Draft General Plan and EIR

The text below is also accessible as documents: Element Summaries and What’s New?.​

Element Summaries

Circulation

• Create a safe, convenient, and balanced mobility network for all ages and abilities.

• Ensure that transportation, land use, and transit plans and policies are coordinated and support safe, Complete Streets.

• Provide adequate parking.

• Maintain transportation infrastructure and fund improvements equitably.

• Reduce noise and manage heavy vehicle impacts.

• Lower vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

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Conservation & Open Space

• Preserve and enhance natural resources, open spaces, wildlife habitats, working lands, and historic and cultural resources.

• Promote environmental resilience through sustainable land management.

• Grow the urban forest.

• Improve air and water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• Engage the community in conservation and sustainability programs.

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Economic Development

• Align workforce development with target industries through education, training, and partnerships.

• Support business retention, expansion, and attraction with infrastructure and land use strategies.

• Foster public-private partnerships to drive innovation and entrepreneurship.

• Promote tourism, placemaking, and branding rooted in Santa Maria’s identity.

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Health & Environmental Justice

• Reduce environmental health risks.

• Expand access to safe, sanitary, and affordable housing.

• Improve access to healthy food, active transportation, public facilities, and healthcare.

• Advance equitable, community-driven engagement.

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Land Use

• Maintain a vibrant Downtown, active mixed-use corridors, and a thriving airport.

• Support a balanced mix of uses, diverse housing, and strong commercial and industrial sectors while mitigating land use conflicts.

• Preserve agricultural lands and manage growth through strategic annexation.

• Enhance community design, architecture, and pedestrian-friendly public spaces.

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Noise

• Prevent noise impacts by siting noise-generating uses appropriately.

• Mitigate transportation-related noise and strengthen construction noise regulations.

• Minimize ground-borne vibration impacts.

• Protect sensitive land uses.

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Public Facilities & Services

• Maintain and expand water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.

• Promote sustainable waste management and water conservation.

• Provide responsive public services and ensure adequate libraries and other facilities for new growth.

• Invest in police and fire infrastructure to ensure safety.

• Coordinate regionally on shared infrastructure and service needs.

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Recreation & Parks

• Expand and upgrade parks, facilities, and trail networks to meet community needs.

• Offer inclusive, culturally diverse programs with targeted outreach in multiple languages.

• Monitor needs and invest equitably in underserved areas.

• Maintain facilities with safe, cost-effective practices and partnerships.

• Promote environmental resilience through green infrastructure and sustainable landscaping.

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Safety

• Reduce seismic, geologic, fire, flood, and hazardous materials risks through resilient design, regulations, and infrastructure.

• Expand emergency response capacity, facility resilience, and community preparedness.

• Improve emergency access, evacuation routes, and assistance for vulnerable populations.

• Address airport hazards through land use compatibility planning.

• Build climate resilience with cooling solutions, retrofits, and water conservation.

Draft General Plan: What's new?

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Background

Policy Frameworks were shared in early 2025 for community review. Based on community feedback, a range of revisions were made, which are reflected in the Draft General Plan. In addition, the Draft General Plan Elements are organized slightly differently from the Frameworks, and other non-substantive refinements were made. The differences between the Policy Frameworks and the Draft General Plan are summarized below.

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Changes to All Elements

• Vision and Guiding Principles: The Vision and Guiding Principles have been moved to the Introduction chapter of the General Plan.

• Background: Each element includes a Background section that introduces existing conditions and trends related to priorities addressed in the element’s respective policies.

• Regulatory Setting: The Statutory Requirements section in each Policy Framework identifies the laws and regulations that impact the content and policy direction of each element. These sections have been consolidated into the Draft General Plan’s Appendix F: Related Laws and Legislation. 

• Standards and Diagrams: When appropriate, elements include a Standards and Diagrams section that establishes regulatory standards and diagrams. A standard is a rule or measure establishing a level of quality or quantity that must be complied with or satisfied. Likewise, a diagram is a graphic expression of the text of a particular policy.

• Non-substantive Refinements: Some goals, policies, and actions were consolidated, moved, or augmented to keep the elements consistent with one another, and cross-references among elements were added. Minor wording changes were also made for clarity and to improve readability.

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Substantive Changes​

Land Use

• Land Use Designations: Some definitions are refined, corresponding zoning is added, and maximum building heights are removed.

• Community Engagement: The goal and policies focused on engagement were moved to a consolidated community engagement goal in the Environmental Justice Element.

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Circulation

• Standards and Diagrams: Street Classifications, the Street Network, Traffic Level of Service, Bikeway Classifications, the Bikeway Network, Bicycle Level of Stress, Classifications for E-Bikes and Other Micromobility Devices, and the Pedestrian Priority Improvement Network were added.

• Public Transit: New policies focused on multi-modal infrastructure and transit-supportive urban design, as well as several new actions, were added to this goal area.

• Evacuation: The goal area focused on evacuation was integrated into the Safety Element.

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Recreation and Parks

• Standards: Standards for Recreational Facilities and Parks were added.

• Maintenance Districts: A new policy was added to require that some development projects be annexed into a Landscape Maintenance District.

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Public Facilities and Services

• Safe Routes to School: Goals, policies, and actions focused on safe streets were consolidated into the Circulation and Environmental Justice Elements.

• Arts Center: A Civic Arts Center policy was added.

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Noise

• Standards: Standards for Noise Sensitive Land Uses and Noise Contours were added.

• Roadway Vehicle Noise: A new policy and actions were added to mitigate roadway vehicle noise in new development.

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Health & Environmental Justice

• Emergency Preparedness: Policies and actions focused on emergency preparedness and resources were consolidated in the Safety Element.

Element Summaries and Key Changes

Events to Learn More