governor’s office of planning and research …dec 31, 2018 · 2018 annual planning survey...

2018 Annual Planning Survey Results

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF PLANNING AND RESEARCH

DECEMBER 2018

Annual Planning Survey Results 2018

This publication may reference complex and specific laws and regulations. Any such reference is provided merely

for the convenience of the reader. Always refer to the actual text of applicable laws and regulations, and consult

with an attorney when applying them.

As with all Governor’s Office of Planning and Research publications, you may print all or part of this book. You need

not secure permission; just copy it accurately and give credit to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.

For further information on this or other OPR documents, please visit www.opr.ca.gov or contact the State

Clearinghouse at (916) 445-0613.

State of California Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Ken Alex, Director Elizabeth Baca, Deputy Director 1400 Tenth Street Sacramento, CA 95814 P.O. Box 3044 Sacramento, CA 95812 (916) 322-2318 www.opr.ca.gov

Project Management Report Production

Michael McCormick, AICP Beth Hotchkiss

Greta Soos

http://www.opr.ca.gov/

Letter from the Deputy Director

The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) is pleased to announce the release of the 2018 Annual Planning

Survey results. OPR’s Annual Planning Survey is distributed to all cities and counties California and provides the latest

information on local planning activities, the status of city and county General Plans, and issues of statewide concern.

OPR conducts the Annual Planning Survey each year to gain perspective on policies and planning and the local level and to

evaluate trends over time. Responses to the survey aid OPR and other state agencies in the development of tools and

guidance for local jurisdictions. The survey highlights areas of progress as well as implementation challenges for specific

policies. Moreover, the survey helps identify areas of local leadership.

This year, in addition to posting the full results of the survey, we are again providing a summary of a number of questions

that are policy and program focused. We are also including information on how local governments track progress on

general plan policies.

We appreciate the time and effort of all the cities and counties in completing the Annual Planning Survey – this year with

responses from 63 percent of all cities and counties in the state. The survey is used in a variety of ways to show progress

on implementing state programs, support State policy initiatives, identify gaps in resources for local governments, and

create understanding in how the State can generally support local governments in achieving statewide goals. We hope

that the survey is useful to our local partners, and welcome comments and suggestions on how it can be more effective

and informative in the future.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Baca, MD, MPA

3 | P a g e


Introduction to the Survey

Each year the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) distributes a survey to every city and county planning

department in the state. The survey asks for basic information on the status of each jurisdiction’s planning efforts and

explores, in greater depth, the policies and programs that jurisdictions are implementing.

OPR distributed this year’s survey electronically during the summer of 2018. Jurisdictions could complete the form

online or in hard copy format. OPR accepted survey responses through September 2018. Follow up calls and emails were

made to both respondents and non-respondents through October 2018 to maximize the number and quality of

responses. The responses to the survey are used to help inform the work of OPR and other state agencies as they

develop guidance and tools to support local governments. Academic institutions also use the survey responses to inform

a variety of research initiatives. The results are made available each year on OPR’s website in PDF with further detail in a

companion Excel document.

2018 Results

This year, 338 of the 540 cities and counties (63%) in California completed the 2018 Annual Planning Survey. This

includes 294 of the 482 cities (61%) and 44 of the 58 counties (76%). The following graphs give an overview of

selected questions and responses from the 2018 Annual Planning Survey. For each of the graphs, the total

number of respondents is shown, unless stated otherwise. Questions and answers not highlighted below are

general information questions that are used to update the Directory of Planning Agencies. Further details for

each of the questions below and answers to questions not represented in this overview may be found in Excel

format 2018 APS Answers.

http://opr.ca.gov/docs/20181015-Annual_Planning_Survey_2018_Answers.xlsx

4 | P a g e


Question 7. Does your General plan address the following issues?

The issue areas highlighted in this question were selected due to their current prominence in local policy

discussions. An issue these responses highlight is the number of jurisdictions not currently consistent with new

statutory mandates on environmental justice and climate change adaptation.

0

5

10

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20

25

30

35

40

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Does your County's General Plan address the following issues?

Yes, addressed in required element(s) Yes, addressed in a special elementAddressed in a Separate Plan and incorporated by reference Not addressed in General PlanUnsure No Response

0

50

100

150

200

250

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Does your City's General Plan address the following issues?

Yes, addressed in required element(s) Yes, addressed in a special element

Addressed in a Separate Plan and incorporated by reference Not addressed in General Plan

Unsure No Response

5 | P a g e


Question 8. Does your General Plan include any of the following health-related policies?

