Project Description

 

The General Plan Update

Be Involved!

Building on Visalia's Strengths

Key Issues

 

The General Plan Update

The City of Visalia is embarking on an exciting new project: the update of our General Plan. The City Council initiated this multi-year process in early 2010, beginning what will be a unique and important opportunity for residents to share their ideas about their community’s future. The General Plan update is a collaborative effort between the City and its residents to create a vision and a blueprint for development through 2030.

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Be Involved!

A general plan is only successful if it reflects the goals and priorities of those who live and work in our community. Therefore, there are many ways to get involved and participate in the plan’s formulation, beginning with the initial visioning process and continuing through the final drafting of policies and programs. We encourage you to check back on this site often and learn about ongoing opportunities to make your voice heard.

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Building on Visalia’s Strengths

Many of Visalia’s strengths occurred because the current General Plan has worked well. The City has accomplished a great deal from the perspective of growth and development, including maintaining downtown as the physical and cultural center of town and promoting orderly growth of new neighborhoods throughout the city. This has also allowed Visalia to preserve substantial farmland and open space and remain physically separated from neighboring urban areas.

Even as the city’s population has grown, the quality of life for residents of Visalia has remained high, with new schools, neighborhood shopping centers, parks and trails. Visalia’s economy has thrived, as the city is a regional retail and healthcare hub for Tulare County. The industrial park in the northwest has also aided job creation. The General Plan update will maintain these positive trends moving forward.

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Key Issues

Visalia’s new General Plan will have to address issues spanning all aspects of life in the city. These include, but are not limited to:

• Physical growth: changing demographics, smart growth concepts, infill development, and annexations;
• Transportation: road capacities, bicycles and pedestrians, high speed rail, and connectivity between neighborhoods and destinations;
• Quality of life: public health & safety, community values, education, and equity;
• Economic vitality: job growth, industrial development, historic preservation, and meeting retail and office needs;
• Environmental Conservation: state legislation regarding greenhouse gases, affordable housing, and energy and water conservation;
• Municipal services: infrastructure capacity, code enforcement, and funding;
• Agriculture: the interface with Tulare County, water availability, and open space.

Finally, the General Plan must be crafted in a way that is clear and easy to use, and can be efficiently revised to incorporate future updates and amendments.

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