Huntington Beach General Plan

The plan document

Read Huntington Beach's official General Plan: Huntington Beach General Plan → · 2017-10-02 · 2022-10-18

Elements · 6 Verifier-checked summaries

• Land Use Element (General Plan, Adopted October 2, 2017) → Land Use 2017-10-02

  Huntington Beach's Land Use Element (adopted October 2, 2017) implements California Government Code Section 65302(a), designating the distribution, location, and extent of land uses and setting residential density and nonresidential intensity standards. Density is measured in dwelling units per net acre (du/ac) and intensity in floor-to-area ratio (FAR). Per a 2014 survey, residential uses make up about 43 percent of the planning area and public uses (mostly rights-of-way) 28 percent. The element classifies change as Preserve, Conserve, or Transform, and establishes 20 designations (18 primary plus 2 overlays). Residential ranges run from Low Density (up to 7.0 units/acre) to High Density (over 30.0 units/acre); commercial FARs include Neighborhood Commercial up to 0.35, General Commercial up to 1.5, Visitor Commercial up to 0.5, and Office up to 1.0; Industrial is capped at 0.75 FAR. There are 15 adopted specific plans.

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• 6th Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element (Revised Draft, March 10, 2023) → Housing 2022-10-18

  The 6th Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element is a chapter of the Huntington Beach General Plan, identifying and analyzing existing and projected housing needs and providing goals, policies, quantified objectives, and programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. It is one of the seven mandatory General Plan elements, required under California Government Code Article 10.6, with Section 65588 mandating review and revision at least every eight years. HCD set the RHNA planning period from October 15, 2021 to October 15, 2029, allocating Huntington Beach a total of 13,368 units: 3,661 very low-income, 2,184 low-income, 2,308 moderate-income, and 5,215 above-moderate-income units. The prior 5th Cycle Housing Element was adopted in October 2013 and amended February 2020. The element works in tandem with the Land Use Element (last amended 2017) and includes an analysis of Fair Housing, including Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing per Government Code Section 8899.50. The City Council adopted the 6th Cycle Housing Element on October 18, 2022.

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• Circulation Element (General Plan, Adopted October 2, 2017) → Circulation & Mobility 2017-10-02

  The Circulation Element (adopted October 2, 2017) implements California Government Code Section 65302(b) and addresses a multimodal system of roadways, bikeways, equestrian trails, sidewalks, waterways, and OCTA transit, correlated with the Land Use Element. It incorporates AB 1358 (Complete Streets Act of 2008). Roadway performance is measured by Level of Service (LOS) A through F, defined by volume-to-capacity ratios in Table CIRC-1 (A: 0.00-0.60 up to F: above 1.00), with A-C considered good and F oversaturated. Per SB 743 (2013), the City will use Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as its CEQA threshold while still assessing LOS. General Plan buildout could add up to 7,228 dwelling units and about 5.4 million nonresidential square feet, generating roughly 148,000 average daily vehicle trips. Roads are classified from Freeway through Local Street; Beach Boulevard is an OCTA-designated smart street arterial; I-405 and Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1) provide regional access.

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• Circulation Element (General Plan, Adopted October 2, 2017) → Circulation & Mobility 2017-10-02

  The Circulation Element (adopted October 2, 2017) implements California Government Code Section 65302(b) and addresses a multimodal system of roadways, bikeways, equestrian trails, sidewalks, waterways, and OCTA transit, correlated with the Land Use Element. It incorporates AB 1358 (Complete Streets Act of 2008). Roadway performance is measured by Level of Service (LOS) A through F, defined by volume-to-capacity ratios in Table CIRC-1 (A: 0.00-0.60 up to F: above 1.00), with A-C considered good and F oversaturated. Per SB 743 (2013), the City will use Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as its CEQA threshold while still assessing LOS. General Plan buildout could add up to 7,228 dwelling units and about 5.4 million nonresidential square feet, generating roughly 148,000 average daily vehicle trips. Roads are classified from Freeway through Local Street; Beach Boulevard is an OCTA-designated smart street arterial; I-405 and Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1) provide regional access.

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• Environmental Resources and Conservation Element (General Plan, Adopted October 2, 2017) → Conservation 2017-10-02

  The Environmental Resources and Conservation Element (adopted October 2, 2017) satisfies state requirements for both a Conservation element and an Open Space element under California Government Code Sections 65302(d), 65302(e), and 65560. Its Conservation Plan addresses air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, biological diversity, and mineral resources. Huntington Beach lies in the South Coast Air Basin, where ozone, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are key pollutants; the basin is out of compliance for ozone and exceeds standards for PM10 and PM2.5 but is below NO2 standards. Diesel particulate matter is the toxic air contaminant posing the greatest health risk in California. Citywide 2005 GHG emissions totaled 1,452,070 MTCO2e, with on-road vehicles the largest source. Conservation-designated (OS-C) lands total 1,662 acres, largely in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Census tract 994.02 ranks in the state's top 25 percent for environmental justice considerations per CalEnviroScreen.

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• Environmental Resources and Conservation Element (General Plan, Adopted October 2, 2017) → Open Space 2017-10-02

  The same Environmental Resources and Conservation Element (adopted October 2, 2017) contains the Open Space Plan, fulfilling the state Open Space element requirement (Government Code Section 65560(b)). Open space designations cover about 3,274 acres, or 17 percent of the planning area (excluding specific plan areas), broken down in Table ERC-1 as Conservation (OS-C) 1,662 acres (51%), Parks (OS-P) 701 acres (21%), Shore (OS-S) 434 acres (13%), Water Recreation (OS-WR) 239 acres (7%), and Recreation (OS-R) 238 acres (7%). The city has 79 parks totaling 1,073 acres, ranging from mini parks (under 2.5 acres) to the 343-acre Central Park. Based on the 2014 population of 193,189, parkland equals about 5.4 acres per 1,000 residents; the element sets a level-of-service goal of 5 or more acres per 1,000 residents, projecting 5.1 acres per 1,000 at the 2040 buildout population of 211,051. The coastline holds a contiguous 9.5-mile, 434-acre sandy beach.

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• Noise Element (General Plan, Adopted October 2, 2017) → Noise 2017-10-02
• Natural and Environmental Hazards Element (Safety Element) (General Plan, Adopted October 2, 2017) → Safety 2017-10-02

Element summaries are generated from the official document text and held unless every fact is grounded in the source. Links open the jurisdiction's own published documents.