Watsonville General Plan 2050

The Watsonville General Plan 2050 is a comprehensive update of the Watsonville 2005 General Plan to guide land use, mobility, housing, conservation, safety, public facilities, and other policy decisions through 2050. General Plan 2050 establishes a long-term community vision and planning framework for public and private development while responding to changed conditions and new State requirements including AB 1358 (Complete Streets), SB 99 (Evacuation Analysis), SB 379 (Climate Adaptation), SB 932 (Safe Systems), SB 1241 (Wildfire Hazards), and SB 1000 (Environmental Justice). General Plan 2050 focuses growth within Downtown Watsonville, along the Freedom Boulevard and East Lake Avenue corridors, and in identified new growth areas. It introduces a broader range of housing choices; supports new employment, commercial, regional retail, visitor-serving, and community recreation uses; preserves natural open space and agricultural resources; improves parks and community facilities; implements complete streets improvements; and supports rerouting truck traffic around the City. The plan would also update the City’s land use map, goals, policies, and implementation actions and would serve as a first-tier program-level planning document for future development. The full buildout projections for General Plan 2050 facilitate up to 5,980 new residential units and approximately 2.672 million square feet of nonresidential development. This includes approximately 4,560 residential units within the existing City limits; 1,420 residential units in the Area A (Buena Vista), Area B (Atkinson Lane) and/or Area C growth areas; 513,000 square feet of nonresidential development within the existing City limits; 2.129 million square feet of nonresidential development in the Highway 1 Gateway growth area; and 30,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail in the Buena Vista and Area C growth areas.