1. Policies that explicitly promote health equity (e.g., policies that ensure all groups have access to grocery stores, park space, etc)

2. Policies to support lifecycle housing or aging-in-place

3. Policies that help to mitigate the urban heat island

4. Zoning that ensures grocery stores and/or fruit and vegetable vendors are accessible across your jurisdiction

5. Zoning that facilitates opportunities for local food production including urban or front/backyard farming and community gardens

6. Policies to promote active living (e.g., planning to integrate physical activity into daily routines)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Does your County's General Plan address the following health issues?

In General Plan Addressed in a Separate Plan and incorporated by reference

Not in General Plan, but contained elsewhere No such policies are in place

Unsure

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Does your City's General Plan address the following health issues?



Unsure No Response

6 | P a g e


Question 9. Does your jurisdiction have any of the following policies related to school siting and development?

1. Policies that encourage neighborhood schools (i.e., schools where the majority of students live in the immediate geographic area)

2. Policies that support schools in areas with safe pedestrian or bicycle access

3. Policies that support schools in infill or priority development areas

4. Policies that support rehabilitation of existing school facilities

5. Policies that support the joint use of school facilities (e.g., keeping playgrounds open for community use)

6. Policies that align with goals for complete streets

7. Other (See 2018 APS Answers)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Does your County's General Plan include any of the following policies related to school siting and development?



Unsure No Response

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Does your City's General Plan include any of the following policies related to school siting and development?



Unsure No Response


7 | P a g e


Question 10. Has your Agency employed any of the following tools to promote infill development?

1. Implementation of Form-Based Zoning Codes

2. Density bonuses

3. Reduced parking requirements

4. Expedited permit processing

5. Improvements of infrastructure and/or utilities in infill areas

6. Financial incentives for development costs, particularly for infrastructure

7. Financial incentives for pre-development costs (fee reductions, waivers, deferrals)

8. Coordination of CEQA analysis and review (tiering, etc)

9. Development of partnerships with school districts


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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Has your agency employed any of the following tools to promote infill development?

Yes, implemented Under Consideration No Unsure

0

50

100

150

200

250

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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Has your agency employed any of the following tools to promote infill development?

Yes, implemented Under Consideration No Unsure No Response


8 | P a g e


Question 11. Has your jurisdiction adopted programs and/or policies to improve water use efficiency? If yes,

what form have these programs and policies taken?

1. Retrofit requirements for commercial buildings at re-sale

2. Retrofit requirements for residential buildings at re-sale

3. Regulations that prohibit development projects that would result in a net increase in water use

4. Ordinances for recycled water

5. Ordinances or landscaping standards

6. Development standards that require or promote low-impact development (LID)

7. Residential water use restrictions (e.g., limited landscape watering times)

8. Commercial water use restrictions (e.g., limited landscape watering times)

9. Requirements for water metering at residential developments


33, 75%

7, 16%

4, 9%

Has your county adopted programs and/or policies to

improve water use efficiency?

Yes No Unsure

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

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=43

What form have your county's water use efficiency programs and policies taken?

251, 85%

15, 5%

10, 4% 18, 6%

Has your city adopted programs and/or policies to improve water

use efficiency?

Yes No Unsure No Response

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

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What form have your city's water use efficiency programs and policies taken?


9 | P a g e


Question 12. Mitigation- Does your jurisdiction have plans or strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

If yes, what documents address this?

Note: Please be cautious when interpreting the second set of graphs for this question. Some may have

indicated N/A because they indicated “No” in the first part of the question while others may have indicated N/A

because the plan may not apply to their community. In future surveys, OPR will resolve this ambiguity.

For the second part of this question please refer to the following definitions:

Adaptation or Resilience Plan: A plan focused on addressing the city's, region's or community's vulnerability to climate

change impacts. This document may also include discussions on vulnerability.

Climate Action Plan: A plan that combines discussions focused around climate change that include, but are not limited to,

vulnerability, emissions, adaptation and mitigation. Climate Action Plans also outline policies and measures that a local

jurisdiction will enact to address climate change overall.

Codes/Ordinances: These documents serve as implementation tools for the above documents. They create the connection

between policy and implementation and work to specify how climate change policies will work on the ground.

Energy Action Plan: A plan focused on creating renewable energy and improving energy efficiency.

General Plan Implementation Measures: Typically these measures are an implementation of a Climate Action Plan or

General Plan that creates policies and programs to address climate change.

General Plan Policies: When climate change considerations are incorporated into a jurisdiction's General Plan - can refer to

both greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts and adaptation.

GHG Reduction Plan: This plan is focused on greenhouse gas emissions and outlines consistency with State CEQA

Guidelines Section 15183.

GHG Emissions Inventory: An overview of greenhouse gases and courses of emissions. These studies are often completed

as a part of General Plan, Climate Action Plan and GHG emissions reduction plan but may be completed separately.

Local Coastal Programs: Planning tools used by local governments to guide development in the coastal zone consistent with

the Coastal Act.

Sustainability Plan: This type of plan is typically focused on a more holistic vision of a community that includes

considerations of climate change as one component. These plans are often seen as "visioning" documents.

Vulnerability Assessment: A document that analyzes how a community, city, or region and/or its infrastructure may be

impacted by climate change.

37, 84%

7, 16%

Does your county have plans or strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Yes No

218, 74%

66, 23%

10, 3%

Does your city have plans or strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Yes No No Response

10 | P a g e


0

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10

15

20

25

30

35

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esCounty documents that address greenhouse gas emission reduction

Adopted Completed In progress Planned Not Applicable No Response

0

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100

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200

250

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City documents that address greenhouse gas emission reduction


11 | P a g e


Question 13. Adaptation- Does your jurisdiction have plans or strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate

change? If yes, what documents address this?

Note: Please be cautious when interpreting the second set of graphs for this question. Some may have

indicated N/A because they indicated “No” in the first part of the question while others may have indicated N/A

because the plan may not apply to their community. In future surveys, OPR will resolve this ambiguity.

Moreover, due to a technical glitch, the number of county respondents for the second part of the question is 43.

For the second part of this question please refer to the following definitions:

Adaptation or Resilience Plan: A plan focused on addressing the city's, region's or community's vulnerability to climate

change impacts. This document may also include discussions on vulnerability.

Climate Action Plan: A plan that combines discussions focused around climate change that include, but are not limited to,

vulnerability, emissions, adaptation and mitigation. Climate Action Plans also outline policies and measures that a local

jurisdiction will enact to address climate change overall.

Codes/Ordinances: These documents serve as implementation tools for the above documents. They create the connection

between policy and implementation and work to specify how climate change policies will work on the ground.

Energy Action Plan: A plan focused on creating renewable energy and improving energy efficiency.

General Plan Implementation Measures: Typically these measures are an implementation of a Climate Action Plan or

General Plan that creates policies and programs to address climate change.

General Plan Policies: When climate change considerations are incorporated into a jurisdiction's General Plan - can refer to

both greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts and adaptation.

GHG Reduction Plan: This plan is focused on greenhouse gas emissions and outlines consistency with State CEQA

Guidelines Section 15183.

GHG Emissions Inventory: An overview of greenhouse gases and courses of emissions. These studies are often completed

as a part of General Plan, Climate Action Plan and GHG emissions reduction plan but may be completed separately.

Local Coastal Programs: Planning tools used by local governments to guide development in the coastal zone consistent with

the Coastal Act.

Sustainability Plan: This type of plan is typically focused on a more holistic vision of a community that includes

considerations of climate change as one component. These plans are often seen as "visioning" documents.

Vulnerability Assessment: A document that analyzes how a community, city, or region and/or its infrastructure may be

impacted by climate change.

26, 59%

18, 41%

Does your county have plans or strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change?

Yes No

174, 59%

106, 36%

14, 5%

Does your city have plans or strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change?

Yes No No Response

12 | P a g e


0

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=43

County documents that address climate adaptation


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City documents that address climate adaptation


13 | P a g e


Question 15. If language related to climate change and GHG emissions is included in your General Plan,

please identify which elements discuss these issues and what topic(s) the language addresses. (Select all that

apply)

Note: Ambiguous answers (e.g. “Contains language on reducing GHG emissions & addresses neither of these

topics”) were removed from the data set. Please see 2018 APS Answers for more detailed information.

0

5

10

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25

30

35

40

45

Land UseElement

HousingElement

CirculationElement

Noise Element Open SpaceElement

SafetyElement

ConservationElement

Air QualityElement

SeparateClimate Action

Plan

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If language related to climate change and GHG emissions is included in your county's General Plan, please identify which elements discuss these issues and what topic(s) the language

addresses

Contains language on preparing for impacts of climate change Contains language on reducing GHG emissions

Both Addresses neither of these topics

No Response

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Land UseElement

HousingElement

CirculationElement

Noise Element Open SpaceElement

SafetyElement

ConservationElement

Air QualityElement

SeparateClimate

Action Plan

Nu

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If language related to climate change and GHG emissions is included in your city's General Plan, please identify which elements discuss these issues and what topic(s) the language addresses

Contains language on preparing for impacts of climate change Contains language on reducing GHG emissions

Both Addresses neither of these topics

No Response


14 | P a g e


Question 15 (continued). Please indicate your agency's level of capacity to address climate change or

adaptation.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Staffing Technical Capacity Support from ElectedOfficials or Department

Leaders

Community Engagement Funding

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Please indicate your agency's level of capacity to address climate change or adaptation in each of the following areas.

