Ventura County 2040 General Plan Update

In September 2020, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors adopted the Ventura County 2040 General Plan and certified the General Plan’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The EIR contains mitigation measures that resulted in the development and incorporation of several programs and policies into the General Plan (EIR programs and policies) to ensure that environmental impacts resulting from the General Plan’s implementation, including future public and private projects, would be reduced or avoided. The County of Ventura is proposing text revisions to some EIR programs and policies that are needed to improve clarity, reduce ambiguity, revise references, and where applicable, clarify County processes and procedures. These revisions are proposed as a General Plan Amendment. The purpose of the General Plan amendment is to clarify the intent of the affected EIR programs and policies. The General Plan Amendment is needed to effectuate updates to the Ventura County Initial Study Assessment Guidelines (ISAGs) and the Ventura County California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Implementation Manual. These documents ensure that the County uses consistent procedures and evaluation criteria when examining the physical impacts of a public or private project on the environment within the County’s unincorporated areas.