The General Plan provides information on existing natural and unnatural conditions of the physical environment. These local conditions can then be analyzed, and problems and opportunities concerning resource management and community development can be addressed. The plan identifies key plans, regulations and agencies that affect planning decisions. The plan makes recommendations for improving this coordination. The plan indicates the type of development the County desires, where it should be located and how it should be regulated. This information is useful to developers and other agencies, reducing uncertainty about the kinds of acceptable development. State law requires local government decisions to be consistent with or based on consideration of the General Plan.

The objectives of the General Plan are to: 

  1. Update and expand the database to include, at minimum, information required by State Law.
  2. Ensure that all parts of the General Plan, particularly policies, are consistent.
  3. Support Area Plan policies and ordinances.
  4. Guide Area Plan policies and ordinances that need revision.
  5. Create a consolidated General Plan usable to decision-makers, the staff, and the public.
  6. Provide an opportunity for the general public, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors to develop a General Plan policy that reflects current community values, which will serve as a guide for development and conservation.