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The City of Sunnyvale, California has a general plan that controls the city through various stages of changes and developments. The general plan focuses on the physical growth of the City. In some cases, it may work alongside other City Council policies to offer a direction for critical decision-making processes on utilization of City services and available resources.
The City of Sunnyvale’s general plan is a long-term document with strategic planning objectives for the City. The general plan focuses on long-term activities for the next ten to twenty years and strategic policies for the next five to ten years.
Some of the elements within the general plan are community aspiration, land use and transportation, housing, environmental issues, safety, and noise among others. This essay focuses on land use as an element of a general plan in the City of Sunnyvale.
Generally, land use in the City of Sunnyvale has several elements, which include type, use of land in housing, open space, public places, private land, grounds, intensity of use, business areas, waste disposal locations and facilities and other zoning elements. The City considers land use as a critical element that affects all other elements within its general plan.
Land use in the City has defined the community character, economic activities, and the future need for land and services. As a result, the City of Sunnyvale believes that it is critical to have a solid base from which to build, locate, and review land use elements. The general plan also accounts for the community’s vision for the future of the City by highlighting its goals, actions, and policies.
The City of Sunnyvale adopted its first general plan in the year 1957. The general plan has undergone several reviews to account for developments and changes in the City. The City has focused on the future in order to realize its land use policy. As a result, it has emphasized land use on four critical areas, which are suitable housing, community character, strong economy, and transportation efficiency (City of Sunnyvale 67).
The City has observed that these elements of land use are comprehensive and interwoven. They remain timeless and exist to offer a solid base for the City’s land use and transportation planning. The City frequently updates its land use and transportation policies to reflect new goals and objectives.
Land use also accounts for regional planning. This goal aims to protect, sustain, and improve the quality of life in the City by including the regional land use and transportation policies in the region. Hence, the City’s land use policy supports the regional transportation as a part of the City’s planning and economic vitality.
Land use also facilitates different forms with the focus on transportation. On this note, the City concentrates on the development of several alternative means of transportation, such as buses, commuter rail, and light rail by effective land use planning. Moreover, it has initiated a mixed use of land near transit locations.
Land use in the City of Sunnyvale aims to protect and improve the quality of life for residents and business communities. In this regard, the City engages residents and business communities in active participation in discussions on potential usages of land.
As a result, it reviews any proposed land use on aviation services in order to control the level of noise in residential areas and business premises. The strategy supports goals and desires of residents and business communities in the City.
Land use aims to make the City of Sunnyvale an attractive community by preserving and improving its attractiveness. This would create a positive image, defined neighborhood, and a sense of place in the City. The land use policy acknowledges that the City consists of industrial buildings, commercial areas, and neighborhood locations.
All these locations have unique characters, but they strive to introduce changes that support positive developments in the City. Thus, all developments, design guidelines, laws, transportation policies, and engineering requirements account for community beliefs and values by complying with land use and transportation policies.
The City insists on buffers and edges to distinguish transition locations as required in the land use policy. Moreover, it ensures that all commercial activities must take place within allocated business premises.
The City of Sunnyvale ensures that it translates all contents of the general plan into actions in order to realize its vision.
On this note, the community of the City Council, other decision-makers and stakeholders use goals and policies from the general plan to control physical developments including land use, transportation systems, and other social infrastructures. Thus, any future developments in the City must relate with the general plan provisions on land use.
The City ensures that all developments must cite the general plan and its goals and policies as stated under the City’s development plan. It has sub-policies and implementation programs to facilitate the translation of the general plan into actions. Sub-policies are responsible for providing directions and actions for enhancing the City’s goals and policies.
Sub-policies act as fundamental connections between long-term goals and ongoing planning activities. However, the City does not apply sub-policies in every decision, especially in short-term planning goals. Users must identify all sub-policies in their development plans.
The City also uses implementation programs to facilitate long-term development plans in order to realize its land use goals and policies. Implementation programs guide subdivision processes, the City’s regulation codes, a given developmental plan, and capital improvement projects among others.
The City of Sunnyvale reviews its land use constantly in order to keep up with the changes in the region. For instance, today, the City has focused on going green. It is among the first cities in California to review land use challenges, pollutions, and emissions in order to provide a sustainable city. This shows that the City implements its general plan to account for current changes in the community and the region.
While the City of Sunnyvale has improved on its land use, it faces several challenges. For instance, there are several lawsuits regarding land use policies, especially with private developers. In addition, the City also faces challenges related to developing sustainable communities and planning approaches required in the new urbanism (Godschalk 5).
Overall, land use in the general plan of the City of Sunnyvale has proved to be the most critical element because it affects all other elements of the general plan. The City has acknowledged this fact, and it has developed land use policies and goals by including all stakeholders in the discussion.
It has short-term and long-term goals and policies on land use. These approaches facilitate implementation and realization of land use policies. However, the City faces challenges in its attempt to realize sustainable communities and neighborhoods. It must deal with planning challenges and lawsuits from land developers.
Works Cited
City of Sunnyvale. City of Sunnyvale General Plan. Sunnyvale: Community Development Department, 2011. Print.
Godschalk, David R. “Land Use Planning Challenges: Coping with Conflicts in Visions of Sustainable Development and Livable Communities.” Journal of the American Planning Association 70.4 (2004): 5-13. Print.
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