Planning

What is Planning?

Rural, Urban and Regional Planning

Planning, in short can be defined as the process by which our society decides what gets built, where to build it, and why that location is ideal. The five elements that make up planning are Design, Laws and Regulation, Environmental analysis, Socioeconomic analysis, and Political Approval. These elements are all utilized together for different types of disciplines within Planning. These disciplines are Urban, Regional, and Rural Planning.

Simply put, Rural Planning addresses lower populated areas with a focus on preserving farmland, historic sites and buildings, as well as the economic development of that area. Many projects proposed in these areas undergo a more extensive review of the environmental impact due to the amount of undeveloped land area. One example of Rural Planning would be Yosemite National Park. There are protections in place to preserve the land but also the areas leading up to these types of areas are strategically placed for the availability to necessities for the type of population that resides, visits, or works in that area. 

Urban planning focuses on higher density populations and the development of those areas. The clustering of specific types of zoning and land use creates efficiency for the population of these areas. For example, San Francisco is a largely dense city with specific access to transportation, housing, and employment opportunities.

Regional Planning looks at the bigger picture. The overall area and how these environmental needs, traffic congestion, as well as the supply and demand of employment and labor effect the transportation between and access to the urban and rural areas. A good example of this is the widening project of Highway 29 between Kelseyville and Lower Lake. CalTrans was able to determine the necessity for a wider highway by studying the traffic congestion as well as percentage of serious accidents to create a safer and more accessible route for the population.  (mostly from Fulton, W. and Shigley, P. Guide to California Planning. Solano Press Books.)

Our team looks forward to working with applicants on all rural planning needs here in Lake County.

Land Use Questions

Check your Zoning

• Check your Base Zoning and Full Zoning using our GIS viewer and our Zoning Ordinance
• Your Zoning Ordinance article(s) will tell you what you are allowed to do, what/where you can build, etc. on your parcel.
• For example, if the GIS viewer has your Base Zone as "R1" and Full Zone with "SC" and "WW" you would read R1, SC, and WW in the Zoning Ordinance to figure what you can do on your property.
• For more information on what you can and cannot do on your property, please see our drop-down menu items above.

Cannabis Questions

For faster turn-around of your question, please use our Cannabis FAQ page.

If you have additional Cannabis Questions, please email the Counter Planner.

Planners are available to answer your land use questions via the above email, between the hours of 8:00AM and 5:00PM, Monday-Friday. Please note, Planners will respond to your inquiry within 10 business days depending on the nature of your inquiry.

To expedite the process, please leave complete information related to your inquiry.  Include pertinent property, permit, and owner information.

Please Note: Only 12 Cannabis Use Permit applications and only 12 Cannabis Pre-Applications are accepted per month. If the maximum amount of applications have been received within a given month, any additional applications will be returned.

Other Questions

If you have additional questions not covered by the above categories, please email your questions.