About the General Plan

The General Plan is a key document that shapes how the City grows and develops. It sets the rules for land use, development, and conservation, and reflects the values, ideals, and goals of the community. The plan covers all aspects of development, including land use, community character, economic growth, transportation, open spaces, natural resources, public services, safety, and noise.

California law (Government Code Section 65300) requires the General Plan to be complete and consistent, offering long-term guidance for the City. Even though the General Plan must cover specific issues set by state law, it can be organized in a way that fits the City of Oroville.

The main goals of the Oroville 2030 General Plan are to:

• Define a realistic vision of what the City wants to become in the next 25 years.
• Express the City’s policy direction on things like the environment, economy, culture, and community life.
• Guide decisions about land use, community appearance, economic development, transportation, open spaces, public health, and safety.
• Act as the City’s “constitution” for land use and community development. This means that all zoning, subdivision, and public facility decisions must follow the rules of the General Plan.
• Provide clear guidance that encourages people to get involved and understand the City’s plans.

Long-Range Emphasis

The General Plan is different from zoning laws. Both guide how land is used, but in different ways. The General Plan looks at long-term goals, showing the types of development that will be allowed, how different areas of the City should relate to each other, and the general pattern of future development. On the other hand, zoning laws focus on current development by setting rules about lot size, building setbacks, maximum building height, and the types of developments allowed. Zoning rules need to follow the broader policies set in the General Plan.

What Does the General Plan Cover?

The General Plan includes this introduction, guiding principles, and eight “elements” that set specific goals and actions for different areas. These elements cover seven topics required by California state law. The Housing Element, which is one of the required topics, was adopted separately and is available as a different document. Here’s a brief overview of what the Oroville General Plan includes.

State Required Elements

Land Use Element

The Land Use Element shows how land in the City should be used. It assigns specific areas for different purposes, such as housing, commercial businesses, industry, open spaces, parks, public facilities, and farming. This section also provides rules for how each type of land can be developed and gives general guidelines for land use throughout the City.

Transportation and Circulation Element

The Transportation and Circulation Element outlines where major streets and transportation facilities are located now and where they are planned for the future. This section works together with the Land Use Element to make sure there are enough ways for people to travel, whether by walking, biking, driving, or for emergency vehicles. It ensures that both new and existing areas have the access they need.

Open Space, Natural Resources and Conservation Element

This Element combines two required sections: the Open Space Element and the Conservation Element. It covers six types of open space that the state considers important: open space for preserving natural resources, open space used to produce resources, open space for recreation, open space for public health and safety, open space near military areas, and open space to protect Native American sacred sites. It also addresses things like wildlife, water quality, minerals, farming, cultural sites, air quality (including climate change), and energy conservation.

Safety Element

The Safety Element focuses on protecting the community from risks like earthquakes, floods, hazardous materials, and other dangers. It also makes sure the City is prepared for emergencies. This section includes goals, rules, and actions to deal with safety issues both now and in the future.

Noise Element

The Noise Element looks at noise problems in the City and measures how loud different sources are now and in the future. It includes goals, rules, and actions to help solve noise problems that affect the community.

Housing Element

The Housing Element, which was adopted in 2009, is required by state law to be updated every five years. It includes details about the City’s current housing situation, future housing needs, and the number of homes that will be built, improved, or preserved. You can find the Housing Element as a separate document.

Optional Elements

Community Design Element

This optional section talks about the design principles that guide public and private development in the City. It aims to protect and improve the features of Oroville that make it special, while also contributing to a high quality of life for residents.

Economic Development Element

This optional section explains the City’s current economy and the programs already in place to improve it. It sets long-term goals, rules, and actions to guide Oroville’s economic future.

Public Facilities and Services

This optional section looks at the current state of public services and facilities, such as police, fire, schools, libraries, water, and other utilities. It includes goals and rules to make sure the City maintains basic service levels for all residents.

Environmental Review

Cities and counties weigh a variety of factors when deciding whether to approve a proposed land use or other project. One such factor is what kind of effect a project would have on the environment.

The California Environmental Quality Act guides the process of gathering such information. A nickname for this law is “CEQA” (pronounced “See-Kwa”). The process is quite complex and technical.

The following provides an overview of some basic concepts though. The term “environment” includes natural and man-made elements of our surroundings. This includes land, air, water, minerals, plants, animals and noise. It also includes things like historic buildings.

Determining the Level of Environmental Review

In some cases, state-level decision-makers have decided that no environmental review is necessary. Some kinds of projects are exempt from the environmental review process. There are two types of exemptions. These include "statutory exemptions" exempted by the CEQA statute as determined by the Legislature, and "categorical exemptions" as determined by the State’s Resources Agency and as found in the CEQA Guidelines.

The “Initial Study”

If a project is not exempt, the next step is to prepare something called an “Initial Study.” This study looks at whether the project might have a big effect on the environment. The main question asked is: “Could this project cause a significant impact on the environment?”

“Negative Declarations”

If the answer is "no," meaning the project won’t cause major harm to the environment, a “negative declaration” is made. When an agency makes a negative declaration, it’s saying that an environmental impact report (EIR) is not needed. An EIR is a much more detailed study of how a project could affect the environment.

There are two situations when a negative declaration is used. One is when decision-makers decide that a project won’t have a major environmental effect. The other is when a project might cause some harm, but the harm can be reduced or avoided by adding special conditions to the project. This is called a “mitigated negative declaration.”

“Environmental Impact Reports”

When an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is Needed

If the initial study shows that the project might cause a big environmental impact, the next step is to create a more detailed environmental report, known as an EIR.

An EIR includes a few important things. First, it describes the proposed project. It then looks at and analyzes the major environmental impacts the project could cause. The report also suggests ways to avoid or reduce these impacts, which are called “mitigation measures.” The report may also consider other project options, including the option to not do the project at all.

Thinking Ahead for Environmental Reviews

Looking at the environmental effects of a project one by one can take a lot of time and money. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) gives decision-makers several ways to make this process easier.

For example, “master” and “program” environmental impact reports can look at the environmental effects of big decisions (like creating a general plan). If projects follow these plans, then they might not need as much extra environmental review.

CEQA also lets agencies use past environmental reviews. This prevents the need to repeat the same analysis over and over again. This is called “tiering” off of earlier reviews. It allows agencies to focus on new issues that weren’t covered before.

Impact on the Decision Making Process

The information from the environmental review helps decision-makers decide whether to approve a project. It also helps them determine if they need to add conditions to the project’s approval. However, the final decision on whether to approve the project is still up to the decision-makers, as long as they follow the rules of CEQA.

If a project is approved with mitigation measures, the agency must create a plan to make sure those measures are followed.