The Project

Where We Are Now
Schedule
Consultant Team

Purpose & Process

In summer 2008, the City Council initiated a multi-year process to update our General Plan. While much of the policy direction and programs in this document remains valid and will be carried through, others may require rethinking and changes. The existing General Plan was adopted in 1993 and partially updated in 2002, and needs to be comprehensively reexamined to ensure that it reflects our goals and priorities for the next 15 to 20 years.

A comprehensive update to the General Plan offers an important opportunity for the people of Turlock to engage in discussions about our history and our future. Residents have the opportunity to get involved at all stages of the process, from the initial visioning and exploration of plan alternatives to the selection of the preferred plan and review of its accompanying Environmental Impact Report. The General Plan is the policy document that will guide the growth and enhancement of your community, so we encourage you to take this opportunity to make your voice heard.

In conjunction with the General Plan, we will be preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is the environmental documentation that must accompany the plan according to State law. The EIR ensures that environmental opportunities and constraints are identified and incorporated into the planning process, and identifies policies that can mitigate any adverse environmental effects of other aspects of the plan. The EIR is a public process as well, and we invite your participation and input during this stage of the planning effort.

Building on our Assets

The City of Turlock has accomplished a great deal since the adoption of the existing General Plan. Successful master and specific planning efforts have resulted in the development of highly desirable new neighborhoods with parks, schools, and local retail. Monte Vista Crossings has become a regional shopping center, bringing increased retail options to city residents and augmenting the local tax base. Other recently completed and ongoing projects contribute to Turlock’s high quality of life, including the Regional Sports Complex and the Carnegie Arts Center. The establishment of the Westside Industrial Specific Plan (WISP) area has positioned the city well to attract new jobs and capitalize on the San Joaquin Valley’s growth. At the same time, Turlock has preserved substantial farmland, maintaining its ties to the agriculture industry and remaining a stand-alone urban area, physically separated from neighboring communities.

Key Issues

Many of the objectives of the current General Plan have been met, and they are exemplified in the city’s many assets. However, many new opportunities and challenges have emerged. The General Plan will have to address many key issues, including but not limited to:

Identify the location for future residential neighborhoods
Attracting jobs and businesses
Revitalizing Downtown
Forming better partnerships with CSU-Stanislaus
Providing entertainment and youth activities
Building a range of housing types
Fostering a business-friendly attitude at the City; having more flexibility in Codes for older buildings and small businesses
Beautifying the city and its gateways
Continuing Master Planning
Addressing homeless issues
Upgrading transportation, both regionally through expanding capacity and locally through improving road conditions
Incorporating County islands
Achieving fiscal stability
Maintaining and enhancing quality of life for residents

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.

Where We Are Now

We are now at the Alternatives stage of the Turlock General Plan Update process. The existing conditions research has been completed. In this phase, we are considering different ways of accommodating growth in Turlock, and we are developing several alternative buildout scenarios. Each alternative is designed to meet a future housing growth target of approximately 15,000 residential units, which will be achieved through a combination of infill development and growth outside of current city limits. These alternatives will be analyzed and evaluated with regards to their traffic, infrastructure, fiscal, and greenhouse gas emission impacts on the city.

Based on feedback about the alternatives from elected officials and the public, a Preferred Plan will be prepared, which will serve as the basis for land use, transportation, and other policies in the General Plan. While the land use map for the Preferred Plan is one of the most visible components of the General Plan, policies and actions will also be developed for the other mandated elements of the document, including Safety, Noise, Open Space, and Conservation.

The full General Plan document will then be prepared, and analyzed in an Environmental Impact Report. The General Plan will not be formally adopted until the EIR has been completed, reviewed by the public, and comments addressed. The Plan will be designed to be self-mitigating, such that any necessary mitigation measures identified in the EIR drafting process become policies or actions that are incorporated into the Plan.

Schedule

The General Plan update process is anticipated to take approximately three years, concluding in early 2012. At that time, the City will have comprehensively updated its General Plan, including the Housing Element, and prepared an accompanying Environmental Impact Report (EIR) according to state law.

The diagram below illustrates the phases of the planning process and shows all of the opportunities for public participation throughout. Click on the picture to see a larger diagram.

Consultant Team

Dyett & Bhatia, Urban and Regional Planners is leading the consultant team.

Additional consultants, with specializations in different disciplines, are:

Economic and Planning Systems: Economics and Public Financing
Omni-Means: Transportation
West Yost Associates: Infrastructure
Charles Salter Associates: Noise