Planning Commission Reviews Draft Environmental Impact Report for Redding’s General Plan Update

A map in the draft Environmental Impact Report for Redding’s General Plan update.

City documents call Redding’s General Plan a “constitution” for Redding’s land use. It determines where new development will be allowed to happen and where natural space will be conserved. 

As Shasta Scout has previously reported, the City’s twenty-three-year-old General Plan is currently being updated. The Plan focuses on how the City will balance development and conservation city-wide. It also provides related big-picture guidance on the City’s transportation, natural resources, parks, and community health policies. 

On Tuesday, July 7, Redding Planning Commissioners met to discuss the Plan’s draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), a document required by the State under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Planning Commissioners offered only brief comments in response to a presentation on the draft EIR from Senior Planner Vishnu Krishnan, who has managed the General Plan update since joining the city in 2021. 

Commissioner Aaron Hatch had questions related to Redding’s options to support continued growth, including land annexation, which could affect forests or agricultural land, and increased urban development within the city’s existing footprint. Hatch also wanted to ensure that the City would consider consulting with the Wintu people on the writing of their own history as it is included in the document. Hatch suggested that the EIR should include more of an assessment of the City’s long-term resilience to and recovery from climate-related changes, including extreme weather events such as heat and drought. 

Commissioner Michele Goedert mentioned concerns about what appeared to be contradictory statements at several points in the EIR on the significance of environmental impact. Commissioner Cameron Middleton mentioned serious concerns about transportation impacts related to ensuring needed emergency evacuation routes, given the Plan’s new emphasis on bike lanes. 

Redding Director of Development Services Jeremy Pagan also discussed what he said have been ongoing concerns about the “aspirational tone” of the EIR, saying that the city has reduced some of the broad language in response to early feedback from community members and the Planning Commission as elements of the draft EIR were developed. That change could encourage more accountability from the city, ensuring the plan is more than simply a vision. 

Only one member of the public offered comment on the GP draft EIR during the meeting.  City consultant and retired Redding Planner Kent Manuel said so far, Redding had received only 2 or 3 written comments from the public.  The draft EIR is open to public comment until August 28. In response to a question from Commissioner Hatch, City staff said that all public comments will be submitted to the City’s environmental planning consultant on a weekly basis and will be responded to in the final EIR.

Pagan said the Planning Commission hopes to tentatively adopt the General Plan EIR this fall and formally adopt the document by the end of 2023 or early 2024. 

California recommends that cities update their General Plan every fifteen to twenty years, but there is no mandatory timeline for the completion of the update for most of the elements. The housing element must be updated about every five years. 

See the General Plan draft EIR and submit comments here.

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