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La Habra General Plan
State law requires every city and county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of that jurisdiction. The General Plan is the City's blueprint of the future. It expresses community goals and embodies public policy that are the basis for all land use decisions. The most recent comprehensive update of the General Plan occurred in 2014. The City is currently in the process of preparing amendments to the General Plan that includes updating the Safety Element and incorporating new Environmental Justice goals and policies. The City also continues to work on minor amendments to the General Plan to align with the housing-related goals, policies and programs under the City’s 2021-2029 Housing Element.
Housing Element Update 2021-2029 (Certified)
Housing Element Update 2021-2029
HCD Finding of Substantial Compliance Dated April 21, 2023
Adopted Housing Element - Technical and Clerical Revisions on February 13, 2023
La Habra Transmittal Letter to HCD Dated February 22, 2023
Sites Inventory List for La Habra Dated February 22, 2023
Housing Element Review Process Timeline- To Date as of February 2023:
- Five General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) meetings held in 2020-2021
- Planning Commission review on July 9, 2021
- City Council review on August 16, 2021
- First draft forwarded to HCD on September 2, 2021
- HCD comment letter on the first draft received on November 1, 2021
- City Council review of second draft on March 21, 2022
- Second draft forwarded to HCD on March 23, 2022
- HCD Comment letter on the second draft received on May 23, 2022
- Planning Commission review of third draft on August 22, 2022
- City Council hearing scheduled to review the third draft on September 19, 2022
- City Council approved and adopted the 2021-2029 Housing Element on September 19, 2022 via Resolution 6085
- Third draft forwarded to HCD on September 20, 2022
- HCD Comment letter on the third draft received on November 15, 2022
- City Manager authorized making technical and clerical revisions to the Housing Element on February 13, 2023
- On February 22, 2023, the City submitted responses to the November HCD comment letter, along with technical and clerical refinements to the adopted Housing element.
- On April 21, 2023, the City received the letter of certification from HCD notifying the City that "the adopted housing element is in substantial compliance with State Housing Element Law (Article 10.06 of the Gov. Code)."
Draft General Plan Amendments
The City of La Habra is making the following amendments (General Plan Amendment GPA 23-01) to the La Habra 2035 General Plan:
- Amend the Community Development Element (Chapter 2) and Appendix C: Glossary of terms to update the density standards and housing related definitions.
- Amend Community Safety Element (Chapter 7) and add a new Appendix D in accordance with Government Code Section 65302(g) and to identify the City’s approach to natural and man-made disasters, Fire and Police, along with policies/programs to ensure public safety, and climate change resilience/adaptation.
- Add a new Environmental Justice (EJ) component including Appendix E in accordance with Senate Bill 1000 (SB 1000) which aims to promote equity within the community by establishing policies and programs to improve food access, air quality, safe/sanitary housing and civic engagement.
To review a draft of the amendments, please click on the following documents:
- Community Development Element (Chapter 2)
- Community Safety Element (Chapter 7)
- Appendix C (Glossary)
- Appendix D (Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment)
- Appendix E (Environmental Justice and Health Assessment)
- Implementation Plan
Your comments are welcomed. The amendments are scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on Monday, November 27, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at the La Habra Council Chamber located at 201 East La Habra Boulevard, La Habra, CA 90613. For more information, please contact Planning at (562) 383-4100.
Community Safety Element Update Overview:
The Community Safety Element is a required element (or chapter) of the General Plan. The Community Safety Element provides the City's policy and planning framework to help protect La Habra against natural, environmental, and human-caused threats to public health and safety. The California Government Code has been amended since the general plan was adopted and requires hazard mitigation planning, disaster preparedness, and emergency response, climate change adaptation policies and goals, and latest data/maps related to flooding, geologic, seismic, and fire hazards. The following are the City of La Habra’s objectives for the Community Safety Element Update.
- Update data, goals, policies, and action for consistency with recent state law changes that include, but are not limited to, climate change, wildfire safety, and environmental justice.
- Build upon and maintain consistency with the 2014 La Habra General Plan, Climate Action Plan, and the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
- Reflect contemporary community concerns, such as safe and secure housing, community health and pandemics, power safety shut-offs, and other concerns raised by residents and stakeholders.
To help guide new policies and programs under the Community Safety Element, a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) was conducted that provides a detailed analysis on how climate change may affect the city, and how the community, including, but not limited to, people, infrastructure, buildings, economic drivers, ecological resources, etc.) may be vulnerable to climate-related hazards. The CCVA evaluated air quality, drought, extreme heat, extreme storms, geologic hazards, human health hazards, flooding, and wildfire, and how these hazards presently affect La Habra as well as how these hazards will affect La Habra in the future. The CCVA also identifies which demographic groups in La Habra may be the most vulnerable to these climate change related hazards.
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment – Click here to view the assessment.
A draft Community Safety Element update has been prepared to address the issues highlighted in the CCVA while also complying with the Office of Planning and Research (OPR)guidelines and all State agencies. To date, the draft Community Safety Element update was reviewed and approved by CALFIRE and the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, Resource Protection Committee. It is currently under review by the California Geological Survey (CGS) and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). Upon completion of these reviews, a draft copy will be posted for the view of the public.
Per Senate Bill 1000 (SB 1000), new environmental justice policies and programs must be incorporated into the General Plan that address the needs of disadvantaged communities by helping: 1) reduce air pollution exposure; 2) increase civic engagement; 3) ensure safe and sanitary homes; and, 4) promote the accessibility of healthy food and physical activity options.
To help guide new policies and programs, a Health and Environmental Justice Assessment was completed that identifies which La Habra neighborhoods are disproportionately affected by pollution and other hazards that contribute to negative health effects, exposure, and environmental degradation and assesses features of the city (e.g., access to parks, grocery stores, bicycle routs) that affect the health and well-being of La Habra residents. This information will guide policies within the General Plan to reduce unique and compounded health risks in disadvantaged communities, and prioritize programs that address the needs of these communities.
The Health and Environmental Justice Assessment is now available for viewing – Click here to view the assessment .
Community Outreach/Environmental Equity Questionnaire
The City developed an Environmental Equity Questionnaire to survey key issues facing residents that facilitated or detracted from becoming a healthier community. In an effort to make this questionnaire available to as many La Habra residents as possible, it was distributed during highly attended events including the City’s Tamale Festival on Saturday, December 3, 2022 and the City’s Spring Family Eggstravaganza, on Saturday, April 8, 2023. The City received responses to the questionnaire from approximately 75 participants that attended these events. Please refer to the Health and Environmental Justice Assessment click above for a view of the results.
Community workshop
A community workshop on the proposed update to the Community Safety Element was held on Tuesday, October 24. To view the presentation in English or in Spanish, please click on the links below.
Community Workshop Presentation (English)
Community Workshop Presentation (Spanish)
You can still participate by attending a public hearing meeting!
Planning Commission
Date: Monday, November 27, 2023
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: La Habra Council Chamber
201 East La Habra Boulevard
La Habra, CA 90613
City Council
TBD
If you have any questions, please contact:
Sonya Lui, Planning Manager at (562) 383-4103 or slui@lahabraca.gov
Vanessa Quiroz, Senior Planner at (562) 383-4128 or vquiroz@lahabraca.gov
About Us
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Sonya Lui
Planning Manager
Vanessa Quiroz
Senior Planner
David Lopez
Planning Division
110 East La Habra Boulevard
La Habra, CA 90631
Phone: 562-383-4100
FAX: 562-383-4476
Community Development Counter HoursThe counter is open Monday through Thursday7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.