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General Plan Elements
Below are short descriptions of each of the Elements in Glendale's General Plan. More information is available on each of the individual Element pages. Those without hyperlinks are not being updated at this time.
Air Quality Element
Completed in 1994, the Air Quality Element of the City's General Plan was created to recognize and consider the relationship between land use and air quality in Glendale's planning efforts, to identify ways in which Glendale can reduce its emissions of air pollutants through various policies and programs, and to comply with the regions' Air Quality Management Plan.
Community Facilities Element
The Community Facilities Element contains discussion and clarification of educational facilities, libraries, parks, commercial-recreational facilities, organizations, protection facilities, post offices, government facilities, health facilities, cemeteries, religious facilities, transportation facilities, utilities and vacant land. This Element was prepared in 1975 and requires updating.
In California, a new General Plan Element is required to address issues related to environmental justice. Glendale’s new Environmental Justice Element will focus on communities that deal with increased environmental burdens (such as being located next to a freeway or not having enough access to healthy food) within the City to help ease these difficulties and offer opportunities for residents in these areas to participate in the decision making process. The principles of Environmental Justice call for fairness in the development of laws and regulations that affect every community’s natural surroundings, and the places people live, work, play, and learn.
Historic Preservation Element
Prepared in 1997, the Historic Preservation Element outlines preservation-related goals to guide a community's efforts in protecting its cultural resources. It describes the various components of an effective historic preservation program of that time and was intended to serve as a useful roadmap for charting future progress.
The City has completed the process of updating the Housing Element to ensure that we are prepared to meet the future housing needs of Glendale for the planning period from 2021 through 2029. The 2021-2029 Housing Element has been found to be in substantial compliance with the State Housing Element Law by the California Housing & Community Development Department (HCD) as of February 27, 2023.
Though the Glendale Land Use Element has been updated in conjunction with specific projects or neighborhood areas (i.e., the Downtown Specific Plan or the North Glendale Community Plan), it has not been comprehensively amended since 1986. This update will streamline policy direction to address the mix of land uses, location of future growth, land use compatibility, urban design, and economic development. The Land Use Element will capitalize on and enhance the community’s assets to guide development, preserve natural resources, and create and maintain good public spaces.
When the Circulation Element was adopted in 1998, the goal was mainly to safely and efficiently move vehicles through the City. Since then, new topics related to mobility and its role in Glendale have emerged. Today, the City is planning for a safe transportation network for all users. That is why Circulation Element is now being renamed as the “Mobility Element”. The updated element will focus on improving connectivity between public transit, trains, and motor vehicles, making walking, biking and other forms of active transportation viable options to get around town, and connecting transit to the larger regional area. The updated Mobility Element will address the measures needed to incorporate future transportation network changes and anticipated citywide growth by creating goal, policies, and programs that reflect new and emerging City priorities, changing conditions, State mandates and guidelines, and local and regional planning initiatives.
Noise Element
Last comprehensively updated in 2007, the Noise Element identifies and analyzes projected noise conditions in the community and includes measures to abate or mitigate potential noise levels.
Open Space and Conservation Element and Recreation Element
Glendale's first Open Space, Conservation and Recreation Element was prepared in 1972 but was later separated into two different General Plan Elements. The Open Space and Conservation Element was adopted in 1993, and Recreation was prepared as separate Element in 1996. The City is now entering into an exciting time of growth with several new park and open space revitalization projects and recreation facilities planned or proposed over the next several years for residents and visitors to enjoy. Note that the Open Space and Conservation Element will be updated in conjunction with the Recreation Element, but they will each have distinct scopes and the updated elements will be adopted separately.
Last updated in 2003, the Safety Element seeks to identify and reduce the potential short and long-term risks associated with hazards that are present in Glendale. In Southern California, these risks may include anything from earthquakes to dangerous animals to hazardous materials. Recently, the State of California has updated the requirements of what needs to be addressed in Safety Elements. In accordance with these State laws and guidelines, the Glendale Safety Element Update will address the risks connected to climate change and will incorporate the most recent best practices related to flooding and wildfire.
Background Documents and Resources
The City of Glendale maintains a comprehensive set of background documents and resources about land use, mobility, and other planning topics on the City's Planning Division website. Please click here to access a list of the documents.