OCEANSIDE KICKS OFF GENERAL PLAN UPDATE, PHASE 2

Through goals and policies that reflect community values and aspirations, the City’s General Plan provides the policy framework for local land use decisions. The updating of the General Plan allows community members to participate in formulating a comprehensive vision of the community’s future—a vision that both anticipates and guides physical, demographic, and economic change.

The first phase of the General Plan Update was completed on May 8, 2019, when the City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Economic Development Element, Energy and Climate Action Element, and the Climate Action Plan. Adoption of the first phase of the General Plan Update was an important milestone in the City’s ongoing forward planning efforts.

On February 5, 2020, the Oceanside City Council approved the budget appropriation and professional service agreement for Phase 2 of the Oceanside General Plan Update. The project team initiated this second phase yesterday, with a City tour and kickoff meeting. The tour served to familiarize our consultant partners with the “lay of the land” in Oceanside, while the kickoff meeting allowed us to refine our scope of work, clarify the roles of the project team members, and bring the consultant partners up to speed on key local issues, projects, and planning efforts. This next phase of the General Plan Update will ensure that all components of the General Plan are aligned and focused on a common vision for the City’s future.

One of the first priorities is the preparation of a public outreach plan. We welcome your thoughts on how to conduct thorough, inclusive, and constructive public outreach in support of this project. Residents can provide initial input on public outreach to Principal Planner Russ Cunningham by email (rcunningham@oceansideca.org) or telephone (760-435-3525). For more information on General Plan Update Phase 2, see the staff report for the February 5, 2020 City Council meeting.

The project is expected to extend through mid-2022, though certain components will be completed earlier. More information is available on the City’s General Plan Update webpage: https://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/gov/dev/planning/gpu/default.asp.