What is a Specific Plan?

A specific plan is an implementation tool for a defined area. It provides detailed criteria for specific sites to meet the development goals from a municipality’s General Plan.

Goals in a General Plan are often broad. The job of a specific plan is to investigate the ways a municipality can achieve its goals and provide detailed implementation steps and actions. A specific plan is both a planning and an implementation tool.

This usually includes:

Where certain types of land uses should be located, such as residential, commercial, and open space
Where major infrastructure (transportation, sewage, water, drainage, solid waste disposal, energy, and other essential facilities) is needed to support new growth
What the development standards should be, such as building height, density, and subdivision standards
How growth can be financed, including public and private partnerships
How to overcome other barriers to new development

The heart of a specific plan is a series of implementation measures including regulations, programs, infrastructure projects, and financing measures necessary to carry out the development goals.

A specific plan needs to be aligned with the goals of the General Plan, but it is a separate and distinct tool.

Why specific plans are used

The goals outlined in a General Plan are broad and not tailored to any specific location within a city. Achieving goals related to housing and development usually requires coordination with private landowners and developers.

It’s helpful for everyone when a community’s development goals are clearly defined:

Community members can influence and expect certain kinds of development and projects.
Private developers are more likely to work in areas where there is a predictable environment and a level of certainty to make projects feasible.
Municipalities can prepare infrastructure and other services needed to accommodate growth.

The actions identified in a specific plan help both the public and private sectors overcome barriers to development, including a streamlined CEQA process for future development proposals in the area.

How a specific plan is created

To create a specific plan, a municipality typically works with technical experts in planning, engineering, housing, financing, and transportation. They provide analysis and recommendations.

The public is involved to help provide ideas and feedback so the plan is reflective of community needs and desires. This usually involves public hearings, workshops, and surveys.

Once a draft plan is ready, it is presented at a public hearing to the Planning Commission. The public can review and provide feedback. The plan is ultimately presented to the City Council for final approval.

Learn more about specific plans

What is a Specific Plan? (Planetizen)
The Planner’s Guide to Specific Plans (Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, PDF)

About the Moraga Canyon Specific Plan

The Moraga Canyon Specific Plan is studying all City-owned land in Moraga Canyon, including Blair Park, Coaches Field, Kennelly Skate Park, and the City’s Corporation yard, with the goal of created a detailed plan for how to: