Background

The City of Rancho Cucamonga has begun the process of updating its General Plan. The last comprehensive update to the General Plan was completed in 2001. Since then, Rancho Cucamonga has gone through many changes. The new General Plan is intended to address new topics of relevance, such as healthy communities, sustainability, and infill development. While many of the goals in the current General Plan are still relevant, the update will help the community and decision makers tackle new issues and address growth for the next 10 to 15 years.

Through the General Plan process, the community will have an opportunity to participate in updating the Plan. There will be many public meetings and community workshops with hands-on activities where residents can attend and participate. See the Get Involved page for more information.

Existing General Plan

The current Rancho Cucamonga General Plan was adopted in 2001. It contains seven chapters incorporating a vision for developing the community that includes the following topics: land use, transportation, housing, public facilities and services, community design, and economic development, environmental resources,public health and safety,and implementation. You can download the Rancho Cucamonga 2001 General Plan here: Link to existing General Plan on City's Website.

General Plan Update Process

The City has hired Hogle-Ireland, Inc., a land planning and development consulting firm, for the preparation of the General Plan update. The process is expected to take approximately 18 months. The General Plan work program will be completed through the following different phases:

Initiation of the General Plan Update
This includes conducting preliminary background analysis and discussions with City staff to review existing conditions.

Community Outreach Program
There will be several different outreach measures for the General Plan update, which will help in obtaining direct input from the community, including stakeholder interviews, the formation of a General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC), community workshops, public opinion survey, visioneering, and general plan newsletters and this website. Community outreach will serve to obtain information from the community directly related to issues and concerns in the community, in order to develop relevant goals and policies for the General Plan.

Preparation of the General Plan
Preparation of the General Plan will consist of technical studies, data and issues analysis, determining alternative development scenarios, and preparing draft elements that support the goals and policies identified through the community outreach program.

After the preparation of the draft elements, the project team will work with the Planning Commission and the City Council for recommendations and adoption of the General Plan.

What’s Covered in the General Plan

By State law, a general plan must cover seven unique topics, typically referred to as elements. They are land use, circulation, housing, open space, conservation, safety, and noise. However, a City may choose to select optional elements that reflect the issues and character of their community. In addition to the State required elements, Rancho Cucamonga has selected the following elements to also be included in the General Plan: economic development, parks and recreation, community design, historic resources, and community resources (public art, infrastructure, and community facilities). Healthy communities will be the overlying theme and be interwoven throughout the General Plan and within each element.

Land Use/Community Design/Historic Preservation

The Land Use section identifies the proposed distribution and intensity of the uses of the land for different types of uses, including housing, commercial retail, industrial, open space, public facilities, and others. The Community Design section promotes the strong visual and aesthetic character for which the City of Rancho Cucamonga is well known. This section will incorporate new policies that pertain to sustainable development and healthy communities. The Historic Preservation section will discuss the preservation of historic resources in the City.

Community Mobility Element

The Community Mobility Element identifies the location of existing and proposed major roads, transportation routes, freeways, pedestrian access, bus and transit facilities, equestrian trails, community trails, bicycle routes, and other forms of transportation in Rancho Cucamonga.

Housing

The Housing Element identifies and analyzes existing and projected housing needs and includes a statement of goals and policies, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing.

Community Resources Element

The Community Resources Element will focus on public facilities and services in Rancho Cucamonga. This element will incorporate as appropriate the Police Services Master Plan and Library Services Master Plan. This element will also include discussion of public art as a community resource and establish programs and objectives for incorporating public art into private development projects.

Economic Development Element

This element addresses economic development, redevelopment, and the importance of fiscal balance between revenue and the provision of fundamental public services.

Parks and Recreation Element

The Parks and Recreation Element is an element that focuses on active park areas in Rancho Cucamonga and City recreation programs. The element will draw from the current Parks Master Plan, indicating how the Plan may require a future update to respond to changing park and recreation needs over time.

Resource Conservation Element

The Resource Conservation Element addresses the identification, conservation, and use of natural resources. This element may consider issues of flood control and water and air pollution. The element is also the plan for long-range development and preservation of open space land and hillside areas.