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City of Indian Wells issued the following announcement on Oct. 14.

What is a General Plan?

A General Plan is a long-range policy and planning document that guides the physical development and resource management of the City. The General Plan is required to be prepared in accordance with the requirements of California Government Codes Section 65300 et seq. The Plan addresses the seven mandatory elements of the California Government Code, which are land use, circulation, housing, open space, conservation, safety and noise. Specifically, it establishes goals and policy direction to ensure that a high quality of life is preserved and enhanced for Indian Wells residents, businesses, and visitors. State law requires every city and county to adopt a General Plan to layout the jurisdictions’ future—looking ahead 20 years or more. State law also requires the Housing Element to be updated every eight years. The City’s current Housing Element is for the period 2013 through 2021. 

Why update the General Plan?

As a matter of practice and pursuant to the State’s General Plan laws, Indian Wells has routinely updated its General Plan. The proposed Comprehensive update is a technical update to the General Plan requiring the preparation of new technical studies to the circulation element, noise element, environmental resources, and public health and safety. The update will also address new state laws and regulations enacted by the state legislature and encompass updated transportation and traffic modeling based on Vehicle Miles Traveled (“VMT”) along with updated existing conditions and projected growth forecasts. The technical update will respond to the new laws, and to effectively address growth and change ensuring that the vision and quality of life in Indian Wells is carried forward to future generations.

A Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared in unison with the General Plan Update, providing the City with a tool for tiering and streamlining future projects that meet the established goals, policies and objectives of the General Plan. Many future development activities could be found to be within the scope of the project described in a detailed Program EIR, and would provide the City with additional flexibility and options to manage future impacts of those developments. This approach allows the City to be pro-active about updating the General Plan in a more fiscally responsible manner while allowing for appropriate community outreach and the creation of vision for future development.

Ways to Get Involved:

As a result of public health requirements, workshops will occur virtually using a meeting platform familiar to the City and other methods that allow easy online collaboration. Virtual meetings will utilize the Zoom Webinar platform which allows an active, stable, and easily controlled webinar environment: while online collaboration will utilize the Miro online collaborative whiteboard tool for online collaboration with digital sticky notes. Additionally, members of the public may attend as phone attendees, but will not be able to participate in all the activities. The team will develop activities that allow phone attendees to use their phones to participate in yes or no dial in polls. Participants will be encouraged to join us for the following workshops:

Workshop 1 - Vision & Values (Fall 2020)

Join us for a virtual workshop to identify community values and develop ideas for a land-use vision for Indian Wells.

Workshop 2 - Community Health & Wellness (Winter 2021)

Join us for a virtual workshop to identify ways to incorporate community health and wellness into the General Plan.

Workshop 3 - Land Use Alternatives Virtual Open House (Spring 2021)

Join us for a virtual workshop focused on topics related to Land Use. 

Workshop 4 - General Plan Draft Virtual Open House (Spring 2021)

Join us for a virtual workshop with a presentation on the draft General Plan. Community members can engage with project staff and ask questions regarding the General Plan.

*Workshop dates and times TBD.

For more information, visit https://indianwells.generalplan.org/

Original source can be found here.