City Council Discusses General Plan Policy Questions

The City began the four-phased General Plan Update process in July 2021. At the City Council’s
March 2024 meeting, the City was at the end of phase three titled, “Exploring Alternatives.” Since
then, staff has been working on developing the updated 2045 General Plan document by
preparing policy discussions and initiating the environmental review process (Phase 4) as
required by CEQA.

As a reminder, the following is an overview of General Plan Update Phases:

• Phase 1: Scoping: included project process refinements and development of a community
  outreach strategy (done).
• Phase 2: Discovery: included development of the Existing Conditions Report, Vision and
  Guiding Principles, and a range of community engagement meetings and activities to hear
  early feedback on the City’s assets, challenges, and opportunities (done).
• Phase 3: Exploring Alternatives: included the development of growth and policy
  alternatives for Atascadero’s future. This phase includes the selection of a draft land use
  map, projected population and growth estimates, and general policy direction (done).
• Phase 4: A Plan for Atascadero 2045: Involves development of the draft General Plan
  document and Draft Environmental Impact Report (in progress).
• Phase 5: Celebrating our Future: Final outreach on the draft plan, creation of the final
  General Plan document and final Environmental Impact Report (early 2025).

In addition to the General Plan Update effort, the City is commencing a comprehensive Zoning
Code update. The Zoning Code update is intended to dovetail into the 2045 General Plan Update
to minimize the gap between General Plan adoption and corresponding Zoning Code updates. A
number of the topics discussed below will inform General Plan policy and assist in creating
development standards and zoning districts that will be integrated into the zoning code update.

Countil meeting information, agenda, and materials are available here:

City Council Meeting