Optimal Capacity Adequate Capacity Some Capacity Very Little Capacity No Capacity

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Staffing Technical Capacity Support from ElectedOfficials or Department

Leaders

Community Engagement Funding

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Please indicate your agency's level of capacity to address climate change or adaptation in each of the following areas.

Optimal Capacity Adequate Capacity Some Capacity Very Little Capacity No Capacity No Response

15 | P a g e


Question 16. Climate Vulnerable Communities - Does your jurisdiction translate any of the following

documents into languages other than English?

Question 16 (continued). Does your jurisdiction have policies to accommodate individuals with access and

functional needs (AFN) in the following documents?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

General Plan Local HazardMitigation

Plan

ClimateAction Plan

ClimateAdaptation

Plan

Nu

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Does your county translate any of the following documents into languages other

than English?

Yes No

0

50

100

150

200

250

300


Plan

ClimateAction Plan

ClimateAdaptation

Plan

Nu

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Does your city translate any of the following documents into languages other than English?

Yes No No Response

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45


Plan

ClimateAction Plan

ClimateAdaptation

Plan

Nu

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Does your county have policies to accommodate individuals with access and

functional needs (AFN) in the following documents?

Yes No

0

50

100

150

200

250

300


Plan

ClimateAction Plan

ClimateAdaptation

Plan

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Does your city have policies to accommodate individuals with access and functional needs

(AFN) in the following documents?

Yes No No Response

16 | P a g e


Question 16 (continued). Has your jurisdiction shifted to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) from Level of Service

(LOS) as its primary metric of transportation impact?

Question 16 (continued). Have you updated your General Plan to be consistent with a regional Sustainable

Communities Strategy (SCS), Blueprint Plan, or other regional strategy?

3, 7%

15, 34%

26, 59%

Has your county shifted to VMT from LOS as its primary metric of transportation impact?

Yes No In Process

23, 8%

129, 44%119, 40%

23, 8%

Has your city shifted to VMT from LOS as its primary metric of transportation impact?

Yes No In Process No Response

12, 27%

25, 57%

7, 16%

Have your county updated your General Plan to be consistent with a regional SCS,

Blueprint Plan, or other regional strategy?

Yes No In Process

76, 26%

124, 42%

77, 26%

17, 6%

Have your city updated your General Plan to be consistent with a regional SCS, Blueprint

Plan, or other regional strategy?

Yes No In Process No Response

17 | P a g e


Question 17. Has your jurisdiction used the following climate change related tools and resources?

Note: The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research identified these tools due to their inclusion in various

State guidance documents supporting local planning for climate change. 1. Cal-Adapt - http://cal-adapt.org

2. California Adaptation Clearinghouse - http://resilientca.org

3. California Adaptation Planning Guide - http://resources.ca.gov/climate/safeguarding/local-action/

4. California Climate Action Portal (CAP-Map) - https://webmaps.arb.ca.gov/capmap

5. CalOES MyHazards - http://myhazards.caloes.ca.gov/

6. CalOES MyPlan - http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/hazard-mitigation/myplan-internet-mapping-tool

7. CalOES Office of Access and Functional Needs - http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/access-functional-needs/oafn-web-map

8. Coastal Storm Modeling System: CoSMoS - https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/coastal_processes/cosmos/

9. Cool California - http://www.coolcalifornia.org/

10. Funding Wizard - https://fundingwizard.arb.ca.gov

11. Georgetown Climate Center Adaptation Clearinghouse - http://www.adaptationclearinghouse.org

12. NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer - https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slr

13. Our Coast Our Future Sea Level Rise Viewer - http://data.pointblue.org/apps/ocof/cms/

14. SEEC Clearpath California Emissions Management Tool - http://californiaseec.org/seec-clearpath/

15. US Climate Resilience Toolkit - https://toolkit.climate.gov/

16. Urban Footprint - http://www.sgc.ca.gov/resources/urban-footprint/ 17. Other (See 2018 APS Answers)

02468

101214161820

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Has your jurisdiction used the following climate change related tools and resources?

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

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Has your jurisdiction used the following climate change related tools and resources?

http://cal-adapt.org/

http://resilientca.org/

http://resources.ca.gov/climate/safeguarding/local-action/

https://webmaps.arb.ca.gov/capmap

http://myhazards.caloes.ca.gov/

http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/hazard-mitigation/myplan-internet-mapping-tool

http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/access-functional-needs/oafn-web-map

https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/coastal_processes/cosmos/

http://www.coolcalifornia.org/

https://fundingwizard.arb.ca.gov/

http://www.adaptationclearinghouse.org/

https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slr

http://data.pointblue.org/apps/ocof/cms/

http://californiaseec.org/seec-clearpath/

https://toolkit.climate.gov/

http://www.sgc.ca.gov/resources/urban-footprint/


governor’s office of planning and research …dec 31, 2018 · 2018 annual planning survey...

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