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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Included in the Land Use and Mobility Update Project?
The Land Use and Mobility Update work program includes preparation of a variety of important planning documents that will guide the City through 2040. The overall project will involve the following interrelated components described below:
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Focused update of the Land Use, Circulation, and Housing Elements of the City's General Plan
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Update of the City’s Transportation Model to incorporate Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) thresholds in compliance with State of California Senate Bill 743 guidelines
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Development of a Transportation Impact Mitigation Fee for incoming and future developments in the City of Glendale
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Environmental Analysis assessing the impacts of components 1, 2, and 3 (identified above) to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
1. Focused General Plan Update
Land Use Element
The Land Use Element will be updated to reflect post-recession development patterns, and will include updates made to the City’s Community Plans. New land use designations will be considered along with policy guidance to address the relationship between building facades and the public realm, the form and mass of buildings in relation to one another, and the scale and types of streets and blocks. The Land Use Element will capitalize on the community’s assets and potential with “placemaking” ideas that ultimately create good public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being.
Circulation Element
New topics related to mobility and its role in Glendale have emerged since the General Plan was last comprehensively updated, including multimodal network connectivity, active transportation, and regional transit planning. Existing goals and policies may be refined, and potential new goals, policies, and programs may be recommended to reflect new and emerging City priorities, changing conditions, new State mandates and guidelines, and recent local and regional planning initiatives. This will include the transportation goals, policies, and objectives for the City, and will address the measures needed to incorporate future transportation network changes and anticipated citywide growth.
Housing Element
Like all other jurisdictions in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region, Glendale will update its Housing Element as part of the 6th Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) cycle. Furthermore, the City is undertaking this update to the Housing Element at a time when housing is the state and region’s most critical issue.
2. Transportation Guidelines
As required under Senate Bill (SB) 743, the City must transform the way it analyzes transportation/traffic impacts resulting from new development in Glendale and has updated its Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines to analyze Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). VMT is the new lens for assessing transportation impacts on the environment for projects subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
3. Transportation Impact Mitigation Fee
As a measure to help mitigate the transportation impacts resulting from new development, the City will conduct a nexus study and analyze best practices to develop a Transportation Impact Mitigation Fee ordinance and fee schedule. Fees collected would fund transportation infrastructure and facility improvement projects throughout the City.
4. Environmental Impact Report
An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared to address all potential environmental impacts associated with implementation of the updated General Plan elements, the VMT metrics proposed for the Transportation Model Update, and the Transportation Impact Mitigation Fee. The EIR will serve as a "tiering document" to facilitate streamlined environmental review of subsequent development, planning, and infrastructure projects undertaken in the City which are consistent with the General Plan.
How Can I get Involved?
The Land Use and Mobility Update process provides an opportunity for community members to discuss and weigh-in on the City’s future. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities to participate, including meetings, workshops, and public hearings. Please sign-up here to receive notifications regarding future public engagement programs.
In order to collect community input in an open, engaging, and actionable way, the City has designed a series of community events and engagement activities where you will have the opportunity to participate in and be informed of the planning process. These include:
Virtual Visioning Workshops
Three Virtual Visioning Workshops will be held to introduce the community to the project and to provide opportunities for the community to identify their vision, goals and priorities, and land use, design, and mobility preferences.
Stakeholder Interviews
Interviews of groups and organizations that represent various local and regional issues that affect Glendale will be conducted to ensure that a broad range of perspectives are included early in the Land Use and Mobility Update process.
Community Briefings
Briefings with social and civic groups at their regular meetings will provide an opportunity to inform and educate their members on the Land Use and Mobility Update.
Public Review Draft Documents
Key project documents, including the General Plan Element updates, Transportation Guidelines, and Environmental Impact Report, will be made available to the public for review and feedback before the project is finalized. The documents will be presented to the entire community in order to receive feedback and input.
Study Sessions and Public Hearings
The City will conduct study sessions and public hearings before the Transportation Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council to consider key project documents. Community members are encouraged to attend these meetings.
Why Should I Get Involved?
The City of Glendale is committed to involving the community in the planning process. The General Plan Update process provides residents, businesses, and interested parties the chance to help guide the future of the community. A successful General Plan will reflect the community’s vision and priorities, and we believe that your voice is vital to producing a plan that will reflect your vision for the City’s future. Community input is needed to establish the long-term vision for Glendale and to identify key issues and priorities. You can register your email address to receive future project notifications.
How Will My Feedback be Used?
Public input from every engagement opportunity is meticulously reviewed and documented to ensure that planners, City staff, and decision-makers have a full understanding of public sentiment when drafting goals and policies. Public feedback on General Plan materials (including goals and policies) will be considered throughout the process.
How Can I Stay informed?
Visit the Get Involved page to view the dates of upcoming meetings and community events. If you wish to be added to the City’s mailing list to receive project updates and invitations to community events, use the sign-up form and request to be added to the mailing list.
The General Plan Update process is an opportunity for community members to discuss the City’s future. There will be many opportunities to participate, including meetings, workshops, and public hearings. All of these opportunities will be posted on this website.
What is the Project Schedule?
The Glendale General Plan Update will take place over a multiyear period from 2020 through 2022. The Housing Element Update schedule is outlined below:
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Preparation of Public Draft Housing Element: Summer/Fall 2021
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Community Review of Public Draft Housing Element: Summer 2021
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Public Hearings with Planning Commission and City Council on Public Draft Housing Element: September/October 2021
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State Review of Public Draft Housing Element: Late 2021
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Public Engagement: Ongoing for the entire Housing Element Update preparation process