Search Planning Documents Database
All of California's 500+ cities and counties issue planning documents. The state of California requires local jurisdictions to produce them and to update them periodically. The documents take various forms. They can be issued as consolidated general plans or as separate elements (e.g., land use, open space, housing, conservation, noise, seismic safety, transportation, etc.). Some elements are mandated by the state, but others are optional. Some jurisdictions also issue specific area plans —detailed plans for particular neighborhoods. Plans can have draft and final versions, and may be accompanied by environmental impact statements.
The California Local Planning Documents Database includes links to online full-text versions of plans, when available. Searches can be limited to online full-text.
The best single source for information on the update status of planning documents is the Web-based database maintained by the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research at www.calpin.ca.gov/information/. The office annually surveys city and county planning departments on the status of their general plans.
Many California county planning documents and some city planning documents are accessible full-text via the California Land Use Planning Information Network (LUPIN) at http://www.ceres.ca.gov/planning/plans/. LUPIN is a project of California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES). The plans can be viewed as image files (scanned images of actual pages) or as text files (OCR-derived ascii text). The text files are searchable.
Full-text plans in LUPIN are linked in the California Local Planning Documents Database.
The California Digital Conservation Atlas includes land use and other data from all California counties and many cities. The data is integrated into a single statewide geographic information system and is displayed in user-defined maps. The Atlas is a product of the California Legacy Project, which is sponsored by the California Resources Agency. More information about the Atlas is available from the Welcome screen.