NEXT STEPS
A 3rd General Plan Update public workshop will be held at the June 5th City Council meeting. At this public workshop Part II of the Economic Report describing the City's Fiscal capacity and Public Infrastructure Analysis will be presented. City Council will be asked to approve the New Land Use Designations presented at Workshop No. 2, so the Updated General Plan can be drafted.

SECOND STUDY SESSION
The 2nd General Plan Update public workshop with the La Palma City Council was held on April 17, 2012, in the City Council Chambers of City Hall. The workshop focused on an Economic Assessment Study prepared by Alfred Gobar Associates and proposed land use changes to the City's Land Use (Zoning) Map. A continuation of the April 17th workshop will take place on June 5th during the City Council meeting that begins at 7:00 p.m. An additional fiscal economic study will be provided to the City Council and public for discussion an further refinements to the City's Land Use (Zoning) Map will be discussed. The community is encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion.  A summary of community input provided to date has been produced by Hogle Ireland, Inc. 

WHAT IS THE GENERAL PLAN?
Required by the California Government Code, a General Plan determines where and how parcels of land within the city be used. In essence, it is the official statement of how the City of La Palma will change, or not change, over the next twenty years. The General Plan contains goals and policies on what is expected when decisions on public or private developments come before the Planning Commission and City Council.

The General Plan is intended to guide and influence future development related decisions. To do that, it contains goals and policies that provide guidance for City officials. Goals describe general conditions that are desired. Policies state guidance to be used in future decision making. Any topic for which a goal is stated can be assumed to be an important factor in realizing the City’s Vision. If there is a goal, there will always be a policy to carry it out. Often, there will be several.

WHY UPDATE THE GENERAL PLAN?

The Community Development Department is pursuing the decennial update of the La Palma General Plan, which was last updated in March of 1999. The intent of the update is to solely refresh the General Plan to be current with State Law and embody a vision for La Palma’s next 20 years as a City. The La Palma General Plan includes the seven (7) mandated Elements required by state law and an additional General Plan Element to comply with Measure M.

The City Council authorized a Request for Proposal (RFP) document to solicit and select a consulting firm to administer and draft the General Plan Update and any requisite CEQA documentation. The RFP document was circulated from April 22, 2011, through June 3, 2011. The City of La Palma received four proposals and at the Planning Commission Meeting of October 18, 2011, the Planning Commission awarded the contract to Hogle Ireland, Inc. 

The Scope of Work and Schedule for the General Plan Update process can be viewed as Exhibit A of the contract between the City of La Palma and Hogle Ireland, Inc.