. Since less than four percent of the City’s land remains vacant and available for new development, the General Plan policies represent a shift in focus from how to develop vacant land to how to design infill development and reinvest in existing communities to support long-term growth. The General Plan update incorporates the City of Villages strategy, which was developed over a three-year period and adopted as a part of the Strategic Framework Element in 2002. The City of Villages strategy is to focus growth into mixed-use villages that are pedestrian-friendly districts of different scales, linked to the transit system. A “village” is a place where a mix of residential, commercial, employment and civic uses are present and integrated. Each village will be unique to the community in which it is located, yet all villages will be pedestrian-friendly, and characterized by inviting, accessible and attractive streets and public spaces.

The strategy draws upon the character and strengths of San Diego’s natural environment, distinctive neighborhoods, commercial centers, institutions, and employment centers that together form the City as a whole. The City has developed the General Plan within the context of state requirements, regional plans and population forecasts, and the issues and needs unique to the City. The policies within each element of the General Plan were developed with ten guiding principles in mind. These principles are to achieve:

1. An open space network formed by parks, canyons, river valleys, habitats, beaches, and ocean

2. Diverse residential communities formed by the open space network

3. Compact and walkable mixed-use villages of different scales within communities

4. Employment centers for a strong economy

5. An integrated regional transportation network of walkways, bikeways, transit, roadways, and freeways that efficiently link communities and villages to each other and to employment centers

6. High quality, affordable, and well-maintained public facilities to serve the City’s population, workers, and visitors

7. Historic districts and sites that respect our heritage

8. Balanced communities that offer opportunities for all San Diegans and share citywide responsibilities

9. A clean and sustainable environment

10. A high aesthetic standard

The General Plan’s policies are designed to promote smart growth, sustainability, and environmentally responsible development. It has a strong sustainability focus through policies addressing transit/land use coordination; climate change; healthy, walkable communities; green buildings; clean technology industries; resource conservation and management; and urban forestry. In addition, the General Plan features protections for key industrial lands; strategies for providing urban parks; “toolboxes” to implement mobility strategies; and policies designed to preserve San Diego’s historical and cultural resources.

The General Plan update is a program of citywide significance that elicited a great deal of public comment. The comprehensive update public process consisted of televised public forums, ongoing direct email communications with over 2,700 contacts, and over 250 public meetings and workshops with input from decision makers, stakeholders, and the general public. In addition, many letters of comments were received over the course of the update. Staff made numerous edits to the General Plan as a result of this public process. To view the General Plan online visit: http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/genplan/index.shtml

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