Current Project Status

Eureka’s General Plan Update process was organized into five broad tasks. The status of where we are with each task is noted below. There will be opportunities for you to express your opinions and be heard during each task. These opportunities will include Community Workshops, Virtual Town Halls, City Council/Planning Commission study sessions, and other events held throughout the process.

For more information, go to Get Involved/Upcoming Events. You can also provide comments anytime by emailing us at Contact Us

Overall Process and Schedule

The City of Eureka initiated its General Plan Update process in November 2013. The process was anticipated to be completed in late 2017. The update process includes the following five general tasks:

1. What is the Context for Planning? Task 1 focused on understanding the community, its needs, challenges, and objectives, to establish a common and thorough understanding of current and projected conditions, key issues and community objectives to be addressed as part of the update process. This task included preparation of:

 Community Background Report
 Listing of Key Issues and Community Objectives
 Policy Papers Part 1: Issues and Implications
 Adopted Housing Element

Key outreach events included Stakeholder Interviews, Community Workshop #1, Virtual Town Hall #1, initial Focus Group Meetings, and City Council/Planning Commission Check‐in Sessions #1 and #2.

2. What do we Want to Achieve? Task 2 focused on identifying land use and policy alternatives to address community issues and opportunities, and selecting the preferred land use plan and key policy direction. This Task included preparation of:

 Policy Papers Part 2: Options and Solutions
 Citywide Land Use and Policy Alternatives
 Alternatives Evaluation
 Preferred Citywide Land Use Plan and Policy Strategies
 Vision Statement
 Certified Housing Element

Key outreach events included Community Workshop #2, Virtual Town Halls #2 and #3, Focus Group Meetings, City Council/Planning Commission Check‐in Sessions #3 and #4, and City Council/Planning Commission hearings on the Housing Element.

3. How do we Make it Happen? Task 3 focused on the preparation of draft General Plan goals, policies and programs, based on the explicit choices made between alternative means of resolving issues and capturing opportunities undertaken during Task 2. This Task included preparation of:

 Draft General Plan
 Draft Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan
 Draft Climate Action Plan
 Draft Consistency Matrix

Key outreach events included Community Workshop #3, Virtual Town Halls #4 and #5, Focus Group Meetings, and City Council/Planning Commission Check‐in Sessions #5 and #6.

4. What are the Impacts of our Plans? Task 4 focused on preparation of the draft EIR to analyze potential impacts from implementation of the General Plan and related documents, and ways to mitigate those impacts. Preparation of the General Plan and EIR was an interactive process aimed at creating, to the extent feasible, self‐mitigating plans. This Task included preparation of:

 Notice of Preparation
 Draft and Draft EIR

The EIR and General Plan were circulated for public review and comment.

5. How do we put our Plans into Action? Task 5 focused on preparation and adoption of the final General Plan following completion of the public review period. This Task included preparation of:

 Final General Plan
 Final EIR

Key outreach events included City Council and Planning Commission public hearings.

Several other documents are still in the process of being drafted and will be adopted in the future, including:

 Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan
 Final Climate Action Plan