General, Master & Specific Plans
2020 General Plan Update
In 2020, the City initiated an update to the General Plan to ensure it remains responsive to the challenges of the coming years. In the almost 20 years since the last General Plan was adopted in 2002, Lafayette has experienced a period of rapid change and will continue to change and develop into the future; the vehicle for planning the City's future is the General Plan. The General Plan centers community priorities around conservation and development and defines the desirable balance for Lafayette’s social, environmental, and economic values.
General Plan 2040 will be the blueprint for how and where the City will change over the next 20 years. It contains policies that guide everything from transportation, to the type of homes available, to jobs, entertainment, public safety and much more. The General Plan represents the official policy regarding the future character and quality of development to reflect shared community values and achieve its goals, so we want to hear from you! Visit the dedicated General Plan website for up-to-date information, including the project timeline, upcoming public participation opportunities, and much more.
2020 General Plan Update Documents
General Plan Update Website: www.PlanLafayette.org
General Plan
Every city and county in California is required by State law to have a General Plan. The General Plan establishes conservation and development goals, as well as the location and intensity of different land uses. Master plans, specific plans, zoning ordinances, and guidelines must be in conformance with the General Plan. The General Plan has the following functions:
- Identify the community's land use, circulation, and environmental goals and policies.
- Enable the City Council, the Planning Commission, and other commissions to establish long-range conservation and development policies.
- Provide a basis for judging whether or not specific private development proposals and public projects are in harmony with these goals and policies.
- Inform citizens, developers, decision-makers, and other jurisdictions of the rules that guide development and conservation within the Lafayette Planning Area.
The General Plan is a statement of the community's vision of the future. It is a long-range and comprehensive plan that coordinates all major components of the community's physical development. Because the Plan is long-range and comprehensive, it is general in nature. It establishes requirements for additional planning studies where greater specificity is needed. In addition, this Plan is internally consistent. The goals, policies, and programs relate to one another within each chapter and to the whole document.
Master Plans
A master plan is a road map for the future. It is a comprehensive long range document that guides development and future growth of a community’s facilities for 20 or more years. A plan helps decision makers maintain a balance between protection and conservation and growth and development. The information contained in the plan is intended to guide decisions related to public and private use of land and public facilities in a manner compatible with the land’s character and adaptability, thus promoting good stewardship of resources. Importantly, a plan is a policy-based document. It does not regulate land use, zoning, or properties. The plan itself has no authority, but instead, provides guidance to authorities and land users to help accomplish the vision set forth.
Lafayette has the following master plans:
- Bikeways Master Plan
- Downtown Creeks Restoration, Preservation, and Development Plan
- Downtown Street Improvement Master Plan
- Lafayette Community Park Master Plan
- Open Space Plan
- Parks & Recreation Facilities Master Plan
- Public Art Master Plan
- Trails Master Plan
- Trails Implementation Plan
- Trees for Lafayette (Master Tree Plan)
- Walkways Master Plan
Specific Plans
A specific plan is a tool for the systematic implementation of the general plan. It effectively establishes a link between implementing policies of the general plan and the individual development proposals in a defined area. A specific plan may be as general as setting forth broad policy concepts, or as detailed as providing direction to every facet of development from the type, location, and intensity of uses to the design and capacity of infrastructure; from the resources used to finance public improvements to the design guidelines of a subdivision.
Lafayette has one specific plan - the Downtown Specific Plan.
Objective Design Standards
The City of Lafayette adopted* Objective Design Standards in response to the State’s 2017 Legislative Housing Package which required jurisdictions to adopt “standards that involve no personal or subjective judgment… and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion…” The adopted Objective Design Standards are applicable to new multi-family/multi-family mixed use projects in the Downtown and address building height, scale, and design, creeks and landscaping, parking and circulation, pedestrian access, and outdoor space. Some of the standards incorporate a point system to allow flexibility and creative design solutions.
The adopted standards for new multi-family/mixed-use development is available in fillable PDF - Objective Design Standards.
*Adopted on May 28, 2019 via City Council Resolution 2019-22
Guidelines
Guidelines are a set of design tools that guide downtown development. In general they are intended to provide ideas, stimulate thinking, and promote quality design among the many participants. They are not empirical standards, but rather reflect how the community envisions development in the downtown. These tools allow for flexibility to maintain and enhance the informal character of the downtown and encourage variety in style, height, setbacks, and spacing. While not all aspects of the guidelines can be implemented in any one design, a project must satisfy all of the applicable goals. A project will be evaluated on how it fits with the fabric of the downtown, relating to its immediate and greater context.
Lafayette has the following guidelines:
- Burton Valley Ridge Development Guidelines
- Downtown Design Guidelines
- Plaza Way Overlay Guidelines & Vision Maps
- Residential Design Review Guidelines
Zoning (Districts / Handouts / Maps)
The Zoning Code (also referred to as Title 6 - Planning & Land Use) is the primary implementation tool of the General Plan. It translates General Plan policies into action by dividing the City into zoning districts and applying different regulations to each district. Each parcel in Lafayette is regulated by the Zoning Code. The Zoning Code establishes permitted uses and uses that require a land use permit, height limits, setbacks, parking requirements, and other development standards for each district. Additionally, the Zoning Code established overarching regulations for topics ranging from recreation courts to second units to wireless communications facilities. For the Zoning Code, please click here. For zoning district regulations, please click here. For other planning handouts, please click here.