Planning for Albany

As Albany works on a wide range of efforts to shape its future – programs designed to both expand the city’s economic viability and retain an exceptional commitment to environmental sustainability and attractiveness to families – it is beginning to create a framework for the next twenty years through the revision of the Albany General Plan.  General plans are considered the foundation for decisionmaking about housing, business, and industrial development; locations for roads, parks, and infrastructure; environmental protection and conservation; and noise, density, and other land uses. They outline a city’s vision for its future and create a comprehensive and internally-consistent set of policies to promote the realization of that vision. City-level general plans first appeared in 1927, when the California Legislature authorized them for incorporated cities. Over the years, numerous “elements” evolved as important components, and general plans – as we know them today – have been required since 1971. Over the past three decades, state planning law has been revised to reflect current standards and best practices, requiring that development decisions be consistent with the general plan. Currently, there are seven required elements: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise, and safety. Revising Albany’s General Plan offers the opportunity to ensure that future development and decisionmaking about land use build on the values of the community.

Albany “Prepares to Prepare” for the Next 20 Years

Albany’s General Plan 1990 - 2010 was adopted in 1992; the land use element was amended in 2004 to reflect new priorities and emerging opportunities. 

To prepare a general plan, cities begin with a review of existing data and engage in research, community education, and gathering of public input. Coordination with regional and state agencies is required, resulting in an often lengthy process.  For that reason, Albany is starting now — to develop General Plan 2010-2030, a document that will guide the city as it makes decisions that will affect the adult lives of our children and grandchildren. 

Albany’s current plan combines the seven staterequired “elements” into five broad sections: land use; circulation; housing; conservation, recreation, and open space; and community health and safety – with policies to support the goals of each section. Discussions about the housing component – being led by the Planning and Zoning Commission – are already underway, including the challenge of finding locations for 276 new housing units (the number deemed necessary to accommodate anticipated changes in the local population).

As the general plan process unfolds, there will be opportunities for Albany residents to make suggestions about what the city should look like in years to come. A well-thoughtout plan prescribes the order, patterns, and characteristics of future growth, based on data and the community’s vision. For Albany, the core issues are wide ranging and include: maintaining the quality of life residents consider critical; ensuring sustainability and high standards for commercial and residential development; taking a leadership role in climate change policies; preserving and potentially expanding open space and areas for recreation; supporting first-class education; reducing vehicle miles traveled; maintaining commercial vitality; protecting ecologically-sensitive areas; increasing the availability of affordable housing; ensuring public safety; and supporting municipal fiscal stability.

The new plan will reflect residents’ needs and desires, prompting some to ask how a plan intended to give direction on physical layout can reflect values such as reduction of vehicle miles traveled or economic strategies. But Albany residents would say: “It must, if it is to be the right plan for Albany.”  It is hoped that Voices to Vision, while focusing primarily on Albany’s waterfront, will create an opportunity for residents to express opinions about a vision that lays a foundation for strategic decisionmaking and planning by the city – reflecting the values and spirit of the Albany community.