FULLERTON : General Plan Update Starts With Hearing

City transportation officials on Monday will hold the first of a series of workshops designed to elicit public participation in drafting the city’s General Plan for development.

Monday’s workshop will discuss transportation and traffic issues. At the informal hearing, participating residents will be given a package of relevant reports and the chance to address city planners with their concerns.

Four subsequent workshops scheduled for March and April will have a similar format except they will address other community issues.

On Thursday, the Planning Commission is scheduled to hear public comment on such topics as affordable housing and air quality. On March 16, the Community Services Commission will hold a workshop, followed by the Energy and Resources Management Committee on March 18. The City Council will have a final workshop on April 7.

The city, with the help of the Planning Center, a Newport Beach consulting firm, is in the sixth month of an 18-month process to rewrite the General Plan, which is considered the blueprint for community development, land use and environmental restrictions.

After this round of workshops, said Ken Bane, an associate planner, officials will examine zoning regulations, traffic patterns and development alternatives including revitalization of retail stores and affordable housing in preparation for another series of workshops tentatively set for May and June.

State regulations require cities to revise and update their general plans periodically. The city of Fullerton last revised a section of that plan in 1989, but has not reworked the entire document since 1981.

Last September, city officials began the process and do not expect to finish for a year. Officials said it is possible that more workshops will be added to the schedule.