Much like the Housing Element update, City staff and its consultant team have been working with the Planning Commission and the community over the past eight months to prepare an initial draft of the updated General Plan Circulation Element. The Element is being updated simultaneously with the Housing Element to comply with new mandates, such as “complete streets.” It is also being refreshed to reflect the community’s vision on trending transportation matters, including electric vehicles (EV), rideshare services (e.g., Uber and Lyft), public transportation, telecommuting, as well as parking and parking lot management.
The initial draft is now available online at https://www.newportbeachca.gov/government/departments/community-development/planning-division.
Please provide your comments on the initial draft no later than April 30, 2021. If you have any questions or to submit comments, please reach out to City staff by emailing GPUpdate@newportbeachca.gov.
Over this summer, a complete traffic analysis will be prepared as part of the analysis of both the Housing and Circulation Element updates. The analysis will evaluate the inclusion of all of the housing units anticipated by the draft Housing Element.
The traffic study will contain a traditional intersection level of service (LOS) analysis given existing and proposed Circulation Element policies requiring this type of analysis. It will be used for roadway and intersection planning purposes only. The traffic analysis will be prepared per the requirements of the Traffic Phasing Ordinance (TPO). The results of the traffic analysis could indicate changes to the City’s Master Plan of Streets and Highways.
The LOS analysis will not be part of the draft EIR because the impacts of vehicle delay are no longer part of the CEQA impact analysis process pursuant to State law (SB 743). The traffic analysis will include an assessment of VMT and it will be incorporated within the DEIR as VMT is the new traffic metric for CEQA analysis pursuant to SB 743.
Going forward, the anticipated update schedule will be:
- March 18, 2021 – Planning Commission Study Session
- April 5, 2021 – Virtual Public Workshop
- May 11 or 25, 2021 – City Council Study Session
- EIR Comment Period – Summer 2021
- August 2021 – Public Workshop and Planning Commission Study Session
- September 2021 – Planning Commission public hearing
- October 2021 – City Council public hearing
This is the very first draft of the document. There will be plenty of opportunities to help shape it. The entire community is encouraged to participate and review it.
The City greatly appreciates the community’s continued participation and engagement in this challenging and unprecedented update process.
