Project Overview
Objectives
Fairfield’s updated General Plan will address issues spanning all aspects of life in the city. The project’s objectives include:
Provide a vision about where we as a community want to be in coming decades, and outline strategies to attain this vision
Engage the broad spectrum of the Fairfield community in shaping the plan
Ensure that the General Plan reflects the needs of the community and reflects community priorities, such as for housing and affordability, mobility/transportation, and parks and recreation.
In the coming decades, new development will take place largely on infill land, rather than through outward expansion. Thus, the General Plan will focus on issues and strategies most relevant to the community, including:
Develop principles for infill areas and determining how they fit into the community’s vision—whether for housing, mixed-use activity centers, or employment hubs
Strengthen and revitalize corridors such as Texas Street, and centers such as downtown Integrate recent planning efforts such as the Heart of Fairfield Specific Plan and the Train Station Specific Plan
Outline effective strategies to enable people to get around the city more comfortably and safely – by walking or biking, using transit, or driving
Promote cohesive community image and community design, and planning strategies that promote public health
Address social and environmental justice
Integrate climate change and adaptation strategies
Address other emerging trends and new State laws
Purpose and Process
The City of Fairfield is embarking on an exciting new project: the update of our General Plan. New opportunities, issues, and approaches have emerged in the years since the current General Plan was comprehensively updated almost 20 years ago. The Bay Area region has evolved significantly, and underlying conditions in Fairfield have also changed. New trends, issues, and concerns—such as an increasingly aging and diverse population, changing nature of work and retail, climate change, social equity and environmental justice—have also emerged.
The General Plan is the City’s primary guide for development, housing, transportation, environmental quality, public services, and parks and open spaces. The update process is a collaborative effort between the City and the community to create a vision and a blueprint for development and investment over the next couple of decades. Residents—as well business and property owners—have the opportunity to get involved at all stages of the planning process, from initial visioning and exploration of land use and transportation alternatives to the selection of the Preferred Plan and policy development.
