The County shall ensure that new land use patterns emphasize efficient use of land and infrastructure, walkable neighborhoods, contemporary development practices, and sense of place consistent with the Guidelines for Orderly Development.
RDR
LU-1.5 Infill Development
The County shall encourage infill development within Existing Communities and within or adjacent to existing development within unincorporated urban centers to maximize the efficient use of land and existing infrastructure.
LU-1.6 Accommodating Future Growth
The County shall ensure that the General Plan designates adequate land for urban development to accommodate projected population and employment growth in the unincorporated areas as determined by the Board of Supervisors.
LU-2.1 Urban Designated Area
The Urban Designated Area boundary, referred to in the Save Open Space & Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative, is used to depict boundaries of and areas within existing and planned urban centers which include commercial and industrial uses as well as residential uses where the building intensity is greater than one principal dwelling unit per two acres. The Urban Designated Area boundary has been applied to all incorporated lands within a city’s Sphere of Influence as established by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo), and unincorporated urban centers within their own Areas of Interest which may be candidates for future incorporation. In this General Plan, this term is synonymous with the combination of the areas shown as “Cities” and “Urban” on Figure 2-1.
Figure 2-1 depicts the boundary of and areas within Urban designated areas in the unincorporated county.
LU-3.1 Existing Community Designated Areas
The Existing Community Designated Area boundary, referred to in the Save Open Space & Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative as the “Existing Community Land Use Designation”, is used to depict existing urban residential, commercial, or industrial enclaves outside of incorporated areas and unincorporated urban centers. Existing Community Designated Areas recognize existing land uses in unincorporated areas which have been developed with urban building intensities and urban land uses, contains these enclaves within specific areas so as to prevent further expansion, and limits the building intensity and land use to previously established levels. Thomas Aquinas College is newly designated in this initiative as Existing Community, with the intention that it be confined to its current boundaries with the understanding that it may continue to intensify its building for its educationally related purposes.
Figure 2-1 depicts the boundary of the Existing Community Designated Area. All areas inside these boundaries are considered within the “Existing Community Land Use Designation” for purposes of this General Plan and implementation of the Guidelines for Orderly Development and Save Open Space & Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative. This term is considered synonymous with “Urban Enclave” as used in other planning documents.
Figure 2-1 depicts the boundary of and areas within Existing Community designated areas in the unincorporated county.
LU-4.1 General Plan Land Use Diagram
The County shall maintain and implement a Land Use Diagram for purposes of describing the types of allowed land uses by geographic location and the density and/or intensity of allowed uses within each designation.
The goals and locational descriptions set forth in this Element are general guidelines for determining whether land should be within a particular land use designation depicted on the General Plan Land Use Diagram (Figures 2-4 and 2-5). The land use designation applied to a specific parcel of land shall be as designated on the General Land Use Diagram, whether or not such parcel meets all of the applicable criteria.
The General Plan Land Use Diagram covers the mainland areas of the county. The following designations apply to Anacapa and San Nicholas islands and are incorporated into the Land Use Diagram by reference.
- Anacapa Island is designated “OS” as Open Space
- San Nicholas Island is designated “P” as State, Federal, Other Public Lands
It is common for the County to update the Land Use and Circulation Diagrams over time. Please check with the Planning Division of the Ventura County Resource Management Agency to ensure you have the current version.